Name: Liz Hogg
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Liz Hogg's new album Goodbye World Hello Something is out via Aagoo.

If you enjoyed this Liz Hogg interview and would like to stay up to date with her music and upcoming live dates, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, tiktok, and Soundcloud. 



Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

As a matter of fact, the level of routine and organization I carry out in my day to day teeters on crazy to most people!

From shoes to shampoo, to how often & precisely when I clean or replace items, even which cups I use, I have a regulated schedule. I find it makes my life easier and cuts out decision making that can waste time.

People have told me it’s OCD, but I beg to differ, because each schedule that exists serves to make my life easier and expedite processes. It’s nothing random or just due to neuroses or some kind of obsessive impulse. Which makes all the difference. That being said, were I crazy, that’s probably where I’d land.

If something can be automated or scheduled in a way that makes life simpler or easier, and the process of creating that automation is not so much effort that you’re actually exerting more energy than the task warrants, it’s a great idea!

And I think it can apply to music too. When I get thrown off my routine, I feel unmoored. For example, when I lived on a ship for almost a year straight, I had to create new routines for that different type of lifestyle, and until I established those I felt at sea. Hehe. All to say that I do thrive on organization and routine.

I also ritualize how I use my phone: each app gets used once a day in order; this helps me avoid too much screen time but I slip up sometimes. As for coffee: I drink 2 large cups of black coffee per day upon waking, 2 cups of tea between 2-7pm (1 black followed by green), and 1 cup of herbal or non caffeinated tea in the evening, generally 1-2 hrs before bed.

I go to the gym three times a week for approximately 2 hours each time (whatever it takes to complete the regiment). I don’t care about lighting except I don’t like it when it’s too dark. I love candles and good scents but never bother buying them unless I’m trying to impress a visitor. Caffeine is the only stimulant or drug used in my thirties, except on rare occasions. I don’t care that much for poetry; would always rather read a book.

All the above helps keeps me in the right mindset for creating.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

The first phase is just mentally prepping for the vibe and overall attitude I want the album to present.

That’s not something I can force or consider it a decision I consciously make; it’s based on wherever I am in my life and the culmination of all the music I’ve released before. Once a certain perspective dominates, that is, one consistent vibe seems to click with my life, which could take several months to a year to surface, I then know the overall direction to take.

I don’t do research or create early versions. Once the overall thrust of the album is clear, I’ll go to the remaining kernels and pick the next 10 in either the same batch (acoustic digital, most likely) or another batch and go from there.

In 2023, I organized all my song ideas that were scattered amongst cassette tapes, videos on my phone, CDs, etc. recorded from the age of 16 up and catalogued them into one big group of audio files, 283 “kernels’ in all. I categorized them into seven folders based on instrumentation and recording method. All of those kernels are actually public on bandcamp, and I’ll share the kernel that led to each song at some point.

Since 2023, just a few more kernels have been written and continue to be added to their appropriate folder (though not added to the bandcamp album which ends with 2023; at some point I may make that a longer album, adding any archival material that accumulates past 2023).

For Goodbye World Hello Something, I drew the first 10 in Acoustic Digital (this folder picked just alphabetically), so for the next album I’ll either continue with the next 10 in that folder or skip around folders, I’m not sure yet.