Artist Profile – Levia – (Sweden)
I’ve always been amazed by the variety of music DNB draws influence from. It gives the scene a constant freshness, even thirty plus years after its creation. Anything is fair game. Jazz, Hip Hop, Reggae, Breakbeat, Hardcore… there’s truly something for everyone. You can sit back and relax with some Liquid, roll with some Neuro, or sing your heart out to pop-inspired Dancefloor.
Two genres that have heavy influences in Drum and Bass are Metal and Punk. Spawning the likes of Pendulum and The Prodigy, the metal and punk scenes have left a big imprint on junglists across the world.
As a fellow metalhead and punk rocker, I’m very excited for my first interview on InsideDNB to be with Levia! Hailing from snowy Uppsala, Sweden, her unique take on DNB is sure to get you headbanging in a moshpit near you. She’s been an active musician since her early teenage years, played in a multitude of bands and even deejayed in a House music duo.
Her newest EP “Game Changers” is out now on Imagine Audio, and features the talents of Playful and Zak Meow. Chunky guitars, spirited vocals, and a raw sound, Levia really brings the energy with this newest addition to her discography.
Levia, thank you so much for joining us today! We appreciate you taking the time to give us your perspective as an artist and musician. As someone who’s played in numerous festivals and shows across Sweden, do you think there’s a lot of similarities between the cultures of metal and punk when compared to DNB?
Thanks for having me! Oh yes, there are definitely similarities between the cultures, especially with punk. I feel like both DnB and punk has this fundamental DIY identity behind it which I just love.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not quite familiar with how popular DNB is in Sweden. Artists like Seba have had no trouble making a name for themselves, so I surmise there’s a healthy underground scene there. Can you give me an idea what it’s like being an artist and fan of DNB in your home country?
Sweden does have some small DnB scenes dotted around the country in some key cities with some awesome fiery souls behind them. I would say the DnB people enjoy around here is definitely more towards similar styles like Seba. As an artist behind some of the heavier DnB here in Sweden, it is definitely a bit harder to get eyes from the DnB scene. The harder stuff here is definitely appreciated more by the metal crowd.
Your newly released EP really shines a light on your musical roots and style as an artist. I love the blend of heavy drums, neuro flavors, and rocking guitars; all topped with a healthy dose of distortion. Has collaborating with Zak Meow and Playful affected how you approach your productions? How is that different from when you’re making something on your own?
Who I am working with changes how I work alot. Me and Playful have this chemistry where we just bring out each other’s ADHD powers to the max and just turn any track into the most goofy energy filled tunes you can imagine and Zak just has this bringing-your-big-brother-to-the-playground energy on Another Dumb Way To Die. When I work alone I do have a tendency to go towards more complex and angrier stuff which I love but I love it even more when I click with another artist and we just amplify each other’s traits and sonically capture it.
One of your newest songs, “Top of the Game,” is filled to the brim with video game references! Gaming has a surprising amount of ties to underground music like DNB and Jungle. I’ve heard it while playing big titles like Grand Theft Auto, Forza Horizon, and Need for Speed. What kind of games got you hooked on music? Do you play any other video games regularly?
I was and to some extent still am very obsessed with rhythm games. Guitar Hero 3 is without a doubt what put me on the path to being a musician and shaped my taste in music. I still play Guitar Hero and Rock Band from time to time but aside from rhythm games, I have also spent an obnoxious amount of time in Team Fortress 2.
I’m impressed you can play such a large variety of instruments! That has to be such a helpful background to have as a producer. You favor drums and keyboards, but are there any instruments you’d like to add to your repertoire in the future? Do you sample your own instruments at all?
It helps and shaped the way I produce a lot. Coming from a background of playing in bands I feel like I arrange and compose like my instruments are a band and played by humans. I have for a long time wanted to get into bowed string instruments and I have been eyeing some electric ones and considering what kind of mayhem I could cause with that. I love recording my physical instruments as there is just something magical about getting something real in. For the new EP, Game Changers I utilized my trusty old (emphasis on old) Formanta Polivoks for various textures and some lead work on for example Make Pain a Habit. It is such an unstable beast that each note will never sound the same as it drifts in and out of tune and capturing those kinds of things just makes a track magic.
So you’ve been making music since your early teenage years, and originally formed Levia as a band. When did you discover drum and bass, and what inspired you to continue the name as a DNB act?
Originally Levia was sort of an experimental bass music solo project of mine which naturally led into being mostly Metal and DnB fusion. After a couple years I did form a band out of it which lasted until last year and the project got described as kind of confusing and looking back at it I agree. After some thinking I decided to take the project back to its root of being my solo project and continued the Metal and DnB fusion thread I was going on which I am very relieved is getting a great response. I may bring back a band at some point for live shows only but production wise, I feel like I work best alone or in collaboration on specific projects like the new EP with Playful.
Do you have any fluffy companions helping you make your music? Please introduce them to us!
I have the best little feline collaborators! The first of them is called Muffin and she has made some sound effects on various tunes. She is a very social kitty and I am seriously considering ways I could bring her on tour at some point because she enjoys traveling and seeing new places. The second cat is called Pootis and she honestly spends more time on the decks than I do. She has a tendency to add several hot cues across all my tunes that other people would describe as “random”, “chaotic” or “nonsensical” but I understand that she is just way ahead of all of us.
While digging through your spotify page, I came across your remix of Girth Control’s “Beer Every Bong.” I don’t think I’ve ever heard ska in a dnb song! I grew up on ska bands like Reel Big Fish and Streetlight Manifesto, so I was hooked as soon as I heard it. Are there any other genres that you’ve wanted to cross over into your work?
That was a fun one! And I think that is an absolute first, I have not heard anyone make Ska and Bass before (but I would love to be corrected if someone knows some tunes). Ska Punk especially is in my heart and Rancid’s album And Out Come The Wolves is one of my favorite albums of all time. For other genres I would like to try and incorporate, I would kind of like to work with a Funk band or something and see what could happen.
You have a remix out with Zardonic called “Party In My Head.” I’m a bit of an anxious person, so I was wondering how you dealt with the pressure of working with a larger artist? I respect the amount of confidence it takes to put yourself out there!
Personally I just don’t think about it much. If someone asks me to work on something, I just do what I do cause if they did not like what I do, then they would not have asked me. He is also a very down to earth cool guy and did in fact master the new EP!
Looking ahead, are there any upcoming releases from you that we should keep an eye out for?
Alot! I currently have 3 other EP’s in the works that contain both solo and collaborative tunes. There are also several remixes that are just waiting to be released.
Once again, thank you so much for your time, Levia! It was great getting to know about you and your music. Is there anything else you wanted to mention or say before I let you go?
And thank you again for having me! Only thing I can think of to say to the readers is, check out Game Changers! It is my proudest work yet and it is available just about everywhere right now!
