When veteran Australian singer-songwriter Lior returned to the stage after over a year, he didn't do things by halves.
As part of the festivities for the 2021 WOMADelaide concert series, Lior performed his collaborative symphony 'Compassion' alongside composer Nigel Westlake and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.Needless to say, jumping back in the deep end was an experience that was simultaneously nerve-wracking and entirely exhilarating. "There were a lot of firsts that night, I'm pretty sure," Lior says.
"It was my first show back in a year or so, as it was for a lot of the Orchestra players as well. For a lot of the audience, it was the first show they'd seen in a long time – and there were about 5,000 people there.
"There was this sort of collective feeling of relief and renewal. It was really magical. The whole experience was just invigorating. It's just an assertion on how inspiring it is to connect with people on a live level."
"[Performing live] there's a responsibility to create something really special for myself, and for the audience as well." - Lior
Moving forward into 2021, Lior fully intends to keep that connection ongoing – and he's not planning to go it alone, either.
His latest focus is a new project, Animal In Hiding, which sees him team up with fellow singer-songwriter Domini Forster after years of performing together. "She's been my support act for awhile now," he explains.
"After awhile, she became the backing vocalist in my band and then leading up to my last solo album, we decided we'd have a crack at writing a song together.
"There's a duet on that record, 'Where Will We Be,' and just the whole experience of writing and singing it with her was a really pleasurable one. I've sung with a lot of singers, and there is just something really magical about this combination."
This ultimately lead to Lior and Forster writing music together at the beginning of 2020, with no idea what was to come. Ironically, the song from which the project gets its name was written about feelings of isolation before the very subject became a matter of global relevance. "It was a process full of surprises," Lior recalls.
"We were in the middle of writing when lockdown came in, and so we had to complete all the songs on Zoom – which is never the same. After that, though, we re-emerged and were able to start recording. I think the songs have turned out beautifully."
When asked to describe the material Animal In Hiding have come up with, Lior describes it as being in the spirit of '60s folk – specifically alluding to the pair being in constant vocal harmony as opposed to duetting or only sharing a chorus together.
"It really harkens back to the folk icons – Simon & Garfunkel and that sort of thing," he says.
"It's really embracing that. With my solo albums, I've sort of danced around the world of folk. That's sort of been the core, but I've branched out a lot from that and tried different things. For me, this is really diving headfirst into a sound that's reminiscent of that beautiful early '60s purity."
Animal In Hiding will make its premiere this June as part of Lior's performance at the Perth International Cabaret Festival.
As part of the line-up alongside Black Comedy's Steven Oliver and veteran cabaret performer Meow Meow, Lior will perform a full show that blends a solo set, new songs from Animal In Hiding and songs with a string quartet in tow.
Needless to say, a Lior live show can take many shapes and forms – which leads one to wonder if the man himself approaches these varying degrees of performance differently to one another. "That's a really good question," he says.
"It all goes in tandem – each of those formats also differs by repertoire, and the repertoire often varies according to the format that I'm performing. I enjoy varying the format, because each dynamic offers something so different.
"As far as approaching them goes, though, I don't think that changes all that much. There's a beautiful quote I want to read: 'The stage is a sacred space.' I really believe that, and I think with every show I just approach it with a real sense of duty.
"There's a responsibility to create something really special for myself, and for the audience as well. In terms of a mindset, I think it's the same terms of any format I go into it with."
Strings have always played a huge part in Lior's music – after all, his signature song 'This Old Love' swells with a string arrangement in its chorus, and his performances have ranged from the inclusion of string quartets to entire orchestras.
He recalls the first time he was fortunate to perform with a full orchestra. "It was with the Adelaide Symphony, in the Botanic Gardens," he says.
"I think it was 2008. I truly couldn't believe it – I was thinking 'man, I know so little about the way an orchestra works and about performing with one'.
"I've since written orchestral work in 'Compassion', which taught me a lot about working together with an orchestra purely as a solo vocalist. I became a lot more engaged in understanding the intricacies that go with working with an orchestra.
"I'm just blown away by the collective energy that an orchestra can produce. It's such a subtle art form – there are so many things that can go wrong, it's almost like a miracle that it all kind of comes together. It's a feeling I can only describe as uplifting."
Lior plays Perth International Cabaret Festival at His Majesty's Theatre 25 June. PICF runs 19-27 June.
Lior 2021 Tour Dates
Wed 19 May - The Wedge (Sale, VIC)Sat 22 May - Murray River Fine Music Festival @ Alistair Todd Chapel Hall (Albury, NSW)
Thu 3 Jun - Empire Theatre (Toowoomba)* performing 'Compassion' with Camerata
Sat 5 Jun - QPAC (Brisbane)* performing 'Compassion' with Camerata
Tue 8 Jun - Latrobe Performing Arts Centre (Traralgon, VIC)
Wed 9 Jun - WGAC (Warragul, VIC)
Thu 10 Jun - Forge Theatre & Arts Hub (Bairnsdale, VIC)
Thu 19 Aug - Merrigong Theatre Company (Wollongong)
Fri 20 Aug - The Art House (Central Coast)
Sat 21 Aug - Shoalhaven Entertainment Centre
Sun 22 Aug - Milton Theatre (Milton, NSW)
Fri 10 Sep - WUCAC (Wonthaggi, VIC)
