While some people have never understood music, for some people music shapes who you are. One of those people is Liberty Styles. She says 'Music has always occupied most of my time/thoughts even if I wasn’t necessarily doing it professionally.' Her second EP Roam Wide, which is set where she grew up, reflects complicated emotions like love, isolation, and coming together during tough times. She is influenced by many styles of music including jazz, funk, flamenco, grunge, alternative. Tap dance is the main thing that shapes her music. Liberty also wanted to honor the strength of working womxn with The Waitress, which is a unique example of solidarity. She shows her activism in different ways and all proceeds from this tape will go directly to G.L.I.T.S., a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community. We talked to Liberty Styles about her music, future plans, and voluntaryeer projects. Please read our exclusive interview below to learn more about Liberty Styles.

Where are you based?
I grew up in Western Massachusetts. I am based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

What inspired you to get into music?
I don’t know if I ever “got into” music… music has always occupied most of my time / thoughts even i f I wasn’t necessarily doing it professionally. I remember my mom getting mad at me for taking all the pots and pans out of the kitchen to make a drumset.

How would you describe the music that you create?
The music I’m creating at the moment is built mainly from stacked harmonies and complex drum patterns. I am influenced by many styles of music i ncluding jazz, funk, flamenco, grunge, alternative, etc. I use my physical understanding as a tap dancer to guide the music.

Congrats on your second EP, Roam Wide! Can you please tell us a little bit about Roam Wide, and what inspired it?
Thanks! Roam Wide is set where I grew up, in a very beautiful yet economically depressed area of rural Massachusetts. It is about nature, isolation, and coming together when times are tough.

It is about big, complicated families that keep adopting more and more local kids into their garage. It is about love. It is about friends growing up together.

We heard that this tape is dedicated to your second home. What does it mean to you?
The people that this tape is dedicated to are as punk rock as you can get. Music legends themselves, they always encouraged me to find my own sound and do my thing, and not be afraid of looking ugly or weird. Their door has always been open, and without their influence, I’m not sure where I’d be today. My intent with this EP was to honor them.

How was the process of creating this song?
I recorded the entire EP in my bedroom and was able to collaborate from afar with flutist Elsa Nilsson and saxophonist Dexter Callender III, which was a blessing.

Your music blends jazz and R&B with influences. Do you have any role models or other influences that create your music?
Jazz and R&B are branches in the same tree, and there are many many artists who play with both “genres.” In terms of role models, I gather inspiration from many people. One of my biggest role models is my teacher Derick Grant, who is a prolific tap dancer as well as a very talented emcee (there are so many tap dancers I am inspired by, it’s impossible to name them all). I am inspired by my peers making independent music. I look up a lot to Melanie Charles, Madison McFerrin, Emma-Jean Thackeray, and so many other dope women with unique voices and approaches. I was also inspired by the Western Mass tradition of indie/grunge rock that I grew up around.

Jejune loves that you were recently part of “femme mix: VOL. 1” -- the first installment in a Bandcamp mixtape series showcasing women artists. Can you tell us a little bit about this collaboration?
In quarantine, I was thinking of ways that I might be able to work collaboratively and to crowdsource funds for grassroots organizations fighting for social justice. I wanted to create an opportunity for womxn artists’ work to be showcased, as well as an opportunity to raise money for a good cause. In the spirit of the jams that I had been hosting pre-covid, I reached out to a bunch of womxn artists I’ve met over the years and, keeping it open-ended, received a bunch of amazing submissions. It came together quite naturally. I am looking forward to doing it again!

We also love that all proceeds from this tape will go directly to G.L.I.T.S., a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA+ community on a global scale. What made the group decide to partner with G.L.I.T.S.?
G.L.I.T.S. does a lot of important work, specifically fighting for housing security in NYC. One of their main focuses right now is helping trans sex workers secure safe housing. In these pandemic times, with so many evictions on top of discrimination, this seemed very important. I suggested this organization when reaching out to the other artists and we rolled with it. For the next volume of the tape, I am hoping that the process for choosing an organization can be more collaborative. So far the tape has raised $350 for G.L.I.T.S. (and are still raising money!)

What made you decide to include your song “The Waitress” in this collection?
I wanted my contribution to the tape to honor the strength of working womxn. I think a lot about my experiences as a woman in the workplace. I’ve had a lot of demeaning experiences as a waitress, but I’ve also taken pride in my work as a server, and resented folks who considered it unskilled labor. The song is about getting through a particularly bad shift thanks to a fellow woman coworker, who makes it bearable. In that sense, it’s a song of solidarity (and incorporates some lyrics I found from an old IWW labor chant!)

You are also a producer and tap dancer. Do you think what elements these skills add to your music?
I see myself as a tap dancer first. My favorite music is music that gets me out of my seat —I can’t help but dance. So when I’m writing music, I try to harness some kind of dancing feeling. If tap dance is the backbone of the music, then I think my role as a producer is more to make edits and arrange to the effect where the whole is greater than its parts.

For several years, you have hosted a tap jam called The Spell in Brooklyn which is a free-to-the-public monthly event. Can you please tell us a little bit about it?
I started The Spell Jam in 2018 and it ran monthly for several years, mainly at The Keep in Brooklyn but also on a few occasions at the Williamsburg Music Center. It was always a vibe. I loved the spontaneity and people coming through to share their voices. I miss it all the time. I am hoping to bring back some jams in the park this summer. That’ll be cool because it will maybe make it more accessible to younger and older generations.

We also learned that pre-covid, you have performed at many events centered around raising money for various organizations. One example is a show at Market Hotel which ended up raising several thousand dollars for New Sanctuary, an immigrant-led organization fighting back against ICE through legal aid. Why are doing these events important to you?
This event was organized by friend Warren, an awesome musician also known as Isador. It was an amazing event! I believe that artists can have a lot of impact, both through their voice and their ability to organize people and raise money. I was inspired reading a Mary Lou Williams interview; she talked about the tradition of rent parties, raising money for someone’s rent by throwing a big party. I’m interested in finding creative ways of fighting back and redistributing wealth.

How do you plan to continue these after covid?
This summer I am looking forward to hosting jam sessions and bringing people together through socially-distanced events outdoors.

How pandemic has impacted you and your music?
The pandemic has been tough. It has been hard to feel such a lack of support or response from the city or the larger government in terms of addressing the needs of performing artists. We are workers, too, but we are not being treated as such. On a personal level, the pandemic has forced me to find creative ways of making music and collaborating in ways I wouldn’t have before. It has also made me more sure, than ever, that artists need to unionize.

Were you in NYC during the heart of the pandemic? Will we be hearing any pandemic-related music from you in the future?
I was here in Sunset Park during the pandemic. I don’t know if any music in the future will be pandemic-themed, per se, but I can say that any music I made in 2020 has most certainly been impacted by the pandemic and the ways the world is changing.

How are you staying positive during a shelter in place?
Calling people I love has been crucial. Waking up early and meditating has been really good for me. I’ve been trying to make a lot of my mom’s epic recipes and feel more self-confident now that I know I can cook.

What is your motto in life?
Oh man, I don’t know… one thing I like, I heard the great tap dancer John Bubbles say to Chuck Green in my favorite movie “No Maps on my Taps” … he said “just follow your nose.” I like that a lot. Mostly I brought it up to say, go watch that movie.

To learn more about Liberty Styles please follow her via the following links:
www.spelltapes.bandcamp.com/releases
Please buy the femmemix: VOL. 1! :) Support a good cause.
www.libertystyles.bandcamp.com/

Liberty Styles: When Times Are Tough, Music Unites Us