Liz Hysen has been making music for more than two decades now. She’s continuing to make strong releases with her project Picastro, which started in 1998 and went through various lineup changes.

The band began with a complete lo-fi indie rock sound, went through a period of heavy experimentation and ended in where they are today. Heavily influenced by field music to 70s hard rock and Liz’ vocal delivery is pushing new boundaries outside the genre.

Picastro’s latest release on tape via Stoned to Death Records, ‘I’ve never met a stranger,’ is a fantastic set of covers from which new songs were born and makes you wonder what’s next for the band?

“I just write the song and let the rest happen through trust”

Picastro seems to be a project that it’s really hard to define as you’re always open to experiment with the sound. Would you say that different lineup changes during the years influenced the project and its outcome?

Liz Hysen: Picastro is half its collaborators and half the theme I am running at the time. It definitely depends who is playing or collaborating with me, though in general the musicians I work with tend to understand the style of the band and work within it. I have never dictated anything though; I just write the song and let the rest happen through trust, it’s a great way to work for everyone.

In October we wrote about ‘I’ve never met a stranger,’ would you mind sharing some words about its creation?

Sure! I started it because I wanted to collaborate with musicians in my community that I missed. There was just no way of getting it back during COVID and I wasn’t interested at all in watching shows online or playing music online. So I picked some songs with the theme of chaos and chance because at the time, everything was uncertain and I wanted to enjoy that feeling as much as possible. Emailing and speaking to musicians really helped me understand and process my feelings about music. I also just wanted a more gentle album; no one really had much room for anything too scary or sad.

What’s the creative process for you like and did it change during the years? After all, you went through many different phases…

The creative process has changed, it used to be very slow with everyone working in the same room at the same time. I still do like working this way but it can be hard with everyone so busy. Now I try to do some of the arranging remotely and some in person. I am also trying to record more on my own in advance instead of just doing everything live and in person.

Are you currently working on something new?

Yes, I am working on a 7″ for Stoned to Death which is just music I am writing and arranging digitally only. And a split EP with Steve Gullick, that one is almost done.

What kind of records, books and fanzines would we find in your teenage room and were you attending any local shows back when you were younger?

Good question! I listened to a lot of Cult and Guns N’ Roses like everyone else until Nirvana appeared. I also loved the Cure and some other gothic bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees. I don’t think my taste in books was very exciting, I did like the Leonard Cohen book “Favourite Game” because it was so much different than anything I had read. There were great zines at the time! I only remember Hate and Fuzzy Heads are Better, but I did read them and enjoyed them. It was hard to go to shows as a teenager. Most of them you had to be 18 or older but I did see Dinosaur Jr. as a teenager and some local bands at cafes.

You released a lot of records and I think it would be really fantastic if you can share a sentence or two about each. What runs through your mind when you hear those records today.

‘Kamikaze Present’
Wow! I don’t know if I have a copy of this anymore. Recorded totally at home by myself on a 4-Track. The first and only time I ran my vocals through a flanger pedal!

‘Red Your Blues’
This one took so long but I still play a couple of songs from it and I would say it has a different feeling than the other records. I was still figuring things out.

‘Metal Cares’
I think the string arrangements on this one improve and take more shape, a lot of the songs are still some of my favourites.

‘Whore Luck’
I think this is where I start to realize I want to be a different singer but I can’t make the moves to change it and have a guest vocalist. I think the shorter catchy pop songs here are successful but I don’t want to admit it.

‘Become Secret’
More guest vocalists but more importantly this record is a really good sample of songs that maintain a theme all the way through. You can really hear the Luciano Cilio references in this one.

‘Fool, Redeemer’ (split with Najda)
Picastro was always a “heavy” band and this is just us trying to play around with heaviness and for the most part acoustic instruments.

‘You’
I tried to make a male vocals only album with this one, but it didn’t quite work. I do think the arrangements and song structures are pretty strong throughout.

‘Exit’
This concept album did happen more or less as I expected. I didn’t want to sing at all and had been slowly removing myself for years. Also Germaine Liu’ percussion really highlights my percussive guitar playing which I hadn’t really noticed until this album. It’s a good blend of beauty and chaos.

Would you also like to tell us about M.K. Ultra and Slowgun?

Sure! MK Ultra was the first name for Slowgun but is the same band. It was a band I was in as a teenager but all of us wrote songs and shared them. I think it became a good mix of noise and pop songs, I can hear the same aesthetic now in a lot of younger bands so I am glad it is still appealing! I didn’t sing at all in Slowgun and was so shy that I could not turn around and face the audience. I loved playing guitar really loudly in it and loved writing songs in that band.

Are you a classically trained musician? Do you come from a musical family?

No! Not at all. My entire family is deaf so I was raised with no music. I did like a lot of church music and traditional music when I heard it as a child but I am really self-taught and take piano lessons right now. I did take violin lessons as well for about 6 years.

Do you enjoy the freedom that comes from picking musicians in reference to specific projects?

I don’t always know who will work out, so there is freedom but it can be hard to plan for things too. Some people are not available and sometimes I think I should not look outwards so much but lately I have really enjoyed working on arrangements, even if it’s 10 seconds at a time. So there is freedom but it just makes things hard to plan, I think I secretly like chaos.

Do you discover new aspects of your songs developing in front of an audience?

Yes, for sure. Sometimes I am not sure if a song really works in a live setting but then I try it and see. For example, you might think a song is good live but then you realize it is better as a recording and that’s fine too. I am curious to see how it works from now on, I think touring and presenting music is going to be a lot different from now on (unless you are a larger band that can afford to tour)

Please, take a moment to talk about music that’s had an effect on your sound.

The biggest influence is really music where the singers are just plain singers and don’t put a lot of extras on their voice. I don’t mean no emotion, I mean singers who have less of an ego in their voice. So, Lou Reed, Townes Van Zandt, I love Nina Simone and Luciano Cilio too but for different reasons. Nina Simone’s arrangements and her conviction, Luciano Cilio for making beautiful songs that are heavy on mood.

Are there any songs from your past that you’d like to revisit or rework?

Yes, the Roky Erikson cover from ‘Whore Luck’. We do a live version with guitars and it’s just much better. That pump organ is too out of tune. Also, ‘Friend of Mine,’ we do a nice live version now as a trio.

“I try and recycle riffs when I can into other songs”

Have you ideas that refuse to step through the door with you? And what do you do with those sketches?

Sometimes I have half finished songs or just one riff I like to work on. I try and recycle them when I can into other songs if they work out. Mainly I have to finish a film I started 10 years ago, it’s all narrated by the soundtrack.

Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?

The Gillian Stone album ‘Spirit Photographs’ is fantastic. ‘Red State’ by the band Gowns, remember them? So good. And Reverend Gary Davis.