Artpop artist LIJO doesn’t make superficial music, but creates songs that gets people thinking as well as dancing and singing along. Aren’t we thinking about ourselves a lot? On a small scale, we all are the main characters of our own little shows. On a bigger one we act like we are the main character in this world. Eccentric and literate songstress LIJO addresses this and its consequences, but then decorates it with a sense of lightheartedness and danceability, flowing melodies and feverish sounds. Because as she puts it, all we can and should do is add beauty to a world that needs it. Being from a small village, LIJO grew up to be a self-taught pianist and songwriter with little knowledge of popmusic, which laid the foundation for her quirky sense of melody and lyrics and her genre-bending writing style. Having been the driving force behind cinematic folkpop band ILEN MER, launching her solo project under the moniker LIJO marked the start of her exploration of electronic elements in her music. Opening her ears to artists like St Vincent and Roísin Murphy as well as Depeche Mode and Kate Bush, her music, still hard to put in a box, was soon labeled AVANT POP or ARTPOP. Her untameable curiosity and urge to keep renewing herself are reflected in a live performance that’s always in motion. LIJO plays with synths, beats and loops in her electronic set and is intrigued by working with guest musicians, which resulted in a collaboration with electronic cellist Mirthe de Jonge, though her songs are just as convincing stripped down to the naked core with only a piano and her characteristic vocals.