LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
Deep, empowering and full of soul!
Hi welcome to LA Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music.
My name is Suzen also known as Susan Lucas. I am an independent artist and creative in Los Angeles. My sound roots from a few of my inspirations such as Tracy Chapman, Stevie Nicks and John Mayer just to name a few. I love taking these acoustic feels and adding cinematic elements to make a song feel like you’re experiencing a movie…through the story, tone and sound. I am also the producer and creator of my own visuals and am very passionate about filmmaking and I use this skill in my work for creating music videos.
I have been lucky enough to connect with amazing people who help bring my vision to life in both the music and film world. I’ve experienced an incredible amount of set backs on this journey but I am more than ever determined to stay focused in creating and sharing my vision, art and music. I believe stories can have the ability to heal…in exploring the deeper parts of ourselves that make us human we find freedom with the truth that helps us continue to move and in darker times, push forward. It’s all about spreading the love and good vibes.
Start streaming “Heaven” right here:
Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?
HEAVEN is a deeply personal project.
Released on October 7, 2021. I lost my mom to cancer at 17 and HEAVEN is a song that represents my grieving process and coming to terms with the loss. It’s a bit of sci-fi soul exploration and a ‘what-if’ scenario…like, what if we had the ability to have one more conversation with the one we lost and miss most. How would that shape us? Would we be ready? Or are we supposed to allow ourselves to let go without the feeling of guilt that we must learn to live the present and move on in their honor. Grief is complicated and tiring, HEAVEN honors every messy and beautiful emotion that comes with territory.
What is your vision for this song? What lessons would you like to impart with your audience?
My vision for HEAVEN is to hopefully have an impact on anyone who has gone through or is currently experiencing a deep loss…which accounts for a large majority of us. In sharing my journey I hope it empowers people to heal and have grace for themselves going through, what seems like, a never ending process of coming to peace.
The lesson here is to stay present, to remember but not get stuck on missing the past. We carry the legacy of the ones we love with us. By choosing the present we choose inner peace and restored faith that we are loved, safe and exactly where we are supposed to be.
What is your favorite part of this body of work?
Creating this record and sharing this story has been incredibly rewarding.
The song was written on acoustic guitar at midnight a few years ago honestly. I waited because I knew that I had to allow the story to unfold more before creating the sound. This record has seen many takes and I am so grateful for my amazing co-creators in supporting my process.
The visual that accompanies the record is honestly one of my favorite things I have ever done. It was a 2 day shoot on a shoestring budget but I made it work with an incredible support system and group of people who believed in the story enough to go on this journey with me. The video explores time traveling and the imagined middle ground between Heaven and Earth. I’m almost in a dream state chasing what I think is going to get me back to my mom but in reality at the end I learn that I need to allow the healing to happen, letting go and waking up in the present.
Anything else we should know about it? Future releases?
HEAVEN landmarks an important part of my story. Losing my mom at a young age has shaped every decision in my life and being able to heal through the art is deeply therapeutic. The records that follow this release will dive into navigating the world with out a mom, or the role of a mother in my life, to give me support and words of wisdom that I really wish I had. I would instead try filling in the gaps with what I think she might have done or said and honestly, it’s not been the best advice. Because it stems from fear and loss and mostly the parts of myself that didn’t better. The parts of me that thought if I had a magic answer then everything would work out. It doesn’t really add up like that ever and the upcoming music explores that.
Connect with Suzen
