“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  - John 10:10 (KJV)

Life and That is the debut solo album by interdisciplinary artist Lisa E. Harris, out June 18 on arts collective and production company Studio Enertia. The album is a nine track recollection of original tunes being sung around a Texas campfire, a bluesy round of musical chairs and a drowsy line dance teetering on the border of dream land.
Inspired by the ethereal realms of love, inner searching, dreaming and also by the heavier concepts of debt, climate change and party games, Harris combines selected art songs from her archive with transcendent studio recorded improvisations. The result is thirty minutes of varied flows, moods, temperatures and tempo with lots of space for the listeners to play along.

PURCHASE ON BANDCAMP:

On Life And That

• Li Harris (voice, composition, theremin, piano) is joined by

• Charles Haynes (drums, percussion)

• Earl Burniss Travis,III (bass)

• Will Van Horn (pedal steel guitar)

• Clifton Joey Guidry (bassoon)

" Lisa E Harris sings from her entire being and for every atom that exists inside of it.

She is a force I intend to orbit around infinitely."

- Laura Lee, Khruangbin

“ She is a much needed special voice with an identity and something original to say... her voice makes a b-line straight to your soul....”

- Robert Glasper, Musician

"Lisa in April" is the second single from Life and That. On "Lisa in April" Li’s vocals are heard in trio with bass and drum, the foundation for the entire album. The lyrics are repetitive yet reflective, the melody catchy yet self-soothing, inviting listeners to not only sing along but to harmonize too.

“I was careful not to overproduce this song and others on the album because I want the listener to be able to hear their own inner voice and the atmosphere around them,” says Li.” I want them to consider what they can contribute to the moment. What can you contribute to yourself right now? To the vibration? To the Earth? What can you hear?”

Lisa also released a video for first single "Sallie Mizzle (The Student Loan Song)" in February. "Sallie Mizzle" is an ode to the educational loan monster Sallie Mae and an anthem that Harris hopes will get the world singing and dancing to the tune of loan forgiveness. At the close of 2020, Americans owed nearly $2 trillion in student loans, with Black women holding the highest student loan debt than any other racial or ethnic group.

Harris explains,

“When I was a 17 year old girl in Texas, with dreams of going to New York City to become an opera singer, I was soon approached with options to help pay for my education and make my dream a reality. No one told me I would be literally fighting an uphill battle of interest rates, credit devastation and outlandish debt for decades to come. The system is designed to intimidate, enslave and perpetually fail us."