THE LIFERS

SHORT 

The Lifers, led by sisters Liv and Anita Cazzola, are an art-folk/rock collective from Guelph, Ontario. Their intertwined voices dynamically convey vulnerability and strength, confronting the fragility of our world and ourselves. Their latest release "Honey Suite" employs conventional instruments in unconventional ways, garnering them a nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year through the Canadian Folk Music Awards. Folk music has never sounded so immediate. 

LONG 

The Lifers, led by sisters Liv and Anita Cazzola, are an art-folk/rock collective from Guelph, Ontario. Their intertwined voices dynamically convey vulnerability and strength. Softly plucked strings, accordion swells, and lush cello and upright bass arrangements give way to rip-roaring drums, soaring melodies and overdriven frenetic strums. Their stories juxtapose tenderness and explosive energy, sometimes within a single breath. The Lifers explore notions of home, family and community, highlighting the beauty, vulnerability and power of nature, challenging both genre and audience. 

With influences like Feist, Dan Mangan and The Staves, The Lifers have released LP "Honey Suite" (2018), LP "Out and In" (2016) and EP "Set the Sails" (2014). Their work on Honey Suite garnered The Lifers a nomination for Emerging Artist of the Year through the Canadian Folk Music Awards in 2018. They also recently received the inaugural Bandoozle-sponsored Best Website Award through Folk Music Ontario this fall. Whether in an intimate duo arrangement or with the thunderous six-piece band, The Lifers have been an unexpected gem at festivals such as Hillside and Summerfolk (2016), on Canada's East (2015, 2017, 2018) and West (2015) Coasts, and in listening rooms and on radio waves around Southern Ontario. 

The Lifers released their sophomore album Honey Suite in May, 2018. Their new material is more personal than ever, touching on themes of place, sisterhood, mental health, and environment. To contribute to the push towards a sustainable and equitable future, 75% of the album collaborators are female-identifying, 85% are under 30, and their activities and process reflects their mindfulness and research on how each activity impacts the environment. They toured the album across Ontario, the East Coast, USA and Europe last spring/summer, and have since returned to the Maritimes in Winter 2019.  They are making their way through Ontario again this spring and summer with renewed energy and grounded intentions for positive communal growth. 

SINGLES AND ALBUM 

SINGLE: Front Door - January 16, 2018 

On the surface, Front Door is about the struggle to identify with various spaces we call “home” - in the past seven years, Liv and Anita have lived in 10 different houses, whether together or apart. “I find a lot of comfort in objects that I’ve carried with me through the different places I’ve lived in.  They are the only constant things I have access to despite moving around,” says Anita. 

At its heart, this song explores the emotional degradation that comes with damaging the earth through consumerism, planned obsolescence and object detachment. The sisters struggle to bring their consumption to a halt while living in a society that is based on wasteful and disposable practices. 

SINGLE: Sister - March 16, 2018 

Sister is about working with family and touring the country for the first time while suffering from anxiety. This song epitomizes Liv and Anita’s relationship, allowing listeners to learn about them musically, lyrically and personally. Feelings of sadness, self-doubt, and fear of disappointment give way to self-honesty and forgiveness in this upbeat tune. 

“When Anita first played this song for me, I wept. Our relationship is so beautiful and complex, and Sister expresses this more clearly than we’ve never been able to, in our many heart to hearts,” says Liv. 

FULL ALBUM: Honey Suite - May 16, 2018 

The Lifers’ sophomore album, Honey Suite, shows a significant development from “folk singer-songwriter” to a powerhouse art-folk/rock group. The album covers a range of emotional and sonic characteristics, from cinematic, intricate dynamics to incredibly raw and bare arrangements. With more articulated instrumentation and arrangements (strings, wind, horns, electronics), this album is more personal than ever, touching on themes of place, sisterhood, mental health, and environment. 

Rooted in female empowerment and environmental activism, Honey Suite covers themes of displacement, discomfort and disorientation in relation to what we call home. Some of the album’s stories include: local folklore on a neighbourhood’s demolition in creating Guelph Lake; touring Canada with your sister while struggling with anxiety; consumerism relating to planned obsolescence and object detachment; season changes relating to unstable human emotion and nomadism.