“It’s not a violin, it’s a VIOLA,”

a phrase Christen Lien has repeated so often, she based her website address on the statement. United Divas began featuring her at their events Dig and Sprout in Hollywood back in 2004. Soon after, she moved on to Ann Arbor Michigan to take over the Film Festival. After helping to successfully defend first amendment rights on behalf of the film festival, she returns to her music career and the city of angels, releasing her album Battle Cry. We have one of the songs right here for you to listen to and download for free if you like.  Our staff writer Middlepoet caught up with Christen for an interview, so hit play and check out the Q&A.

Christen Lien – Unconditional, from the album Battle Cry

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(Visit itsnotaviolin.com for a FREE DOWNLOAD!!!)

What is the difference between a violin and a viola?

A viola is a 5th lower than a violin (5th = 5-notes/steps lower), so it is more sonorous in tone. One plays the viola the same way they’d play a violin, but it’s larger in size, and has one string lower than a violin. Violas have the same strings of a cello, but the tones are an octave higher.

How has your mixed ethnic background shaped your music?

I’m half-Vietnamese, a quarter Celtic (Ireland/Scotland) and a quarter Slovenian. I can definitely identify with the Celtic ballads and the Eastern European minor keys in the moody sounds of my music. I would say that the Asian influence is more apparent in my discipline and ambition around the music and my lifestyle, rather than in the sounds I create. I’ve played the viola for 24 years and had to work long hours for many years to get here, so I’m glad the intense and determined Asian blood keeps me on my toes!

Who or what influences your art?

Passion. Shadows, and our relationship to them. Concepts and feelings that are so complex that only music can fully examine its existence and depth, and then finding the simplicity and universal within that concept or feeling. The strength and fragility of the human spirit. Sounds that are unexpected and seem to come from the natural world, and sounds that are so classic and simple that they are familiar, as though we heard that sound all along.

As for the people who most influence my art, I would say Bjork, Radiohead, Prince, RZA, Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Nine Inch Nails, Tori Amos, Buena Vista Social Club, Hans Zimmer and last but not least the classical kings J.S. Bach, Antonin Dvorak.

Why did you name your album “Battle Cry”?

I’ll default to the text that is inside the CD, which explains it all:

“Vol I: Battle Cry is a musical depiction of the emotional journey we each take to unlock our power. I wrote this album to support you in finding and releasing your battle cry in a moment in time when we are faced with what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described as the “fierce urgency of now” — when our vigilance or neglect determines the fate of generations. In each of us lives a unique passion – a dream that wants to be worked into reality. It is critical for your dream to be manifested, for your gift to be given, for your power to be brought forth if we are to rise together and overcome our collective challenges. My dream is that this music will support you, as you step into your power and offer all you have to give.”

How did you get started playing the viola?

My older brother plays the viola. He started a few years before I did, so I would listen to him practice and make notes, and then daydream about the kind of way I would play a song or a note. I waited until I was big enough to play; I was so excited. When it came time to pick the instrument at school, the teacher tried to convince me to play the violin — but I insisted on the viola.

When did you begin to use an effects processor in your performances?

In 2005 I bought my first effects processor, then soon after a looping machine. Right after I got the new toys, my viola was stolen, so I had to go a few years sans music (boo) and was delayed. I finally got a viola and got back in the full swing of music in 2007, so I’d say that I’ve been properly jamming on those toys since then.

What is your favorite word?

Champs-Elysées. My favorite word is a road. It’s the avenue in Paris, France. I lived there for a short time, and whenever I hear that street name said correctly, it’s like butter.

How did growing up in the mid-west shape you musically and artistically?

What a good question. I’m not sure if the MidWest affected my music more than a few other factors. My stomping ground is the rave/electronic underground scene, so the MidWest underground scene was an influence. A huge musical benefit to being in Cleveland was having access to the Cleveland Orchestra. When I was 15 and all through high school, I was in the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. We worked privately and personally with members of the Cleveland Orchestra to hone our skills, and rehearsed and performed in the magnificent Severence Hall. That was an incredible training ground.

In what ways do the environments you live in shape your music?

In major ways. I split my residency between California and Washington DC these days. When I’m in California, if I’m in Los Angeles I play less music and am more in the mind of business. When I’m in my house in California (which is outside of LA and submerged in nature), I’ll make music for hours and the creativity doesn’t stop. When I’m in Washington DC, I find myself hiding out in our basement apartment because the energy there is kinda freaky… cerebral and cynical… Washington DC is actually an incredibly stimulating place for an artist, but it’s because of it’s enormous shadow. So when I’m in DC, I socialize for brief moments, then hide out and write a lot of music because I have a lot to think about and muse over.

Growing up, how many hours a day did you spend practicing the viola?

OK, confession. When I was young, I didn’t practice as much as people thought I did! Ah, the truth comes out!! I would play for a few hours every day or most likely every other day. That may sound like a lot to some, but for hardcore musicians and anyone in the classical scene, it is not.

Do you find a connection between your activism and your music?

Absolutely. One fuels the other. Especially since the challenges on our plate as a species can be overwhelming at times. Music helps us digest and confront; it allows us to digest and explore complicated issues and difficult emotions. I cannot communicate any better than through music, and I can embody many emotions, to the depths, with music. My hope is that in the process of exploring the life in this way, the songs will help others examine and better understand the darker and brighter sides of life, which include their own shadows and inspiration.

When 15 Aftermaths was used for the “Message From Midway” video that showcased Chris Jordan’s photos of the albatross from Midway Atoll who suffered from plastic pollution, I was so deeply honored to be of service by aiding the process for the world to see these images for the first time. Someone recently said to me, “Thank you for that song. You held our hands as we watched a horrific fact of life. I don’t know if I could’ve watched those images and digested the reality of our plastic waste if  the blanket of your song was not there to hold me at that moment. Instead, I would have walked away.”

That is one example of the compassion, confrontation and intense depth of the space that music can hold. The Greeks believed that music and astronomy were two sides of the same coin. Astronomy helps us understand our physical place in the world and our relationship to space, and music helps us understand our internal make-up, and where we stand on life, emotionally and spiritually. If we musicians can be of service in that regard, I think it is the greatest honor of all.

Where can somebody see you perform and how does one go about buying your music?

You can purchase my CD “Vol. I: Battle Cry” and learn about gigs, projects and other travel adventures on my website: http://itsnotaviolin.com. The CD is also available on iTunes, Amazon, and CD Baby. In February, I’ll be playing a few venues in the Pacific Northwest (Seattle, Whidbey Island & Vancouver), and in March and April I have some interesting shows planned in California. Itsnotaviolin.com will have all the details!

About :

Using guitar effects and a looping machine, classically trained violist Christen Lien performs original compositions on viola and harmonica that are a beautiful mixture of East and West, classical and postmodern, and acoustic and electronic. Lien’s debut album is called Vol. I: Battle Cry and it reflects a 24-year journey of mastering, then challenging and expanding classical Viola expression. Spontaneously creating then incorporating layers of live effects, Lien paints music with guitar effect pedals, live looping, melodic mixing and expressive performance. For more info, visit www.itsnotaviolin.com.

photography (Christen with sunflowers) by Meredith Zielke | Banner design by Jan Tompkins