Harmonie Lirenman Weaves Detailed Melodies in New York City
Harmonie Lirenman, born and raised in New York’s Lower East Side, approached musical expression with unfiltered intensity and delicacy from a young age. From majoring in vocals at Laguardia High School to studying Ethnomusicology and Urban Studies at Barnard College, Lirenman engages with music through a lens of reciprocity and intent. Around one year ago, her debut single Settle was released and since then, she has built an ambitious portfolio of singles and an EP– each reflecting her vulnerable introspection and fearless command of voice and authenticity.
When I sat down with Lirenman, her warmth and softness immediately filled the space around us. The distinction between her presence and her music is almost nonexistent—they are one and the same. Both overflow with bright nostalgia and youthful spontaneity, yet carry a quiet, grounded peace. Lirenman communicates with a natural rhythm and sensitivity, her expressive quality manifesting in songs that unfold like hypnotic sagas, tender and kaleidoscopic.
Lirenman’s artistry is rooted in an intuitive approach to sound, where emotion dictates form and texture. Her music extends out of her inner world– it melds elements of folk, indie, and dream pop into something deeply personal yet universally resonant. She leans into imperfection by embracing rawness as a vehicle for honesty and she lets listeners step into her world as if they were flipping through pages of a well-worn journal. Whether weaving detailed melodies or letting her voice crack with feeling, she crafts an atmosphere that lingers long after the song’s end.
Do you remember how/when music became your medium?
My parents put me in violin lessons when I was two years old, and I played on a cardboard violin for a bit. Then I took piano lessons too and I always liked it but it was never really my passion. And then, I joined a youth chorus, and that was really where I fell in love– I was one year younger than everyone else– and it was this old, New York, 80 year old woman, who was so passionate about it. I did all of these operas and all sorts of stuff, and then I joined a professional chorus [Brooklyn Youth Chorus], and basically, music has been with me my whole life. But, I think that singing has really been the main part of it.
Is there any one of your songs that you feel most attached to?
I think Settle, because it’s the first one that I got out into the world. That feeling was so good because I had been working towards it for so long and I was just so glad to have it out and accessible and the feedback I got from it was amazing. I got my friend Jasper to do the album cover for me and it was such a combination of so much work. I’m so attached to that one.
Can you talk about what creating Settle was like? And also, if before you write songs, do you know what you want the song to sound like? Or is it more of an accumulation of work that you’ve done.
I think I have a general aesthetic sense as to how I want most of my music to sound like. When it comes to individual songs, I don’t necessarily have a clear thought in mind and I kind of just let it build with the different layers that I’m adding. The process of creating settle was that I had written it in high school, I had started writing it in the basement of my high school, and then I recorded it at Bunker Studio in Williamsburg– I recorded just the guitar part and the vocal part then I added a mellotron, which is now like my favorite instrument ever- its a keyboard that plays the sound of other instruments, so in this case it was like a flute. The sounds meshed together really well, it was the first song I was really happy with.
How do you tend to find inspiration for your music?
When it comes to the music itself, there are a lot of artists that I look up to, I love Weyes Blood, Jessica Pratt, and just like all of the artists that I grew up on. Even David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, I can’t say that my sound really resembles them, but they still bring me inspiration. It’s very subconscious. It’s always like small snippets of things come to me at random times. And often that’s not dependable because I don’t get those snippets.
Do you think you also find inspiration from experiences you’ve had?
For sure, yea definitely. I think that most of my EP is about transitional periods, and like growing up and whatnot. Cheesy stuff but I try to make it more beautiful by making it music. And also to speak to my own experience because that’s how you make things more real, I suppose.
And what was the process of recording your EP?
I recorded with Eyal Marcovici in Bunker Studios. I started out interning for him, and we just kind of started making music together. He ended up really recording my EP, and I’m so thankful to him. I would not have been able to do it without him. He brought me so much guidance. I always had a clear idea in mind of where I wanted songs to go, but I really would not have been able to bring them to fruition without him.
Have you noticed the way your style has changed over the years?
It’s definitely evolved, just by the nature of not being 15 anymore. Recently I feel like I’ve been trying to step out of the box a bit more and use different sounds and instruments and synths and stuff. Before I was very much into my music feeling simple and unproduced and bare bones. Now I’m very open to building more.
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