Meet Lydia Li | Film Composer & Singer Songwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lydia Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lydia, how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?
It’s natural to want to feel comfortable and not take many risks, however, if we only make safe choices and never challenge ourselves we risk missing out on priceless growth experiences. When stepping out of my comfort zone, I sometimes overthink and downplay my abilities, but when push comes to shove I always find myself going above and beyond what I thought was possible. Overcoming those seemingly hard-to-reach moments are what have helped me become stronger and more confident in many aspects of my life. Even in times where things didn’t turn out well, those experiences weren’t in vain – they’ve become valuable lessons and in some cases even serve as motivation to be better. These risks directly and indirectly have been and continue to be the building blocks to my success.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
Music has always been my passion and I’m very fortunate to be in a position now where my profession is something that I love. Nowadays I work on telling stories and evoking feelings in many different types of media through music. Part of the process involves immersing myself in a story and from there fleshing out a scene through the use of sounds. It’s important to think of context with certain scenes and to paint a picture of the certain perspectives that’re being emphasized; in some scenes I begin conceptualizing the sounds through the perspective of the narrator, or the main character, or even the audience. Part of what makes that process so enjoyable for me is exploring new sounds and concepts to come up with a special palette for each project I’m involved in.

There’s definitely challenges along the way, especially at the start. When you first enter the industry it’s easy to get lost. That’s how I felt initially, but after some time I started meeting more people and had been exploring my own voice/style to the point where I was becoming more and more confident and comfortable. Like I mentioned before, it’s important to step out of your comfort zone and to push your limits. Even if it’s baby steps, do it. It’ll help you tremendously in the long run – you might not notice the day-by-day change but over time you’ll see just how dramatic of a change it’ll have made.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
When I first moved to Los Angeles, I lived in Century City and didn’t have a car so I would mainly venture out to places within walking distance of my apartment. One of the local spots nearby was Rancho Park Golf Course. It’s a beautiful 18 hole course with a driving range and lots of other amenities in the middle of West LA for a great price, it boasts beautiful views and is especially charming at sunset. Rancho Park quickly became one of my favorite places to go to as it was so convenient for me and offered me a means of disconnecting from the world for a few hours and forgetting about the stresses of everyday life.

Eventually after getting a car, I discovered another hobby I love – hiking. With the beautiful weather and landscape of the LA area there’s been a plethora of locations I’ve visited, one of my favorites is Deep Creek Hot Springs in San Bernardino County. The drive to get up to the top of the mountain is gorgeous with stunning views cutting through the middle of a movie-esque mountain town near the top. Once on the trail, you begin hiking down through the mountain’s desertous terrain for about two hours with the last 30 minutes being a descent of nearly 900ft. It’s a treacherous and exhausting hike, especially in the middle of Summer, but at the same time beautiful and mesmerizing being immersed in such a surreal environment with the only noises around you coming from the nature around you. And finally at the end of the descent you’re rewarded with a gorgeous hot spring oasis enclosed within the mountainous terrain. It’s funny that most people who’ve done the hike have said it’s easy going down and hard going back up, but for me, it was challenging both ways.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m extremely grateful to my parents, especially my mother – she’s one of the few people who have supported and encouraged all of my dreams for as long as I can remember. Initially when I first started considering changing my career path and focusing on music composition, many of the people around me disapproved of the idea. She was the one person who has always believed in me and has helped me believe in myself. I wouldn’t be where I am today without her support.

Website: www.lydialimusic.com

Instagram: instagram.com/lydialimusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC76rlTaI_T_bqhNaEft6BLw