Super Libra Energy: Revenge Wife On Unexpected Inspirations And The State Of The Music Industry

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Revenge Wife always has a vision. Her intricately detailed shows and mesmerising live performances always have layers of meaning behind them. Her concepts are pointed, her mission is to create worlds for her audience. Taking inspiration from drag queen performances, Italo Disco, Y2K dance, and currently, purple amethyst energy, the former HOLYCHILD singer Liz Nistico always has a newness she's laced into her artistic output, and it's always focused on the unexpected. 

Her string of singles have pieced together a story with the next one, Confessions of an Earth Angel, promising to tie the narratives together. The song immediately feels transcendental: Nistico’s gentle voice lures you in, "I think I'm waiting for you," she coos over the whimsical chorus. "I feel it up and down. I want to have you now," she plays between these naive and commanding tones that shift between her train of thought. Her art and her music always leave room for interpretation; that's just how she likes it. Once you step foot into Revenge Wife's world, it's hard to leave.

What is the Revenge Wife story? Does it feel like a character to you?

It's not like a character. It's kind of like a David Lynchesque story. There are these two versions of myself that keep coming up: the good version and the bad version. But it's so me. In Boyfriend, it ends, and it's all POV, and at the end, you see it's two versions of myself. It kind of picks up, and it goes back to Deathwish. Confessions of an Earth Angel summarises a lot of the past videos and makes it all make sense. 

I feel like you have such a vision for yourself as an artist. You don't chase trends.

I definitely feel like I'm aware of certain trends. I like to take everything that I like and put it together and feel balanced. It's super-libra energy. I like the balance of pulling from different things. There's 80s inspiration, 90s inspiration, 70s inspiration, and 2000s, and I pull from what I personally like. The way I interpret trends is I hear what people are doing, then I feel inside of me, "I wish someone was doing this but no one is doing this" - that's what I end up doing. 

Some are saying music videos aren't important anymore, but they're so integral to your art. Why are visuals such a critical part of your narrative?

I started making music in 2012, it was such a YouTube time. That was a huge part of HOLYCHILD’s narrative. I don't know if there's some combination of my past that keeps that important. I am a director, and I like feeling like you enter a world when you connect with my art. The brain has this great ability to block out the external. When you're watching a TV show, you can feel inside of it. You're just in the world. I feel that way with music videos, and I feel the same way about the show. You feel like you're inside this ethereal world where everything's possible, and things are beautiful and scary, and that's the world I like creating. I disagree with people who say music videos aren't important because I do think that they help make a musician’s world. Even if they're not watching the full thing, it does push what you're creating as an artist.

You put so much detail into your shows. What's the inspiration behind that? What goes on behind the scenes?

I have been performing for ten years with a band, so I have so much experience being on stage, and I'm a dancer. That was my first art form. What I'm doing now is what I wanted to do the whole time. At a show, we're changing things on the fly; things feel malleable. It took me about a year to choreograph all of my show. 

I wanted it to feel like a loose dance party where the choreography is funny sometimes. We have one part where we're muscle men and another where we're holding onto our crotch. There are other parts where it's very feminine or witchy, and we're playing with each other's hair. It feels really image-based. I love Italian art, so a lot of Caravaggio and Raphael images. I definitely am pulling in Renaissance paintings of how I can create these tableaus. It's a little ridiculous, but I see it so clearly in my mind. 

I love the intimacy. It feels like you're involved in the audience. 

I'm constantly thinking about the connection between the artist and the audience. That's a huge necessity in the show. The people involved are such an integral part. When I look at really good actors, what is beautiful about acting is watching people genuinely connect, and I feel the same way about music performances. 

What is something that has been worrying you as an artist in the current music industry?

We don't have any unions for musicians. When you look at the writers' strike and SAG, we don't have anybody. I think musicians are hopeful that some standards will be set in acting and the film industry that trickles over, but I don't think that's going to happen. What company, out of the goodness of their heart, will pay more? They're not going to. We don't have any unification of artists in a serious way that can protect artists. These things should be standardised. 

When people say that the market is oversaturated with musicians, do you feel like that's happening? Is it hard to get heard, or has that always been the case? 

Maybe that's for the best. I do wish we started thinking of the music industry as less of an industry and more of a pyramid scheme because you have to pay for everything. There are so many expenses. It's amazing so many people are making music. I wish everybody in the world would make music because that would be so beautiful. I think we have this idea like, "If I put money into this thing, it will work out," but I don't like thinking of it as a small business anymore. It's this thing we're feeding. 

I saw you talking about turning 35 recently. Do you feel like that's been a significant shift for you in your career? 

I've been really inspired to talk about growing into myself as an artist who's getting older but still doing pop. I still feel like my face is a part of my project. I think it's interesting to be growing into myself in that way. I feel like nobody talks about it. I felt like I had an existential crisis this year to stop doing music or do something more stable. There are all these biological aspects to it. What is my worth, and what is my long-term investment in myself? I just want to continue growing and be honest about what I'm going through as an artist so people can feel comfortable in their path. 

Words: Emily Treadgold | Photos: Miss World | Makeup: Elaina Karras | Styled: Rabot, Necklace: Lenore Melo and Ring: Medeas

Revenge Wife’s single, Confessions of an Earth Angel, is out now.