ŽIVA: ŽIIVA, perfectionism & rebuilding from scratch

We welcome special guest ŽIVA - the solo project of Croatian-born, Melbourne-based artist Lucija Ivšić, whose second album ŽIIVA is out now. Lucija's story is genuinely remarkable: she fronted acclaimed Croatian post-punk band Punčke from age 14, touring 30 countries and sharing stages with Queens of the Stone Age, before walking away at the band's peak, moving to Melbourne, and starting completely over. Now a PhD researcher at Monash University and lecturer at Monash Arts, she creates visceral, bilingual electronic music built live in real time through looping, vocal processing, and instrumentation.In this episode we talk about why ŽIIVA almost didn't come out - the perfectionism spiral, the friendship fallouts, and the knee injury that happened mid-stage-dive during a Brunswick show, leaving her bedridden for months with a metal brace. We also get into what it actually takes to build a song live from nothing in front of an audience, how Croatian folk traditions and language became a tool for reclaiming identity in displacement, and the limited edition 3D-printed CD she hand-assembled herself.ŽIIVA is out now. ŽIVA plays Cactus Room, Thornbury on Friday 17 April.