Liam McGenity is a musician from Widnes, England, who is studying abroad at MSU this year and majoring in business management. He recently released his first EP, “The Peaks,” which was recorded at Basscamp Recording in Bozeman and symbolizes his experiences in Montana.
The album's artwork features McGenity sitting on top of a mountain with five other "Peaks" visible in the background. "I wanted it to be a story of my time in Bozeman," said McGenity. "Each mountaintop represents each different song on the EP as a peak of my life. I'm sitting on top of "Montañas," which is the most recent song, the most recent peak, and the rest are in the background."
At 20 years old, McGenity is soft-spoken and enjoys taking in the world around him. “I just like speaking to people. I speak to anyone that I can,” he said. “I like to party of course, and I work quite hard.” McGenity works as his own manager and hopes to start a record label in the future.
His music reflects his work ethic; the clean sounds of “The Peaks” make it hard to believe it’s his first studio EP.
McGenity's music can be described as indie acoustic; he writes all of his songs on guitar and the lyrics to go with them. He said the lyrics are harder to write because "I always try to get them to mean as much as possible.” McGenity plays live shows solo and writes his music alone, but “The Peaks” was recorded with harmonies and vocals, different guitar parts and three studio musicians on bass, drums and synth. Still, the EP expresses the solo nature of McGenity's music.
“I always write on my own, normally at about three in the morning,” McGenity said of his songwriting technique. “To be honest, if I wasn't living in the dorms, I probably would have written quite a bit more this year, but I'm going to remember everything and take it all down for the future.”
McGenity will play at the MSU Food Bazaar on Feb. 18 in the SUB Ballrooms, and again at Norris Hot Springs on March 19.
“The Peaks” is available digitally on iTunes and Amazon mp3. You can get a signed hardcopy from McGenity in person or at one of his shows. To order the EP, contact McGenity about booking a show or to find out anything else you may want to know about his music, visit liammcgenity.com.
