CLOZURE – A COOL CONVERSATION WITH NIKOLLAJ LIESHI
By Ralph Beauchamp
CloZure is a hard hitting female fronted five piece based out of South Alabama. The band recently dropped its third single this year entitled “Criminal Mind” via Wake Up! Music Rocks!. CloZure‘s previous singles,”Nevermore” and “The Devil Effect” received critical acclaim by both critics and fans alike. The tracks were recorded at 1979 Studios in Nashville and produced by the esteemed Malcolm Springer. In addition, the band delivered a well crafted cover of “Bring Me To Life” by Evanescence.
CloZure has gone through dynamic line-up changes but this new group of musicians is solid. The ensemble consists of Michael Cordle (Lead Guitar), Matthew Russell (Rhythm Guitar) and Michael McCann (Drums). Lead vocalist Nikollaj Lieshi and bassist Zack Taylor are the newest members. Their sound is eerily dark with romantic overtones. The guitars rip while the backbeat is full of invincible palettes of exotic textures. Nikollaj’s vocals carry savage soundscapes while remaining melodically fresh and aurally inspiring. CloZure is a band with phenomenal potential and will conquer the musical universe in the very near future.
Nikollaj Lieshi was kind enough to sit with AMP for this cool conversation.
AMP: Can you give our readers a brief history of the band?
NIKOLLAj: CloZure has been around for a while but the current line-up didn’t start till Sept. of 2023. I met the band via the internet and their management. In November of 2023, we went through a major pivot. We became female fronted and took a more gothic and sexier stance in our music. Our first single with me and our new bass player, Zack, was earlier this year. We joined a couple of tours including playing with Powerman 5000, Tantric, Sponge and Fozzy with Chris Jericho. There was no slowing us down this year and 2025 is even going to be crazier.
AMP: What is the band’s creative process like?
NIKOLLAj: There is always a lot going on. We are constantly talking. If I or any of the other band members are going through something, we discuss our feeling and how to best express those thoughts in our songs. Most of the time it starts with either of our two guitarists coming up with a riff. From there I jump in with some sort of melody. Zack comes in with an audacious bass line and Michael, our drummer, dives in last and sends us in the direction we need to be. Drums can make or break a song. It can steer a track towards the alternative or metal edge but the guitars usually take the lead.
AMP: You’ve have released a series of galvanic singles this year. Is there an EP or full length in the making?
NIKOLLAj: I would say right now we are focusing more on singles. That’s because CloZure fans are still wrapping their heads around our new sound. So, by releasing singles, we are able to better curate our newly formed image. It gives us the opportunity to build a story around each song. This will show our fans who we really are. It’s like we are orchestrating a pilot episode of a new TV series and with each subsequent episode, our fans get to see us grow. Singles definitely gives us that freedom.
AMP: How would you describe your sound?
NIKOLLAj: As of right now, I would say it’s dark gothic rock with slight nuances of alternative but we are mindful of radio in order to bring more people into the fold even if they’re not big into rock & roll. We offer some hard hitting drums with a funky bass line. Add powerful eclectic guitar riffs and thick and heavy clean vocals and you get CloZure. I like describing my voice as a rock & roll Adele.
AMP: Your cover of Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” is killer. Who picked the track?
NIKOLLAj: I’m not sure we necessarily picked it. On our first tour with Powerman 5000, Tantric and Sponge, a comparison to Evanescence was constantly being made by so many people. We figured if so many fans were mentioning it, we should go with the flow and throw in an Evanescence cover. In addition, we are still a fairly new band and popping in a song everyone is familiar with just keeps the audience a little more engaged. Also, my good friend Josh (Roberts) of Magnolia Park was more than excited to jump on board with a collab. In reality, the song came from all the feedback we received.
AMP: Speaking of collabs, if you could collaborate with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
NIKOLLAj: I would say Ozzy because I genuinely love his vocal tone. Every word in his lyrics has so much weight. Serge from System of a Down is another one. My guitarist, Matt, writes some dark and sexy kind of Deftones riffs and combine them with an Ozzy or Serge vocal performance coupled with mine, that would be incredible. It would be one angry and passionate song.
AMP: “Criminal Mind” is your latest single. Can you give us a little insight into the track?
NIKOLLAj: “Criminal Mind” is an interesting song. The object was just to write a simple go-to rock & roll tune that we always wanted under our belts. We just wanted something fun and easy to listen to. I think the process of the accompanying music video is actually more interesting because we weren’t going to release “Criminal Mind” next. We had a different song selected. A week before our last tour, our people scrapped the other track and said we need a video for “Criminal Mind” as soon as possible.
My best friend/tour manager and I went to Best Buy and brought a camera. So, the whole video was filmed on our tour with us doing stupid stuff. The video fits so well with the lyrics. It’s just fun. In addition, Josh of Magnolia Park did the editing. It was a community affair.
AMP: What kind of themes do you embed in your songs?
NIKOLLAj: I don’t think there are any themes. We never seem to write with an intentional storyline. Each song is about something one of us is going through. Our music is personal.
AMP: Dynamics is a major factor in the life of any band. What’s CloZure’s dynamics like?
NIKOLLAj: Our dynamics and story are very special. On our first tour, our bus broke down. I’ve always felt that was a make-it or break-it moment and because of that we actually got closer. On our second tour, the bus broke down twice and that brought us even closer. Don’t get me wrong, we fight and sometimes want to rip each others heads off but we are a family and like a family, we work through it. Our dynamics is very family oriented. The more we tour and hang out together, it’s no longer a band but a group of brothers and a sister.
AMP: You just toured with Fozzy. How was that and do you have any great stories to tell?
NIKOLLAj: Like I mentioned before, that first tour saw our bus catch fire on the very first day. We had just checked the vehicle for any issues. Since I am a heavy sleeper, I didn’t even know it was happening. Our tour manager had to walk to the back to wake me up and that is where the fire started. Also, we really got close to Tantric. Even to the point that it felt like we were all in one band.
On the Fozzy tour, Chris Jericho and his whole team were the nicest people. At one point, Jericho left his tour bus to come say hi to my nephew. My family is very big into wrestling. So, when he came over to surprise him, the kid practically went into shock. It was great to see and after that my nephew became so helpful. He helped load Fozzy’s equipment on stage. I think he thought if he helped out we would take him on the rest of the tour.
AMP: What’s next for CloZure?
NIKOLLAj: A lot! We are working on a series of tours for 2025 which I an not at liberty to discuss yet. We also are going into the studio for the whole month of January with our producer, Malcolm Springer, to hopefully record 5-6 new tracks. So, we should have a good group of releases ready for 2025.
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