With "Being Water" Lali Puna refine their distinctive take on pop andelectronics, pushing the boundaries towards classical songwriting. The foursongs - equally affecting and catchy as self-reflected and aloof - arecomplemented by the airy tripiness of a remix by Dave DK (Kompakt, PampaRecords). Although singer Valerie Trebeljahr wrote "Being Water" mostly by herself,being backed by bandmates Christian Heiß and Christoph Brandner, she rejectsthe idea of authorship: "Nothing comes out of myself. I'm a sampler: I writemusic because I listen to music. And I write lyrics because I read".Accordingly, topics and references of "Being Water" vary quite widely: "Who'sThat Genius" pays tribute to Virginia Woolf and Madonna - and questions whythe term 'genius' is still connoted primarily with maleness. The title trackrefers to the famous Bruce Lee quote "Be formless, shapeless, like water" -but here it is turned upside down: It was Hito Steyerl's video work "LiquidityInc." that got Valerie's attention, re-reading the quote as a neoliberalparadigm. In contrast, a title like "For Only Love" might sound a little naiveas Valerie claims - but: "It surely won't be hate that will save us all". Thelyrics were written after watching Obaidah Zytoons and Andreas Dalsgaardsdocumentary "The War Show". "Diversity is queen" - this goes for the music as well. While the dreamy popof "Who's That Genius" or the catchy guitar loops of "Being Water" are in thesame vein of Lali Puna's earlier albums, the free-floating piano chords andtricky rhythm patterns of "Beatx" in some ways mark new territory as Valerieexplains: "I am very proud of this song because it is so fiddly. I thoughtthat was something reserved for men".