Music News - Lontalius, announces debut album and shares new single, GLOW
29 January 2016 - 0 Comments
Lontalius (Wellington's Eddie Johnston) has shared details
on his debut album, I'll
Forget 17, including lead single Glow.
LISTEN: Glow on SoundCloud or NYLON
Johnston says of the
song, "Glow is about
feeling like you should have negative feelings for an ex but realising they
were actually alright. People are beautiful and relationships are too. I just
wanted to write a pop song."
Lontalius will release a
new track from the album each week leading up to release via his website athttp://www.lontalius.com/.
I'll Forget 17 will be released March 25, 2016 on POD via Rhythmethod.
LISTEN: Kick in the Head on SoundCloud or The Line of
Best Fit.
LISTEN: Mooncatch on SoundCloud or Gorilla vs
Bear.
WATCH: All I Wanna Say on VEVO / YouTube / i-D Magazine.
Lontalius plays Auckland's St Jerome's Laneway on Monday, February 1st - Cactus Cat Stage - 1.05pm.
"Drowsy, delicately processed pop songs...making us feel an indescribable longing...so much, and all at once." --FADER
"a hopeful, beautifully woozy lament" --Gorilla vs Bear
"Retains the charming minimalism of his R&B covers...effortlessly layering dulcet vocals and quiet synths" --SPIN
"Homebrewed, lo-fi charm...his understated voice compliments the gorgeously soft composition...with gentle 808s and sweet core melody." --Pigeons and Planes
Like many teens, Johnston feels everything acutely: first love, the ephemeral nature of said love, the turmoil of the larger world as well as the need to experience that world. Lontalius asks the existential questions that haunt all of us at that transitional age and couches them in these forlorn yet resonant pop songs.
Listening to his strong debut might feel akin to stumbling across a teenager's Tumblr page, where the jumble of feelings and emotions in their full array is on display. From Wellington, he's garnered buzz and thousands of views on YouTube and Soundcloud for his poignant and measured takes on new classic pop hits but now he turns his focus squarely on himself, capturing his interior world and feelings at this vulnerable age.
Initially, Johnston's musical tastes were mercurial, veering from Coldplay to the decidedly more alternative Radiohead, before he fully embraced pop music. Soon after, he began uploading hushed, forlorn covers of pop hits accompanied by an 808 and an old Casio MT-45 that a friend bought him for $2. In posting up these covers, Lontalius’s buoyant take on Yung Lean's Gatorade found a big online fan in hyper-networked Canadian producer/DJ Ryan Hemsworth. Soon the two were collaborating on music, Lontalius's voice gracing Hemsworth's Walk Me Home. Ryan comes from this world I only really dreamt about," Johnston says. "Having him put my cover on one of his mixes and then adding me on Facebook was like a dream come true."
He also has Hemsworth to thank for spreading the rumour that Johnston was a classmate of fellow New Zealander, Lorde. It wasn't true, but both teens played along on Twitter and even met right before Royalsblew up. "I was shocked that Lorde was the same as me," he says. "She was still just a teenager interested in music. Seeing her incredible success was really inspiring. That doesn't happen to New Zealanders often."
I'll Forget 17 might be a case of lightning striking twice as the ten-song debut announces a bright new voice in pop. While fans of Lontalius might have admired the teen's ability to find the sad sentiment underneath the pop exteriors, his emotional astuteness carries over into his original material. "I've always really loved big EDM dance tracks with super emotional breakdowns " he says, adding that a song like Kick in the Headremains a favourite of his as it marks when he "started writing about real experiences and real feelings."
Despite making his name on sad renditions of pop songs,
Lontalius is definitely happy at the moment, "I'm not really
sad," Johnston says. "I'm emotional, but I'm not depressed. I just
like sad music.”
Pre-orders for the album are available via iTunes, or pre-order the CD and LP from your favourite retailer!
Lontalius
- I'll Forget 17
Debut Album To Be Released March 25th 2016 on POD / Rhythmethod
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