The guys of Lost In Los Angeles definitely know how to tell stories. Immaculate, mesmerizing storytellers with a cinematic approach to crafting music, they are currently promoting the release of their new EP "The Hovering". Check out the interview with them below as I speak with them about the creation of the EP, the story behind their new single "Because of You", and why music means so much to them.
How did Lost In Los Angeles originally come together? How long have you been around?
Danny: Eddie and I had a band a few years back, and that one disbanded. We went our separate ways. I would write a lot from the piano and Eddie would write a lot on the guitar. We always knew that there was something special with our writing. A couple years after that, we ended up coming back together sometime in 06 or 07. We knew that what we were creating was something very special. It then became what is now Lost In Los Angeles. Over the following couple years, we had various band members. Ultimately, we met Clark a couple years ago. It was just that meeting of the minds; we knew that we had our trio. All three of us are writers. I tend to write the lyrics, but as far as instrumentation, melodies, that all comes from the three of us. Personally, I’ve never been in a situation where we speak the language so fluently. We’ve been around for about three years now.
Where does the EP title “The Hovering” come from?
Clark: When I first met the guys, they were just separating from their former situation in a label. They were making their own music, and we felt like we were at a creative “hovering”, and in the middle of a new artistic endeavor. So we thought “we should call this The Hovering” EP. That seems to be where we are, at the moment.
What kind of musical influences did you draw from when writing and recording The Hovering EP?
Eddie: When we were writing, what really inspires me to make music is places and moods. I’m influenced by classical piano. Even though I’m a guitar player, I like to listen to classical piano and scores. For me, it’s all about being lost in your music. When you listen to music that you like, it kind of takes you on a journey. That was what I think our intention was, as a collective when we were working on “The Hovering” EP, to take our listeners on a journey.
For me, it’s more about going to places and experiences things. It’s more of an atmospheric inspiration.
Danny: As far as what our musical influences are, I think the thing that’s really neat about us is that we have common influences that we all draw from. I think that we all share an appreciation for bands like U2 and Radiohead. But then, we all come from different places, like how Eddie said he really enjoys classical piano and film scores. I love everything from Led Zeppelin, to A Flock Of Seagulls, to Kaskade. We’re all very diverse. From dreamy, sort of ambient stuff, to edgier, harder stuff. At the end of the day, when we’re all at the piano, guitar, or bass, all of our collective experiences weave their way in subconsciously. Clark mentioned that we’re now completely independent, and it’s so freeing. We have to answer to four people or entities: myself, Eddie, Clark and our fans. Those are the four things that we think about when we’re writing, and that’s it. It’s very freeing, and it allows us to explore every option. We write, record, produce, mix and master in our own studio, so we are on nobody’s clock. It allows us to be very free and creative, and explore as many elements as we want. That’s really where “The Hovering” came from. We are on the verge of our very best work. We’re really excited about what’s to come.
Clark: When the three of us get into a room, it’s always an interesting balance between the classical influences and then having awareness of what’s on the regular mainstream charts, and then the underground music that kind of filters into us. I listen to a lot of underground radio and underground electronic stuff through the wealth of Internet stations that are around. From progressive house, to drum and bass, to really heavy dark rock. You try to find a place that combines all of those influences, but also stays in the realm of what’s popular right now so you can deliver to an audience that can digest what you’re giving them, not just something that might be completely out of left field. There’s always that time you’re spending in the studio, where you’re maybe arguing back and forth, or discussing what’s going to really make a song be the best it can be, and something that fans can understand and identify with.
Since you guys released the new EP back in the spring, is it safe to assume that you have new material in the works? If so, what can fans expect?
Danny: Absolutely. In fact, we released on iTunes and everywhere worldwide, our radio edit of “Because Of You”, which now being played at alternative radio. With that, we released two b-sides of “Because of You”. I think it’s a neat sign of things to come. One day, Clark was messing around with an instrumental track, and dropped it down to half-time. We all went “Wow!” It struck a chord in our heads of “let’s have fun with our instrumentation”. With that single we just released, you’ll hear the B-side instrumental, which is a little bit longer than the radio edit, but it goes on a little more of a musical journey. The down-tempo version of that is very off the table, super chilled-out. We think that bands, DJs, and everyone around are going to really appreciate that track.
With that said, we just had a show the other night where we rolled out an instrumental and a brand new song. We are going to be writing really heavily in the next couple months, so that we can come into 2014 with a whole new set live. We’ll be releasing lots of stuff, so our fans can look forward to a lot of new material.
I’ve read that you guys are “true sonic storytellers” when it comes to your music. Would you care to elaborate on that? How has telling a story with your music helped your music?
Clark: It’s interesting how we’re able to call something storytelling when there aren’t even any words. You could be listening to a very ambient instrumental tune, or even an instrumental of one of our songs, and you can still feel the art of the story and the journey you’re taking with the song. It’s always our goal to have that cinematic experience in our music. We all love music; we can put on a song, get lost in it, and then come back and say “Wow that was cool”. And it’s almost timeless, that way. Our goal was to have our songs be a story, whether with Danny’s lyrics, or the instrumentals, or to have you leave a song with a certain feeling. I think that we’ve been happily surprised with the results of the record, and how they’ve turned exactly how we wanted them.
Danny: Each of our songs is a journey and a story. We have this idea, and this emotion. We want to set it up with an intro, we want to bring it to you with a verse, launch you into the sky with a chorus, and then come back down to find another perspective with the bridge. We do feel like music is storytelling, and we feel like the experience that our fans get after listening to a song is what it’s all about. That’s why we exist. For our fans to hear our music, to experience our music, to share it with us live, to share it with friends on iTunes and Spotify. It’s truly a gift and a blessing for us to be able to tell these stories, and have our fans be so engaged in them.
What was the song “Because of You” written about?
Danny: Eddie had come over one morning. I think the three of us were about to go into a writing session. Eddie literally walked into the studio with a guitar in hand. He pulls the song up with the recording of a riff. I had recently met somebody. She was very much in mind and thoughts. She was actually there and outside. The minute I heard that guitar riff, the lyrics and melody literally came out of me automatically. Without any thought. Those are some of the best songs to me, in my experience: they just happen. That song represents that if you love somebody and believe in them, and it’s real, what you feel now or want to feel, will come later. True love is the most powerful thing on Earth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H_NaOdufyw (View the video here! )
What kind of message would you like fans to walk away with after listening to your music?
Eddie: For me, when I listen to music, it definitely takes me away. It gives me an escape. I try my best in the band to create a journey, space, and place for our fans to escape to. For me, it’s more of a mood that I would like our fans to walk away with.
What does music mean to you?
Eddie: Music is a component of my life. If I was to lose my hearing, I’d probably end my life because it’s such a big part of everything that I do. I have no idea how Beethoven did it. I have no idea how he went on composing music after he lost his hearing (laughs). I think that a lot of the best moments in my life have had a soundtrack in the background, with a song playing, or a mood or emotion that was expressed though some sort of musical thing. It’s my life, it’s my passion, and it’s everything that I think about.
Clark: It’s interesting how you can move to a city like Los Angeles. Danny and Eddie are from here, but I have that sort of “coming to LA” dream to do music. Sometimes, in the course of going through that, you have hard times, and you try to find ways to make your living that relate to music. I remember being at that one beat down point that a lot of musicians go through, where you find that the only thing that you have left is your love of music. When you get reduced down to that, and you still sit in your car and listen to a favorite CD, you get chills down your spine and say “Hey, I made the right choice. I’m here, I’m at my hardest moment, and I still really love music.” I’ll come out of a recording session with us, we’ll have worked many hours, and I’ll still put music on. It’s not something that I get sick of; it’s always something that I find myself embracing and being involved with, and always looking for the opportunity to discover new parts of it. It’s always something that has accompanied my life, and makes my life a little better.
Danny: For me, it’s always been a beat, melody, or something done in my head. I think I was three years old when I wandered across the street from my house, and started singing. I remember sitting in that field and singing, and knowing that was something where I felt most at home. I never feel bored, or alone. I’m never without the sort of companionship of music, whether it’s something that I’m writing, or we’re all writing together, or even if I’m just having a moment by myself. It’s just this language that is always going on in my head. I can’t imagine a moment without it.
What are the future plans for Lost In Los Angeles?
Danny: We’ve got a bunch of great stuff happening. We’re in the final stages of editing our new video for “Because Of You”, which will be out in the next few weeks. It is directed by Steven Lippman. He directed our last video, “A Million Stars”, which was an award winning video that got picked up by MTV and VH1. We’re really excited that we brought back the same team to do this video. It’s a beautiful story about a boy and a girl, and this love connection between them.
We are in the studio writing and recording new tracks. We expect by spring of 2014 that we’ll have a new EP, if not a full length album. In the meantime, there will be lots of remixes, B-sides, re-masters, and other tidbits that we’ll be releasing for our fans before the end of this year.
As far as tours, we have a lot of stuff in the works for next year. Festival tours, local shows, California shows. We’re really excited about the future because we know just from Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram that people are really excited to see us. Another note would be that if we’re not playing in your town, haven’t been to your town, or your local radio station isn’t playing us yet, let us know! Call your radio station, hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and talk to us. It’s the three of us that talk on those. We’re really excited!
Check out Lost In Los Angeles at www.facebook.com/LostInLosAngeles.
This has been another shameless promotion.