Lontalius (May 2019)

When in growth, the individual is left unsure of their endpoint, whether the fruit of their personal efforts will be of value. Lontalius knows the future is a foggy mystique in many different forms, yet that excites him. For the first time in a while, he will walk into the fog and allow questions to find answers in its endless whispers. He will speak out to silence and allow the response to be his own echoes and the shaking branches.

In many ways, this process asks of Lontalius to shed who he thought he was and to allow a new form to grow. In a sonic sense, this means clearing the slate from a past artistic vision and bringing forth a newfound ideology to sound and art itself. There is now the daily task of clearing the constantly rising bar, seeing the heights he sought impossible become yesterdays success.

Is this to be his final entrance into the fog? Definitely not. One day there will be a return and only the sky knows how endlessly confusing that next journey will be. But in the now, the choice is clear, it is time to step outside of comfort and into development. Lontalius is becoming all that he has ever wanted to become and tackling the difficulties that weighed upon him heavy. And yes, the process is scary and at times blinding, but that is only because the light it creates true and for once tangible.

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Our first question as always, how’s your day going and how have you been lately?

My day’s been okay - pretty slow. I’ve been finishing the album and I don’t really know what to do with myself when there’s downtime. Gotta start some new things I guess.

To really begin, what would you say is the most consistent idea you’ve been having as an artist lately? What concept springs back up time and time again?

I heard an interview with Ed O’Brien where he talked about songs having ‘truths’. The idea that a song can come out of nowhere but it already knows what it is, you just have to find it yourself. I mostly create small pieces of work then expand on them, and it’s always difficult to know exactly where to take them. There’s one song I’m really proud of on the album that always felt like it could have a really big pop chorus. I tried so many iterations with different people but it just never worked, it’s not what the song wanted.

How would you personally compare your current artistic vision to when you first began? Is there a difference from personal or environmental changes to you?

I would say it’s more serious now, or I take it more seriously, but I tried my best not to be flippant about it when I was a teenager either. I’ve just always wanted to make great music. Living in LA for a few years helped me work a lot better, and make my ideas clearer.

And on the topic of comparisons, what differences do you see in your inspirations from when you began music to your current ones, as you’ve been focused on this new work?

I’ve gone back to the start, a little bit. When I was in LA I was feeling generally uninspired by the music around me. It’s a great place to work but, if we’re all listening to the same music and idolizing the same musicians, it all starts to sound the same right? I just adjusted my path a bit, listening to more of the music I loved when I grew up. My reference points have changed a bit now and my instincts are a little different.

Within your youth, what was the initial moment or influence that put you onto the path to becoming an artist and how do you reflect on that initial root?

I remember watching TV early in the morning to watch music videos. I remember a lot of boy bands, the first cassette I owned was Westlife. My dad had instruments around and would listen to a lot of music. I always just wanted to be a part of it. It took me a while to start singing though, at first I wanted to be a lead guitarist in a band.

To speak on the new work as well, where did the initial spark for this new project come from? What experiences or mindsets birthed the commitment to the piece?

It started just as a bunch of instrumental music I made with Om’Mas Keith. I don’t think I wrote any words for a few months. The spark came mostly from wanting to expand musically and lyrically on the first album. The idea has always been to write honestly about growing a bit older and experiencing new things.

You’ve at times spoken about this new EP as a closing of a chapter. A real summation of a part of you as an artist. Do you feel that sense of catharsis is the underlying theme to the project, or is there a larger story you’re hoping to tell about you and your space as an individual?

I’ll be honest and say that the EP is partly superficial, people have been wanting these songs on streaming services for a while and it felt right to do it now. But yeah, this music is representative of something I’ve moved on from. I wanted to mark that. This EP and the stuff I’m working on now, they both sound and feel like ‘Lontalius’, but it’s different. This music is quite small and rough, not a lot of thought went into it. The music that’s coming is bigger and more considered. I think the vision is clearer, too.

Beyond the ideological shifts in the work, what tangible sonic shifts are you working towards and how do you want your personal soundscape to develop?

It has more energy. My biggest personal breakthrough was realizing I don’t want to be making entirely ambient/beat-less music. I love the way that music feels but I think I can exist in that world while also making something people will want to move around too, you know? Live music was such a big thing for me as a kid but I moved away from it when I discovered recording and producing.

Do you find yourself to be stuck with fear for the next step of your artistic career or is it more exciting as you’ve come to understand yourself? And is there any sense of melancholy in hatching from this new egg?

I guess it’s like anything, you put yourself out there and you feel vulnerable. There’s a risk in not doing what’s easy, but that is exciting in itself. There was a version of the album I could have put out a few years ago, and I think people would have liked it. It just wasn’t lining up with where I wanted to be. It’s easy to regret not following that path then…maybe I’d be more popular, have more money, whatever. But I wouldn’t be happy.

In your eyes, what are the large and small personal, not artistic, steps you need to take in the coming future to find peace and truth? What universal questions do you still require the answers to?

There’s still so much confidence I need that I am trying to bring to the surface. I was a very shy kid.

What’s your personal mantra? What is the line that you find playing like a broken record in your heart?

I wrote “I wish that I could make sense of love” on That Includes You last year and that’s on my mind more and more often.

And what, to you, is the milestones and goals you hope to achieve and conquer with this new set of work and specifically with these projects?

There aren’t really any specific milestones. My hope is that people love it and want to follow me as I keep moving forward.

To really wrap up, what do you hope for the Lontalius mark upon the universe to be when it’s all said and done?

As I said before, I just want to make great music. Music that helps people and works as a soundtrack for parts of their lives. I want it to stand the test of time, so when I’m on my solo acoustic tour in my 50s I can play some of these songs…

Do you have anyone or anything to shout out or promote? The floor is yours…

Warren Wolfe did some backing vocals for me on the album. He’s a beautiful soul with some really stunning songs.