Photos by Tony Aguilera
Arriving mere days after making his Red Rocks debut alongside his mentor deadmau5, Lamorn’s debut EP Encore has the makings, and whispers, of a landmark electronic release. Releasing in full on Tuesday, November 9, Encore basks in lush textures and powerful memorandum. Circumnavigating 18 years of life experience in 36 sweet minutes, Lamorn captures the essence of growing up and finding independence through glowing sound. For fans of psychedelic rock giant Tame Impala to technical masterminds like Justice and Daft Punk, Lamorn’s debut is the unique genesis of his many influences. Encore additionally features Lamorn singing on each of his own productions.
An innovative debut rooted in deep reflection, Encore basks in lush textures, sophisticated songwriting, enthralling vocal performance, and powerful memorandum. Lamorn’s debut reads to its audience as an encore to the young adult’s life, weaving tales reflecting a coming-of-age, and finding independence. For fans of psychedelic rock giant Tame Impala to technical masterminds like deadmau5, Lamorn is the fantastic intersection of infectious sound. “My life has changed a lot this past year,” explains Lamorn on his Encore EP. “I can feel my childhood moving further away, as adult life is beginning to kick in. ‘Encore’ reflects on that, being a song about missing the past, but also looking forward to the memories that are yet to be made. It’s always been a goal of mine to make a body of work that feels like a good representation of who I am in a certain era of my life. The first time I listened through the finished tracklist, I knew immediately that I had achieved that goal. This is me, and I’m very excited about that.”
What’s your story as an artist?
Music has always been something that I wanted to do. I fell in love with electronic music as a little kid (I was probably 5 or so), and I remember very quickly wanting to know how music was made, and how I could one day make music myself. My parents got me a keyboard, audio interface and some software synths that I played with all the time for my 7th birthday. It wasn’t until later, when I was about 12, that I really got into producing and trying to learn the more complex concepts. It seemed impossible that I would ever get a chance to do it for a living, so I just had fun with it. I sent a track in one day when deadmau5 was doing a feedback stream though, and he loved it so much that he called his manager to get me signed. I was on the phone with them the next day, and it changed my life. That was about a year and a half ago, so we have been building since then. It’s been fun to get a lot of this music out, especially working with all of these cool people.
What inspired this single?
Encore went through many iterations. It’s hard to put my finger on one thing that inspired it, but I think that’s what I like about it. It ended up being something completely different than what I originally intended for it to sound like. I kept mixing in new inspiration as it came to me over time, and that made it feel like a mixture of everything I love about the music I listen to.
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
I am a very nostalgic person, so especially at the moment, a lot of my music comes from that as a whole. Being in this transition into adulthood that I am in, it has given me a lot of reasons to look back on my childhood, and realise that it is moving further away. Overall, I think that means I take inspiration from my life experiences, whether that is something recent, or long past. It varies by day with how I am feeling, and I think it is gratifying to try and be as honest with myself as possible when I am writing songs and lyrics. I have so much music that is attached to these old memories, and that really drives my sound into what it is turning into.
Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing the album?
I’ve been kinda stuck on this question for a second, and I think it’s because so much of my life outside of the physical recording process feels intertwined with the actual work. I work in very short bursts, never really working for more than an hour at a time. So sometimes something would trigger an idea, and I would get it down fast, then get back up and leave it for a while. I like to keep it fluid, that’s something that’s so cool about the songs coming out of my bedroom studio setup. I don’t have any restrictions on when or how long I work. So to answer the question, yes. All the funny moments in my life during the making of these songs feel included.
Tell us about the music video and the idea behind it ?
No music video at the moment.
What’s a record that shaped your creativity?
It’s hard to say, because there are so many. I think more recently, my creativity is affected by seeing what the music means to the artist over what the music actually sounds like. I love the honesty you feel from artists like Porter Robinson, Twenty One Pilots, Mac Demarco, Tame Impala, I could go on for a while. I’ve got a couple records from them specifically that I think about a lot, and it helps me get into a mind set that keeps me creative and wanting to build something that means a lot to me.
Who is an artist or band you look up to today?
Again, hard to put my finger on just one. Kind of a similar deal here though too. I really look up to artists that are unapologetically themselves. Recently, Porter with his new album Nurture really showed me a new side of music that I didn’t really feel before. You can really feel him through his songs, and it’s a goal of mine to make music that I feel represents me in that way.
Any future projects?
So many, I have a hard time focusing on just one. Right now my main efforts are going toward building an album. I really want to do it the right way, and make something I know I will be proud of forever. I know I have a lot of growing and changing to do in my life, and I’m sure my music is the same way. Even if I move to different sounds in the future, I would like it to be a great representation of who I am now. Similar to the goals that I had making Encore.
Top 3 dream collaborations?
Tame Impala, Home, Breakbot. Those three especially make sounds and melodies that I’ve always wanted to emulate, and it would be so cool to hear what my sound meshed together with theirs would be like.
What does music mean to you?
It pretty much means everything. My whole life feels like it has been represented by music. It’s really the only thing that feels forever to me. I love that about it, and having the means to create sounds that I’m really into is so fun and fulfilling to me. It feels like I can stretch periods of time in my life into these physical things that I can have with me as my life keeps moving. You can’t live a moment more than once, but you can listen to that song that was with you in that moment as many times as you would like. If you close your eyes it’s almost like you are there.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
I listen to a mixture of indie, electronic, and many things in between. That’s what my sound has ended up being, especially with some unreleased stuff I am currently working on. I would call it some kind of indie electronic.
