The latest album from lostodyssey tilted Crown is a visceral spin, where organic sounds meet collage-like electronika resulting in eclectic soundscapes. Make sure to listen to the full album which is alternating between beat driven works and more ambient moments.
Describe your sound in 3 words
DIY. Nature inspired.
Tell us a few things about your new album Crown. What is the story behind it?
Crown started out as a loose collection of demos that didn’t really have a direction. I built the skeleton of the album in early 2018 but soon after I started it the writer’s block hit and I shelved the whole thing. At the beginning of 2019 the pandemic hit. A few months after that I experienced the sudden death of someone very close to me. That year I picked the album back up, gutted it, and started from the ground up. Once I started working on it again the direction and purpose I felt like I had for Crown flipped upside down almost overnight. During this period of isolation and reflection the concept of Crown began to take shape into something I hadn’t intended.
Crown is all about loss – a loss of purpose, a loss of identity. The album is essentially a journal of that 3 year period of my life. I think the clash between acoustic, organic sounds and sort of off-putting noise/glitch/distorted textures in this album is a direct reflection of the inner struggle I was going through at the time.
How has your sound evolved since your debut release back in 2017?
When I first started making music in the early 2010s my intention was to be an old school lofi beat artist. I did that for a year or so but over time I kind of lost steam. I realized early on that I was more interested in recording and manipulating the sounds around me than building my sound from other people’s music. Since the purchase of my first field recorder and basic microphone set up my process has very much so evolved along the lines of finding new and unique ways to combine the jazz/avante garde music I grew up listening to with my own sound pallete. My first few albums were mostly sleepy chill music. I still love that vibe quite a bit but this album is very much so a departure.
Which album introduced you to electronika? Also artists and people who have influenced and inspired you?
The first album I remember really hitting me and spurring me to explore the genre was Music Has The Right To Children by Boards of Canada. It was a staple all throughout my high school years before I knew what electronic music really was or how one would go about making it. A few years after that I discovered the album Cerrulean by Baths and it changed my life. After discovering that album I immediately went out and spent all my savings on a midi keyboard. Every musician I’ve met along the way has inspired my sound to some extent but for the most part I’m forever driven by bedroom producers who create very moving music with very minimal gear and expertise.
Your music is electronic driven but still, you blend many organic/acoustic elements in it. What is your creative process like?
Pretty much every song starts on a guitar or a piano. Its the only way I really know to build melody. I usually spend the first few hours in my studio either digging through old things I’ve recorded or experimenting on my piano. Once I find something that resonates with me I’ll lay down the organic/acoustic elements, build my drum kits and then sit down with the software to put all of the pieces together. I’m still not anywhere near as proficient with my software as I’d like to be so I still use a lot of hard synths and guitar pedals to build the sounds I want.
Which track of your new album (if any) represents you the most? Also, do people still listen to full albums?
“In A Way”, the closing track, is probably the one that encapsulates what I wanted this album to be the most. Its lyrical messaging, composition and sheer size is probably one of the most purposeful pieces of production I’ve ever completed so I’m very happy with how it closes the album. As far as people listening to full albums go I think its a bit unpredictable. I think, in the context of electronic music, some artists really build their material in a way that encourages fans to listen to full lengths but the music industry today is so catered around viral songs and Tik Tok length audio clips that I think many producers lean towards pumping out as much commercially viable singles as possible as opposed to a cohesive body of work. The streaming market also makes it much more lucrative for up and coming artists to constantly put out music for the sake of visibility than to spend a year or two fine tuning a full length and hoping it hits. I think the demand for full lengths is as small as its ever been but thankfully it is still pretty popular in the more underground scenes.
How did you come up with your name?
I don’t remember actually! I think I came up with it during the days that Soundcloud was the hottest new platform. I recall browsing through artists on Soundcloud and thinking I’d love a name
that implies a kind of aimlesness. I landed on “Lostodyssey” only to later find out that “Lost Odyssey” is the name of a popular Japanese RPG for the XBOX 360.
Do you have an artist that you would describe as a hidden gem that we should know about?
I listen to the album Sweet Sweet Silent by an artist named Sivu pretty much every day of my life. Anybody who hasn’t heard of him should check it out.
Thank you!
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Also make sure to check lostodyssey’s older catalog, plenty of hidden gems to discover.
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