OVER the past few years, musicians have achieved fame in unconventional ways. With the rise of online streaming platforms and music software, it has never been easier for an artiste to break through the industry independently. The international pop band LANY is a classic example of this.
Established in March 2014, the group was formed after a gathering between three friends. The trio then decided to anonymously upload two songs on SoundCloud.
This collective effort eventually led to the release of four studio albums, four headline tours, and their band, known as LANY, becoming opening acts for the likes of John Mayer, Ellie Goulding and Troye Sivan.
And now, they have returned with their latest album, gg bb xx, which just might be their best one yet.
Speaking during a recent Southeast Asia Zoom conference, lead singer Paul Klein expressed an intent to break out of their mould with this album.
He said: “I knew that I wanted gg bb xx to be the next album after Mama’s Boy (their previous release) – for the songs to be the opposite of Mama’s Boy. There is a lot of acoustic elements and we really wanted to make a pop album, but in a way that LANY would do it. We are not a bedroom pop band anymore. Instead, we’d like to grow out of that constraint.”
LANY hopes to work with Ed Sheeran and the Chainsmokers in the near future. — PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDY DE LUCA
How did the album come about?
“In October (last year), we were faced with a decision. We could either sit on the couch and hope that the world opens back up, or we could go and make another album while hoping for the world to open back up. So, we chose to do the latter, and I think putting out two albums in less than a year is no easy task.
“So, I wanted to make sure that we had fun and really enjoy ourselves. I started writing for the album on Dec 18 (last year).
“It started to take shape, and we worked with [producer] Andrew Goldstein and we actually had a blast. And I think you can really hear that in the songs.”
Were there any interesting moments during the making of the album?
“This is not something that I have talked about, but I mixed the entire album myself with Andrew Goldstein. Usually, a mix engineer does it but this time, I wanted to make the album myself.
“It sounds exactly like how I expected it to sound. It was all done on a laptop and I am super proud of the outcome. It was a scary thing to do, but I just had to follow my gut and my instincts.”
How is this album different from your past projects?
“I think the formula is completely different. Most of these songs I wrote with people whom I have never written songs with before. For instance, John Ryan, who wrote Story of my life for One Direction.
“We also worked with Andrew Goldstein, a producer I recently met. So yeah, the whole formula is completely different. You cannot expect a different outcome if you keep the formula the same.”
