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LA based indie-rockers LANY discuss touring, ‘Make Out’ EP and more

Jon Berrien
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Los Angeles based indie rockers, LANY, have had quite the year! The band reached #1 on hypemachine, they toured with Twin Shadow, Tove Styrke, X Ambassadors, and Halsey and they recently performed at Lollapalooza. The guys also just announced that they will be opening up for Ellie Goulding on her UK arena tour in March 2016- they clearly can’t be stopped. With the recent release of their EP Make Out, the guys are on a roll as they pump out pure sonic goodness.

GroundSounds recently caught up with LANY to talk about their latest accomplishments, future endeavors and more, check out the exclusive interview below.

 

For those just discovering LANY can you tell us about the formation of the band and how you all started making music together?

Yea! We met in Nashville. We were all working on music in our own ways but not together. I moved to los angeles october 20, 2013. I was trying to do the solo artist thing and basically gave up at the end of that year. I called Jake to see if I could fly back to nashville for a few days and write some songs with him and les. those 2 were making some songs on les’ computer, and I liked what they were doing. In four days, we wrote and recorded our first two songs – “Hot Lights” and “Walk Away.” About a month later, we put those songs on the internet and here we are.

What made you guys decide on the band name LANY?

I knew i wanted a four-letter word for design/aesthetic purposes. But every four-letter word has already been taken. we moved on to acronyms. I was driving around and just thought about the 2 major cities in america. we’re an american band, so I put the two cities together and came up with our name. LANY.

What do you guys enjoy most about Los Angeles?

The weather’s really nice. the people are actually pretty amazing. food’s good. the ocean.

12362961_910636192351662_3178498471334384581_oCan you tell about working on and bringing your latest  EP Make Out to fruition?

Well, “make out” is really just a re-release with the addition of one new song that serves as a hidden track and a new version of our biggest song. but all of the “re-released” tracks were remastered. and having all the songs on one release really changes how you listen to them. they come alive in a different way. it’s been really interesting, even for us, to experience.

Can you tell us about the writing and creative process involved with “Kiss?”

There was no real difference in the way we made “Kiss.” We always write and record at the same time. You’d never really find a LANY demo anywhere, unless it was like a voice memo on a phone. A song usually starts with a drum groove or a synth part, and we just start building on to that.

What musicians/bands are you guys currently listening to?

Right now, i’m trying to revisit some old classics. Listened to “Face Value” by Phil Collins, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson, and “the hurting” by tears for fears from top to bottom the last 3 days. I also listened to Raury and Kendrick until 3am last night.

You guys will be on tour in England very soon, what are you looking forward to most? What do you enjoy most about being on the road?

Well, that tour in England is an arena tour with ellie goulding. and i’ve been in like 3 arenas in my entire life, and I think only one of them was for a show. so, this will be really insane for us. Eleven arena shows. I’ll probably throw up for the first few.

What was the inspiration for your track “Walk Away?”

Honestly, i’m pretty good at breaking up with girls. it kinda sucks. i hate breaking up. there’s actually nothing worse in the entire world. but, yea. that song is basically about that.

When you guys are on stage performing what goes through your mind? What are you guys feeling?

Usually just a lot of “holy shit, this is the best thing in the entire world. how did we get here?”

After the tour what’s next for LANY, what can fans look forward to?

I mean, we’re writing a lot of songs right now. and we’re gonna put those songs on an album. so, that’s something we can all look forward to!

2016 Tour Dates
March 08             Cardiff, Wales @ Motorpoint Arena with Ellie Goulding 
March 10             Liverpool, England @ Echo Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 12             Sheffield, England @Motorpoint Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 13             Nottingham, England @ Capital FM Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 15             Leeds, England @ First Direct Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 16             Newcastle, England @ Metro Radio Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 18             Glasgow, Scotland @ The SSE Hydro with Ellie Goulding
March 19             Manchester, England @ Manchester Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 21             Birmingham, England @ Barclaycard Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 24             London, England @ The O2 Arena with Ellie Goulding
March 25             London, England @ The O2 Arena with Ellie Goulding

LANY – Make Out EP

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