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Behind the name and the electric guitar, you’ll find Danish singer/songwriter and fuzz-loving guitar player Lauritz Carlsen, better known as Lou Z. Dressed in a leather jacket and a freshly trimmed mullet, he swings by themes like heartbreaks, loss, sorrow and the inevitable and unbearable detour of the human kind in a way that is best described as melancholic, heavy-hearted, but to-the-point – clean cut and with a pair of tired, dreamy eyes.
The music is covered in gritty analog soundscapes with many layers, but always with the electric guitar as the main supplement to the songs and vocals. In the studio, Lou Z plays many of the instruments himself but often with the aid of accomplished musicians such as drummers Sterling Laws (Olivia Rodrigo, Matt Berninger, The War On Drugs), Silas Tinglef (Trentemøller) and English gospel/soul singer Claire Virginia.
Having previously released two EPs as Lou Z, his debut album Holes for the Hearts is being released through the Danish indie label Møs Møs. The Copenhagen-based musician is a part of other local underground rock bands such as PBSM and Some Speak of the Future. Holes for the Hearts is an accumulation of songs written over the past five years. While writing, Lou Z did not intend to release an album but realized he had enough there to release his solo debut LP.
The album’s title track (and a great primer for Lou Z‘s unique sound), “Holes for the Hearts,” started as a beat on the analogue Korg DDD-1. The eclectic single features many different instruments and production facets including a combination of acoustic instruments like the mandolin, analog sounding programmed beats, a heavy fuzz guitar solo and a gospel-like chorus. It’s a love song that is unclear on whether that love is good or bad and the splitting feeling that comes with it.
The songs are about many different themes and ideas. Books, movies or other cultural stimuli can set off songs, and of course personal experiences and all the messy thoughts in my head that need to get out somehow. Also I was down with stress a few years back – sick and unable to work for a good while. That was not very pleasant, but it gave me a new outlook that gave birth to new songs too. – Lou Z
