WORDS AND INTERVIEW BY PETAR PETROV

Albon uses music as a helicopter that elevates him high enough to see what really matters and breeze past the rest. His songs and the creative process behind them are reminiscent of poetry, a free-flowing expression of feelings, stories, characters, and experiences through soundscapes, melodies that conjure up vivid visuals, and lyrics about orca whales, which may sound random, but is anything but.

We sit down to talk to him about the inspiration behind his whimsical music, the source of the sweet, lighthearted nostalgia and joy that permeate it, the Big Sur, orca whales of course, and more.

Your style is quite unique. How would you define it?

I appreciate that, I’ve really focused a lot of my creative energy on learning how to create soundscapes that can facilitate visuals in my mind and or feelings I experience. I think it’s also interesting because my parents, though they love music, weren’t playing records or CD’s when I was growing up. I hear a lot of friends and other musicians giving credit to those types of early interactions as big influences. I’m the youngest of 2 sisters so I was mostly listening to 90’s/early 2000’s radio pop and Disney soundtracks.

Your songs induce a nice reflective state of mind, some sweet nostalgia as well - is that fair to say, and if so, what about those feelings resonate with you and inspire you musically?

Thanks, and yes, I believe it’s fair to say that. I feel inspired by seeing outside of myself…even if it’s in a meta sense, where I’m seeing something outside only to be able to see that same thing inside. I write a lot from that “helicopter perspective” or through character portrayal, which creates a sort of nostalgia for me, hence the reason you hear it in the music. I mentioned creating “soundscapes”; I create people with faces, stories, and even environments with particular types of light. I refer to those visual ques which generate a feeling in order to create the sounds. The clearer the vision the better the song. I have also found that a lot of my songs seem to have a sense of happiness within the actual musical notation, which I suppose translates to me feeling a sense of joy in being able to see things clearly. That’s what resonates and inspires me hehe.

"Big Sur Theme" is quite whimsical. What's the inspiration behind it, and how do you write such an unusual song?

Big Sur Theme was my mistake child that turned out to be my favorite. I was at the end of a long term relationship with someone very special. I went on a 7 day road trip to Big Sur, saw Orca whales, and indulged in all the mischievous adventuring that Big Sur can facilitate. When going to see these orcas, me and my bud Will almost missed the boat because we were late and I got fokin roasted by the sun while aboard that ye old vessel. However, it couldn’t have happened any other way. The next day, I woke up around 7am in this little sun soaked wooden side room in a motel. I was super crispy and warm and I picked up my guitar and wrote the hook in a second. When I returned to LA, me and my then Girlfriend cut the cord on a secret relationship that had been going on for sometime. Seeing those Orcas and the nature of Big Sur left me in a very peculiar mind set. I was feeling like I had experienced something so true that I needed to integrate that into my life. 5 days after the trip, I paired up with drummer Cameron Wisch to do a live recording of the song. I got my friend Connor Madden friend to record the violin and asked my buddy Alex Babbit (AKA LAG) to sing and play flute on some parts. All in all, I still feel special when I hear that song and I’m grateful to have been able to write it. I hope to make more music as genuine, curious, and playful.

"Big Sur Theme" also features lyrics about orca whales. Can you elaborate? What's your lyric-writing process altogether like?

Wow! Ya! I love this question. Orcas are the apex predator of the sea. However, they have never killed a human in nature and are actually super intelligent. Some pods (which are groups of individuals) eat krill, some eat salmon, others even eat sharks depending on the eco system they live in. The point being, that they are model creatures that learn to adapt and live in harmony according to the different environments that they inhabit. They adapt and are flexible and use there intelligence correctly… They are also very playful and curious which I believe is the essence to “vive” itself.

"Big Sur Theme"'s teaser video is shot through a very nostalgic lens, so to speak, instantly conjuring up the old videotapes we tend to see mostly in movies when characters are reminiscing. Is the video a look through your eyes as a child? Is the video, and the song altogether, a tribute to the way you remember the Big Sur? Or is it something else?

The video was thought up and shot by my long time collaborator and best bud Ryan Lumley! He’s the smarts behind much of my visual content, but together we have really informed one another’s personal and creative tastes. I’ve known Lum since 4th grade when he showed up to school with frosted tips and a Hawaiian t-shirt. Much of his work is very nostalgic and dream like. We’ve explored lots of creative domains together; we had a band called Grandpa 33 and I think he got his first paid video gig because of it haha. I think my relationship with Ryan pushed me to explore my creativity and adventure in a way I never knew possible.  He’s an insane cinematographer and creator in general and I’ve scored a majority of his work. We actually are going to shoot a full length video on a 16mm camera soon!

Your songs sound quite lighthearted as well. Is that intentional, do you want your music to make people feel like it's ultimately going to be ok? Is that the type of nostalgia that feels the sweetest in a musical sense - lighthearted, as opposed to overwhelming to the point of bitterness? 

Ya! I think that that’s the key to growth. Rejoicing in the future and the unknown and my music speaks directly to that space. I will note that it’s easier said than done…I’m an extremely inconsistent person. As the great Petey say’s “we learned how to love but never learned how to trust, that’s a matter with us”- I feel like that sums it up.   No one is taught how to figure life out or think about the future in general. I grew up in a weird part of the North shore where appearance generally outweighed happiness. Your wife could be getting down with the neighbors but it’s cool if your Bentley was next year’s model. For me, listening to music allowed me to see the future, review the past, all the while being present, I would like to give that back to listeners of my music.

Who are your musical influences?

Surfbort, Petey, Kevin Morby, Alex G, Dr.Dre, Nelly, Fall Out Boy

What does the future hold for you, as far as you can tell, of course?

Hopefully, complete and total relaxation and bliss through the trials and tribulations of life.

Anything else you'd like to share?

Thanks for reading, listening, asking and or anything else you have done or not done to make the world go round. Also, go follow my Instagram @___albon…I need better #’s