Formed only a few months ago and with just a small number of releases, LANY has won us over – first with their with their 80s-lush dance number ‘Hot Nights’ and now with their atmospheric pop ballad ‘ILYSB’. Their production is rich and romantic with glassy synths and the warmest of pads creating a sound that seduces our attention with much success.
The trio themselves, while choosing to remain more or less a mystery as their introduction to the world unfolds, provided only the image above of their backs. However, we know now that LANY consists of two members from WRLDS, Jake Goss and Les Priest, and is fronted by Paul Klein – who took his time to answer a few questions for us.
How’s your summer going?
Summer has been really good. We released two new tracks in July and have one in the bag for an upcoming release.
How did LANY form?
Jake and Les were making songs out of a bedroom in their house, and I was trying the solo artist thing. Stuff really wasn’t working out the way I wanted it to, so I called Jake and asked if I could fly to Nashville to work on some music. In the four days that I was there, we wrote and recorded “hot lights” and “walk away.” we didn’t tell anyone we were in a band or announce any sort of release date. On April 24, we put our two songs on the Internet, and the rest is history.
How would you describe LANY’s sound?
I think bit candy nailed it when they said we exist somewhere between dream pop and r & b. those are the only two genres that matter – in my opinion – so that’s perfect.
Are you guys based in LA or NY?
We’re based in LA. And, because this question probably comes from our name, I’ll go ahead and explain that as well. In short, we wanted a four-letter word for our band. As you can imagine, every four-letter word in the world is already taken by some band somewhere. So, I moved to acronyms. For a while, we thought we were going to go by “TTYL”… so glad we didn’t do that. One day, the idea hit me… from Los Angeles to New York. LANY represents the span of the country… from LA to NY. Saying L-A-N-Y can be a little tricky, though. So we sound it out and let the meaning remain hidden in the name.
What’s the biggest difference between WRLDS and LANY?
I guess, to put it really simply, me. I think adding any person to a creative equation has the potential to drastically change the outcome or final product. I don’t think Jake and Les are trying to be or do anything “different” with LANY. We’re just doing us. And the “us” in LANY involves three people.
How does the creative process work when creating?
Each song has a different story. For the most part, we’ll start with a beat. Then, we’ll build some chords and a melody around it. Then, I’ll write out some lyrics and bounce them off Jake and Les…
For more information on LANY visit www.thisislany.com
