{"id":3870,"date":"2014-04-30T18:30:16","date_gmt":"2014-04-30T22:30:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/?p=3870"},"modified":"2016-11-11T14:55:34","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T19:55:34","slug":"band-rec-of-the-week-lo-fang","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/band-rec-of-the-week-lo-fang\/","title":{"rendered":"Band Rec of the week: Lo-Fang"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author | Michelle King<\/p>\n

\"lofang\"<\/a>Lo-Fang<\/a>\u00a0is the musical moniker of one Matthew Hemerlein, who claims to be inspired by both Bach and Wu-Tang Clan, and while I don\u2019t hear much of the latter in his debut album\u00a0Blue Film<\/i>, there is certainly something orchestral in his arrangements and something instantly classic about his compositions. The songs range from pop to R&B to electronic to ambient while maintaining as much cohesiveness as some of the most impressive concept albums.<\/p>\n

Written during Hemerlein\u2019s travels across the world,\u00a0Blue Film<\/i>\u00a0began as a mix-tape and evolved into a triumphant full-length album three years in the making. Literally penned in hotel rooms from London to Bali, Tokyo, Nashville, Cambodia, and oh yeah, don\u2019t forget the exotic state of Maryland, the album blends a myriad of musical styles and displays both Hemerlein\u2019s wandering inspiration and classical training (he plays every instrument on the album, including guitar, upright bass, cello, banjo, piano, and violin). With swooning vocals layered over soulful melodies, it\u2019s hard to not draw comparison to contemporary James Blake, but Hemerlein\u2019s emotive voice is actually his own, skipping the vocoder distortion Blake often opts to bring into the mix.<\/p>\n

Fun fact: Lo-Fang just wrapped up a tour with Lorde – a match made not due to industry politics but because the seventeen year-old songstress is an actual fan of Lo-Fang\u2019s music. She attended one of his shows in LA at the end of last year (she also listed \u201c#88\u201d as one of her top 10 songs of 2013) and immediately asked him to join her for her US spring dates.<\/p>\n

\"Lo-Fang<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the KCRW in-studio performance of the song \u201cPermutations\u201d below, as well as his Letterman appearance with \u201c#88\u201d and the official video for \u201cLook Away,\u201d all taken from\u00a0Blue Film<\/i>, which released\u00a0February 25\u00a0on 4AD.<\/p>\n

For more information please visit Lo-Fang’s Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n