In this interview spotlight, I chat with psychedelic indie rockers Lost Cousins about their latest single, Stay, as well as challenges, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We’re from Toronto, Canada and we create psychedelic indie rock. Some people have used the term ‘Big Indie” to also describe our sound, which we also like. We try to create memorable melodies and atmospheres in our music that are exciting for the listener while also experimental in nature. Gang vocals, reverb and delay and pulsating rhythms would be easy identifiers of our sound.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
We started playing music in University together in different live bands, but quickly became focused on this particular group because we loved writing original music. We were lucky enough to go to school together in a city (Kingston) that had a small albeit great music scene happening. When we first started writing our own music and playing shows, we experienced some early local success almost immediately which gave us the confidence to drive forward and see where we could take the project. We have always been very inspired by other bands and artists, and found ourselves opening for some of our favourite bands while still in school. I think this gave us a taste of where we could take our artistry and creative pallet while also showcasing what life is like for a musician on the road. We’re currently very motived to push forward because we continually try to experiment and push the boundaries of genres with our own music. We are always demoing new ideas and new directions while experimenting with new instruments and recording gear to find unique and ethereal sounds.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This new release is interesting because we worked with an entirely new mix engineer on the track ‘Stay’, and we are releasing a remix of one of our songs for the first time. We have been lucky enough to work with Will from Mystery Jets and he’s created a fantastic rendition of our tune. For our previous releases we did not work with many other artists on the writing side of our music, but this new release is unique because we’ve been exposed to different styles of music and production though working with more artists. We’re also really thrilled to have had Al-P from MSTRKRFT mix ‘Stay’, because we feel he took the song to a new sonic place.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
I think because indie music is so present now, it’s hard to not be immediately placed in a certain box. We (like many other artists) are the most excited to create unique and different music which can be hard to convey on certain platforms. With streaming services having taken over, it seems the music industry has adapted to desperately try and label artists and place them in a group of other similar artists. For us, that was never really the intention of our craft, but instead it has always been to be as authentic and unique as possible through the creation of our art. Sometimes when told your art fits into a certain ‘box’, it’s hard to escape that label and get people to connect with your music in the way you intended. It really depends on how you measure success, but that has come to mean many different things for many different artists and it’s become increasingly hard to navigate. On the one hand anyone is able to upload music and have it readily available on major streaming platforms etc which is awesome, but that has also inevitably created a different system in the music industry where the lines between art and industry are continually becoming more and more blurred.
What was the last song you listened to?
The last song I listened to was the new Bombay Bicycle Club track ‘Eat, Sleep, Wake (Nothing But You). We’re all really excited that their hiatus has ended, and are looking forward to their Toronto show early October. The direction of the song is awesome to hear, especially because it’s been so long since their last release.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
We all prefer Vinyl, because we find it’s an awesome and unique listening experience. You are listening to an album exactly how the artist intended you to, which allows me to connect more with certain albums and songs. It’s also really nice to sit and read through the physical notes on albums because a lot of time and care has usually gone into that, and vinyl typically comes with the most ‘goodies’ compared to those other formats.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Live music! If that’s reasonable to say….. Otherwise if we’re choosing from those options we would go with Spotify, because it has been an incredible source of new music discovery for us. I was definitely skeptical of their algorithms at first, but we’ve all found really cool new artists via that service. There are a few things about streaming in general that make our lives a little harder as musicians… but as a whole Spotify (Apple Music too for that matter) gives people the opportunity to put their art online for everyone to see. It may not be an even playing field, but at the very least if you’re a new artist and have music that you want to showcase online – there doesn’t seem to be a better option right now.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
The best place to connect with us is on Instagram, as we’re always posting stories of our rehearsals, shows and lives in general. We also often shoutout to artists we dig and have been listening to on the road, and absolutely love when people send us suggestions of music to check out. We also have a Spotify playlist titled “Cousins of Indie” which we continually update, and showcases what we’re into.
Anything else before we sign off?
Yes! We will be heading over to Europe for the first time soon for a brief stint, and have more new music planned for release soon. Keep an eye out for us on the touring circuit, and reach out to us on any social media platform if you’d like to connect!—Lost Cousins
