News

"A drifting, dreamy piece of indie pop” - CLASH

Having recently released his EP 'UP AT 4', Hawaiian-born, Long Beach-based songwriter Lionel Boy is sharing the first single from the second EP, "SHDWS". The second EP in this two-part series 'DOWN AT 8' is due June 17th via Innovative Leisure. 

Speaking about the the track, Lionel Boy said "I listen to people speak about their “friends” and I think, “are you really friends?” I guess I wrote this song in observation of that—how people in my life have these friendships that seem to really frustrate them but, for whatever reason, they continue to keep close. Friendships where there’s usually more bad to say than good. They go out with them...and then complain about going out with them. Maybe they don’t know they can do better...maybe they’re just as bad a friend...but it made me think that we’re all just shadows making friends with other shadows. And that’s not how I want to navigate friendships in my own life; it’s too much work to have to suit up every night just to go out and spend time with someone I don’t even like being around."

Lionel Boy’s sound mixes spacey synthesizers, impromptu breakbeats & bedroom pop. The airy, jazz-cracked, electronic pop of Lionel Boy belies a wistful romanticism, a careful observational streak, and a meditative fixation on life and death. Lionel Boy is soulful and easy-going, both introspective and laissez faire, extremely mellow but never soft-headed. 

'UP AT 4' and 'DOWN AT 8' are a collection of songs that started off as demos in Lionel Boy's living room. Following the release of his debut album, Lionel Boy wanted to continue exploring producing and collaborating with friends. 

"I felt like I spent all and none of 2021 working on these songs. Producing these EPs looked like a lot of early mornings and evenings spent at my computer screen. Some days feeling like I made no changes at all. I’m a pretty early riser—waking up at 4 am which are when many of these songs came to mind. I spend most of my time working when the world is quiet which sounds nice but isn’t always the easiest to do when you live in an older apartment with downstairs neighbors. Everything I do to get things moving in the morning is an inconvenience to the people around me—the creaky wood floors, tracking vocals, tapping my drum machine...just one of the many ways I’ve woken up my girlfriend throughout the years. Trying to find a balance between making my music when the creativity strikes while also being a respectful roommate/neighbor is tricky but we make it work.

I’m grateful for the people who have helped me elevate these songs beyond this space. Friends like Brett Kramer, Andrew Pham, Ukiah Bogle, Casey Liu, Nathan Hawelu, Harlem (Dotager) and Jonny Bell were crucial to making these songs what they are now."

UP AT 4 tracklist:
1. FREEZE
2. SHADOWBOXING
3. LOVE
4. SMWYG
5. GLORY DAZE (Bonus Track)

DOWN AT 8 tracklist:
1. CLOUDS
2. LOOP
3. SHDWS 
4. SLFR