Lokoy is the solo project of Sløtface bassist Lasse Lokoy, who is gearing up to release his debut album Badminton in January. In his solo work, he acts as producer, often putting other vocalists in the spotlight while he gets to roam around in his own genre-splicing way on the musical side. Latest single “a mistake” pairs him with fellow Norwegian Emilie Østebø, whom he met when she supported Sløtface, and it stems from one of her demos. Østebø reveals what the song is about, saying:
“It’s nothing too complicated; it deals with the relationship between two people, the dynamic between them. Often I feel like songs are a parody of yourself. The chorus of ‘a mistake’ is sort of a parody of the self-indulgent things you imagine saying to a person you’ve just had a fight with. I wrote the melody of the post-chorus on guitar, but Lasse had the idea to sing it instead. The childish and sarcastic tone of that melody when sung perfectly communicates the petulance of the lyrics.”
This time around, Lokoy doesn’t stray too far from the propulsive indie pop of his other band, providing a zippy and colourful backing for Østebø’s aerodynamic and arresting vocal. “a mistake” is overflowing with energy, bursting forward on bass and guitar, then pulling back at moments to let the words and vocal melody shine. Østebo paints a vivid picture of waking up on a day after a fight, still feeling wound up about the words that were exchanged, the pulse in her ears replicated by the surging bass underneath. While there is certainly a lot of annoyance wrapped up in her words and vocal, the childish melodies and boisterous production suggests that there’s still a lot of love and adoration underneath, and it’ll all blow over in no time. This is confirmed as “a mistake” comes to its lovely finale, with Østebø singing “I can change if that’s what it’s gonna take to keep you around.”
Lokoy’s debut album Badminton comes out on January 22 through Propeller Recordings. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, while you can find Emilie Østebø on Instagram.
