LA-based duo Motel 7 deal in a sun-kissed, blissful mix of genres. Focused on Alt-pop but bleeding into Hip Hop and Indie rock, the pairing of Anton Khabbaz and Dylan Jagger Lee have confidently dashed forward with a mixture of sounds. For their latest step forward, they’ve shared their latest effort, Headphones.
Speaking on the EP, they share the entirely organic process behind its creation: “Our EP Headphones is a listening experience. Not a single second thought on any lyric or production choice – everything was first instinct. We literally wrote whatever we felt and what to get off our chests at that exact moment the song was made. We wrote every song in a different emotional state.. and state of mind. I (Anton) feel like we didn’t limit ourselves to a specific ‘sound’ for this EP. A lot of these songs were written in the thick of the pandemic. They were written ‘virtually.’ Dylan and I would bounce ideas back and forth via text to get these songs to the finish line. It was a challenging yet eye opening experience to write music like that. We called this EP Headphones because we want the music to take you away from the world a little. When you wear headphones you almost want to close your eyes.. But sometimes you also want to dance.. And sometimes you even want to go to the beach for a run… We wanted the music to take you wherever you want it to. Whenever you have headphones on, it’s just you and the music.. Nothing else…there’s something so beautiful about that concept.”
They let the sound guide them, and listening, it’s easy to do the same. Just throw Headphones on and get lost in its smooth pop leanings. Drifting between acerbic takes on life in LA to pure feels and euphoria, it’s a surprisingly diverse way to spend 18 minutes. Check it out below.
