London via Italy producer and multi-instrumentalist LOELASH has been making his name via sun-drenched, wistfully delightful electronica, with music that can feel akin to an early morning dew.
He’s spent the past two years crafting his debut album, Fantasia, finding refuge during these COVID-stricken years within his passionate obsession for perfecting the album. He elaborates, “I don’t think I have ever been more proud of a project I’ve worked on than Fantasia. I loved every part of it, from conceiving the concept to producing the music, looking for features, engineering and promoting. It is something that has been living with me every day for the past two years and has also helped my creativity through the pandemic. There are so many emotions and feelings stacked up in there – a true statement of yet another metamorphosis I went through as an artist and a human being, translated into music.“
It’s a labor of love that clearly paid off, hearkening back to Italo disco just a tad despite having its eyes firmly fixed on the future. Listening is certain to take you places, running through fields of sound all while wrapped in the comfortable, layered blanket Fantasia provides.
With the album having just released this past Friday, LOELASH told Beats Per Minute about a few of the albums that have both inspired him and informed his own process. Read up below and listen to Fantasia today via your favorite provider.
KAYTRANADA – 99.9%
[XL; 2016]
I actually haven’t listened to this album in a while, probably because I rinsed it for a good two years since it came out in 2016. Like, everyday. It is the blueprint of a new genre and I believed it inspired tons of bedroom producers from all around the world. Definitely his masterpiece.
The Foreign Exchange – Leave It All Behind
[Nicolay; 2008]
The best alternative R&B album IMO. The Foreign Exchange played a big part in my growth as a musician and this album is just so good, from beginning to end. Beats are outstanding and I feel like it’s the first project where Phonte from Little Brother showcases his full potential as a singer.
Pat Metheny Group – Still Life (Talking)
[Geffen; 1987]
This is basically my childhood. My upbringing. My parents are big Pat Metheny Group fans and used to play this record all the time. I use it daily to practice bass and piano, to find new chords and harmonies and to get over writer’s blocks.
Sam Gellaitry – Escapism III
[XL; 2017]
The last episode of Sam Gellaitry’s Escapism trilogy and arguably the most eclectic, various and genre-bending. It was really hard to pick one of the three but in the end I decided to go with this because it’s just too special. Every track is an unfolded musical universe for you to dive in.
MNDSGN – Rare Pleasure
[Stones Throw; 2021]
Although this album just came out, it quickly rose to my personal highest ranking albums of all time. The evolution of this artist throughout the years truly is something else, and it felt so natural as well! From the LA-scene, FlyLo-inspired beats to getting out of loops, incorporating vocals and defining his signature sounds, to then stretching to the limit of electronic and acoustic music with a full-band project that is Rare Pleasure. A must-listen.
LOELASH’s debut album Fantasia is out now. You can find LOELASH on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
