Toronto’s impossibly dreamy producer Lost Boy has just released his first full-length album, 1987, on January 22 – a fourteen track collection that defies classification. With sounds ranging from indie to folk to house to everything in between, this is a truly unique offering and has been incredibly well-received ever since. With just over a week on the Beatport charts, it is already sitting pretty at #1 on the Nu-Disco/Indie chart, #2 on both House and Electronica, #7 on Deep House and #20 Overall. Not too shabby for a lost boy!
FestPop got a chance to chat with the Canadian producer about this release, the challenges of constructing a full-length album and where he found the inspiration for the project.
Fest Pop: Where does the name ‘Lost Boy’ come from?
Lost Boy: The name Lost Boy comes from a lot of time spent trying to figure out a new alias and coming to the conclusion that I was definitely ‘Lost’. Thought I’d stay true to myself and go with how I was feeling! It also gives me the freedom to do what ever I want in terms of ‘sound’ and direction.
FP: You’ve just released your first album, 1987. Congratulations! What challenges (if any) did creating a full-length album present?
LB: Exciting times! Making the album was lots of fun but definitely full of challenges. I guess giving myself the freedom to do what ever I want really made me experiment and learn new techniques. Pretty stressful but great!
FP: You’ve incorporated a lot of elements into one album! What were some of your inspirations for this LP?
LB: Growing up in Pakistan and now living in Canada, I’ve been lucky enough to have a plethora of inspiration. I’ve been in lots of bands across many genres when I was younger, so I thought instead of just house/techno (which I love) why not add some guitars, pianos, eastern instruments and voices. I’m also singing in most the tracks so that was something new for me!
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FP: You play as part of a DJ duo as well – what’s it like balancing the two? Do they feed off of each other or clash?
LB: It’s lots of fun. As mentioned earlier, I love the freedom to get a bit darker and heavy with Talal & Zoi and then I get to make the Lost Boy style too. So, its really nice to have outlet for both ends of the spectrum!
FP: You’ve played a few live shows in Toronto – how have they been received? Do you think you have plans to take the live show on the road?
LB: They went pretty well! I was definitely nervous but now I’ve gotten a hang of things. There’s a lot of things your managing in a live show from singing, playing instruments, to managing each song and the over all mix! I’m really excited to open for HVOB in the coming week. And then I’ll be off to South America playing out my album so that will be really good!
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FP: Tell us about your label For The People. It’s more than just a label, but a party brand and promotion company as well – what made you decide to start your own imprint?
LB: For The People is something we’ve been dreaming of for a while and it’s finally come together. We do shows in Toronto that are really art and music focused. But not only that, for our day time events we always try including amazing chefs from around Toronto to come present their food. We had a bigger event called ‘Senseless’ where we incorporated all these things plus smell machines and added aspects of technology, like Subpac’s connected to the music and Virtual Reality. Releasing the album on For The People is really special and climbing to the top of the charts is just insane!
1987 is available now, out on For The People.