T. Lopea paints swirls in the mind and ignites lost memories with Debut LP, International Man of Mystique.
In a quirky alt-rock record, T. Lopea delves into the spiralling mysteries of his lost memories, unlocking his imagination as a visionary and musician.
The debut LP is a deep dive into the chaotic rollercoaster that is T. Lopea, chiming with infatuating guitar riffs and kinetically deep lyrics.
It is not difficult to fall for the International Man of Mystique, down the spiral of the dreamy acoustic guitar and melodic bells. T. Lopea does not hold back in the slightest, grounding the listener in his calming vocals and subtle electronic rhythms. It’s not uncommon for artists to use music as their yellow brick road to self-awareness – but for T. Lopea, the road to Oz is paved with rupturing realisations and lost memories. Recovering from a car accident in 2019, causing the artist to lose his memory, T. Lopea had to wind back the music box and piece himself together with nothing but his guitar.
The first track is without vocals and echoes like a cinematic dream that can be seen but not held. Stemming with the bookend of the LP, ‘?’ placing you in full-circle of the same haunting tune, brought to life by T. Lopea’s voice, almost like he has made the choice to fill it with the colour of tangible memories, the tapping of a cup, falling of the rain, the closing of a door and opening of a new one.
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What fills the space in between is an array of gorgeously orchestrated sounds, blending seamlessly with ease, magnifying T. Lopea’s range and raw honesty. From the electrically riveting track; See You Then sung in aesthetically smooth Italian, to the artistry in Postcard of Positano, T. Lopea paints a vividly vibrant self-portrait as the International Man of Mystique.
“I love how collaborative this project was, how passionate my friends were. If it wasn’t [independent] it wouldn’t have come together in the same way,” the artist recalls.
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The most hard-hitting track is Fall Into Place, the songwriter simply oozes with honesty in his moving lyrics; “and the grey clouds hang heavy and low/they slowly drown out all you’ve known” and the almost cathartic liberation assuring listeners that; “you’ll find your voice/speak it with strength/never worry about things in life you cannot change”.
The International Man of Mystique is a culturally moving and vividly spiralling project from T. Lopea. The artist has pieced together a diversely creative LP, bleeding with honesty and bursting with freedom.
Have a listen to T. Lopea’s whirlwind of explosive sound below:
