After a quiet couple of years, young gun Lakyn is back in the game in a big way. Dropping two singles this year in West and View Looks So Good, we’re hearing a sound that is far more refined, danceable and tightly produced than ever before.
As he catches up on the sleep he lost touring with Vera Blue and preps for his own string of headline shows, we caught up with Lakyn for the latest.
Losing sleep, dancing with cats and building a pedal board: we take five with pop sensation Lakyn ahead of his October tour.
HAPPY: Hey what’s up? What are you up to at the moment?
LAKYN: Hey, well I just got home with an eight meats pizza so that’s pretty much the most exciting thing happening right this moment.
HAPPY: You’ve just knocked off the Vera Blue tour yeah? That must have been wild. Any surprises ormishaps on the road?
LAKYN: I did indeed, it was a great tour to be a part of. I was surprised how well I became at getting to my early AM flights on time having only slept somewhere between three to five hours. A few near off-ramp misses on highways but never a complete miss, lord knows that would take me quite some to get back on track.
HAPPY: Speaking of live shows, I spied a pretty crowded pedalboard on your Insta. What are you running that Strat through? Any recent additions?
LAKYN: Good spotting! Well my MVP’s are the El Capistan tape delay by Strymon, vintage Blues Breaker distortion pedal by Marshall, Diamond Compressor, Ernie Ball volume pedal, there’s a few others but these are my main dudes. I do have my eye on some new pedals, but just gotta get the funds.
HAPPY: Your upcoming tour will be a little more intimate. Do you have an ideal room size you enjoy playing to?
LAKYN: The positive of playing smaller venues is that I know no one is up the back squinting and wishing they could hear better. I don’t necessarily have an ideal room size though, I vibe on the feng shui.
HAPPY: And West is out there. What have the first month reactions been like?
LAKYN: The response has been kind, a lot of people are feeling it at the live shows and I’m glad about that. Just this morning a girl messaged me on Insta asking for the lyrics because her “English isn’t so good”, so my lyrics have made it to Brazil before I have!
HAPPY: The video is fucking amazing. Are you still friends with the cat?
LAKYN: Haha cheers, I haven’t seen the cat since, we parted ways on a good note nonetheless. I do hope he’s doing well.
HAPPY: Together with View Looks So Good, these are you first releases in a few years. Are you planning on keeping them coming?
LAKYN: They are, but I’m definitely going to keep them coming…
HAPPY: Straight away they’re more produced, more upbeat, more soulful than Not Original Material or Better Than That. Where did this new sound come from? A producer, new influence, or maybe something you’ve wanted to do since you started off?
LAKYN: I spent 2014 working at a cafe and whenever I wasn’t taking smashed avo orders I was producing and making beats in a little home studio I had and that was probably the beginning of me working toward this vibe, taking what I had to some professional producers like Nic Martin and Dann Hume helped me reach the standard they’re at now. A lot of my inspiration for the sound came from hip hop and soul, but my list is never ending.
HAPPY: They’re a nice little window into your mind. What else has been on your mind? Say, in the last week.
LAKYN: Why, thank you. Oh I have this lingering thought on my mind, I’ve been wanting to go to this hotdog shop in Melbourne called Massive Weiners and try and eat this 24 inch hotdog in under five minutes… if you follow my Insta you’ll see it happen one day.
HAPPY: Did you have to pump up your touring roster to keep up with the new sound? If so, what are the additions?
LAKYN: Fresh on the roster is Gareth on the drums, and we both have some whizz bang sampling beat pad technology the kids are calling SPD’s.
HAPPY: Well thanks! Good luck on tour.
LAKYN: Thank you, and good luck whatever your plans may be.
Catch Lakyn on tour this October. Tickets available here.
Friday October 13th – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Friday October 20th – Milk Factory, Brisbane
Saturday October 21st – OAF Gallery, Sydney
Wednesday October 25th – Grace Emily, Adelaide
