After a decade, Seven Lions at last releases his debut album, ‘Beyond The Veil’ [Interview]

Since Seven Lions first launched his Polarize EP on Viper Recordings in 2012, followers knew there was one thing particular in regards to the Santa Barbara-born melodic dubstep producer. Of course, at the time, melodic dubstep wasn’t even a factor, coming to mild in the course of the heyday of brostep and the murmurings of entice within the US.

By the time he launched Worlds Apart in 2014, nevertheless, Seven Lions had amassed a devoted following and ‘melodic dubstep’ was up and working, due to others like Illenium, MitiS, Skrux, Rameses B, Dabin, and others.

Now, a decade after his first main EP, melodic dubstep has almost run its course, and Seven Lions is in some settlement, however extra on that later. After 8-9 sturdy years, it wouldn’t be shocking for a style as thematically limiting as melodic dubstep to succeed in some stage of saturation, the identical as brostep or future bass. Though entice, spawned across the identical time, appears to be having a resurgence this 12 months.

Still, Beyond The Veil, the debut album from Seven Lions, out immediately, doesn’t play on outdated tropes, nor does it attempt to reinvent the wheel. It’s simply Seven Lions, as he’s all the time been. Only three out of the twelve songs on the album had been launched as singles, leaving a lot for followers and listeners to find. And with collaborations that includes Vancouver Sleep Clinic, So Below, Eli Teplin, GG Magree, JT Roach, Dia Frampton, Mija, and Lights, there’s a lot to take pleasure in.

I believe probably the most fundamental query I can ask is why now, after just about a full decade because the inception of your challenge. What about this 12 months or this era in your life made you go, “Okay. It’s time for an album.”

I believe the pandemic type of allowed it simply because that was the primary time I had virtually two years off from touring, So it simply type of made sense to, um, I don’t know. I imply, I simply had a lot of music at the time, however then I type of realized simply what the state of melodic music and a lot of dubstep that I felt like I wanted to place out a assertion. Kind of in a approach that was, , no collaborations with different producers and artists. I used to be fortunate to have the time and it additionally simply actually felt like the proper time.

Okay, so even when you may have , as an example, GG Magree or Mija. They’re simply doing vocals for the tracks and never doing any manufacturing?

Yeah, they’re simply locals.

Interesting. Okay, That’s actually that’s actually fascinating.

One of the tracks on the album is “Beyond The Veil,” which shares the title of the album. What precisely is the veil to you? What is past it?

I imply, that’s a huge query. I really feel like that’s type of the core thriller of the entire thing, proper? I imply, past the veil is one thing unknowable and uncrossable. And I believe that’s among the romantic beliefs behind the message. Those are like past the veil and when the veil may be crossed, and loving anyone which you can’t be with and that it’s a entire – I imply the idea is definitely, it was made to be a thriller, a bit ambiguous.

It would imply various things to totally different individuals. But throughout the context of the Seven Lions mythos, it does type of have a extra significant, particular context. It’s like, actually decide up on that and determine what it means to them, I’d say.

Did you make a few of these tracks with a vocalist in thoughts, or had been any of them vocalist demos that had been dropped at you first? When did you start to think about perhaps which vocalist would go along with which tune?

There’s some that went each methods. The majority of them had been demos that I began after which went for particular vocalists. But there have been a few that got here in that had been like this vocal is superb. And it matches with the album and that is like one thing that I’m gonna take and construct the tune round, however most of them began from simply instrumentals. Sometimes I’d simply be listening to a lot of various artists on Spotify and be like, “Oh, wow, this person is amazing.”

With So Below, I simply type of randomly bumped into her on Spotify and was like, “Wow, She’s got an amazing voice, and this would be perfect for her. Some of them went like that. Some of them that were already up and coming I knew, like Vancouver Sleep Clinic I was already familiar with for a while. So when I started the song, I wasn’t immediately like, “Oh, this is perfect for Vancouver Sleep Clinic.” But then after I bought decently far in I spotted that may be a good one to ship over and we did, and he was into it. With JT Roach, I despatched him a demo, and he wrote to it, and his voice was incredible. He’s a nice author and has a nice voice. But it simply wasn’t proper for that tune in the important thing that it was in, so , we went and really attempt to discover a lot of various singers to sing that exact tune. It was truly the last one which bought completed on the album as a result of we had such a exhausting time discovering somebody.

Were there any songs particularly that had been created out of any particular occasion or feeling the place you thought, , “I need to make this song for this reason”?

The entire album actually [laughs]. You type of really feel like that in a approach as I used to be saying, simply so far as an artist. Making music proper now and the present state of issues I’ve felt like I actually wished to point out who I’m. And what I sound like, , like what my music means to me. I’d say the inspiration for among the songs got here by me simply strolling round. During the pandemic I used to be spending a lot of time alone, like a ton of time alone.

Yeah, I’ll say the album, there’s a lot much less of the bombastic parts that you simply may need had prior to now, and a lot of the tracks are extra somber and virtually melancholic.

Yeah, I’d say so for positive. It undoubtedly comes from a place of solitude.

Was there any a part of the album course of particularly that you simply actually loved? Maybe it was the place you the place you recorded it or who with or perhaps it was one thing that simply occurred in the course of the course of, like simply a enjoyable studio session or one thing.

I’ve all the time been extra excited by being within the studio and anyplace else. As an digital music producer in 2022, there’s like a lot touring, and there’s a lot being away from dwelling and, like, simply the power to remain at dwelling and roll away from bed on daily basis and work on the identical challenge was superb. I really feel like I actually bought to discover totally different sounds and various things that I’ve been excited by.

Doing a lot of vinyl re-sampling was actually enjoyable. I’d go to the file retailer and flip by information and try to discover cool indie stuff, older stuff that I’d pull little samples out of, and I went to the thrift retailer and purchased some outdated shitty audio system and minimize them up and get a lot of revamping stuff simply to get a cool natural texture out of among the issues that I don’t actually really feel like I’d have been in a position to do.

That strategy is extra like engaged on an EP as a result of I’m making songs that individuals need to hear. Like I’m gonna make a banger, and I do take pleasure in doing that as effectively. But that is a rather more private and experimental type of vibe I’d say.

Are there any examples of the vinyl thrifting that we may hear and acknowledge within the album, or is it so chopped up and form of melded into just like the core of the piece that we wouldn’t actually be capable of decide it out?

I do know it’s throughout. “Call On Me,” for positive. I’d say that one has it in every single place. “Between” has it a lot. Then additionally “Never Learn” there’s a ton of it. The revamping you undoubtedly hear in “Beyond The Veil.” In the very starting, it provides it this bizarre distortion that you simply simply couldn’t get from a plug in the place you hear the excitement and it’s an fascinating type of sound for positive.

So as I discussed, it’s been just about a full decade because the inception of your Seven Lions challenge. What are among the classes you’ve discovered alongside the best way and something you would possibly need to point out to new producers, new recording artists who’re both simply beginning out or need to advance their means as producers?

There’s so many issues to say. I’d say, clearly, the very first thing is do it since you find it irresistible. You know, it’s a lengthy street and I really feel just like the reward at the top of the day is definitely making the music. If you’re taking your time in how a lot you benefit from the course of versus what you’re searching for the end result to be, then I believe you’re in a great place. I’d additionally say being very conscious of what you let into your thoughts in the case of social media and what you’re trying at as a result of it’s very easy to get misplaced, evaluating your self to different individuals and get down and get knocked off your path. How you examine your self to different individuals is essential.

Photo through Dawndra Budd