Only Love explained by I Am Lono vocalist, Matthew Cooper:
"Only Love began its life as a pretty downbeat song centering around an incredibly catchy bass hook. It drifted in the back of our minds, while we looked for ways to make the song swing. David, myself and long-time Lono collaborator Chris Moore were listening to the Bowie album Heroes a lot, and in particular the song Blackout. It was so bold, crazy and defiant, the opening vocal line and swaggering bass rhythm totally inspired us to put a new demo of our song together. There was a real spirit of spontaneity in the studio while we put that demo together, we did a lot of overdubbing on-the-fly, putting down layer after layer of weird synth lines and heavily-processed bass guitar riffs, all of which were kept and used on the final recording.
The lyrics were written during a weird period in which a lot of good people I knew were ending long-term relationships, or were having them ended for them. There was of course a lot of emotional anxiety for everyone involved, but what made my stomach churn was all the post break-up bureaucracy. It's distressing how suddenly something meaningful and seemingly permanent can switch and change on you, only to become an inventory of accumulated possessions that require dividing up and returning. So the song is kind of about all of that...but with a sexy bass groove cutting right through the middle of all of it."
Director, Dave Lilley:
"For my third I Am Lono video I wanted to do something in keeping with the two videos I'd done before, but with a slightly different spin. With the advent of the 4K camera, I wanted to try something out that maximized the full number of pixels available to us, while also f*cking with it at the same time. I wanted something a bit grubby and pixelated as there are too many clean videos out there these days. With the 'Lono' chaps having natural rhythm, presence and sex appeal, I wanted to do a video that was purely performance based and would bring out their best qualities. I think I got the balance just about right."
To celebrate the release of the EP there is a launch party at Nottingham Contemporary featuring I Am Lono, Mannequin and Blunt Mountains on Saturday 08 August 2015. Facebook event.
I Am Lono EP is released via Louder City Records on Saturday 22 August 2015.
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