When American group LANY first began working on music together on an inexpensive Dell laptop in the kitchen they only had small expectations, but quickly exceeded those. Now the group is heading down to Australia with their second album hoping to connect with fans on an even deeper level than before.
Prior to embarking on the long journey down under Paul Klein spoke to City Hub via telephone about their dramatically different approach to album two and the impact that has had on fan reaction.
In those very early days together as a group, LANY had one clear priority, “never make the same album twice!” In order to maintain this vision following their successful self titled debut album, the group took some time to scout new producers to work with on the follow-up. After meeting with multiple options LANY would eventually settle on Mike Crossey because he was “older, wiser and knew more” than they did at that early stage of their career. Reflecting back on the time working with Crossey Klein said, “we grew so much as musicians, composers and producers by spending four months in a room with him trying to learn as much as we could.”
Introducing Crossey into the mix for Malibu Nights wasn’t the only change that LANY made. The group also totally altered the way they approached the songwriting process according to Klein.
“As far as songwriting goes, the first album was written primarily around preexisting drum beats/loops but this time around every song started at the piano.”
This change was brought about because of significant personal life changes for Klein.
“At the end of 2017 I was open to experimenting with different songwriters in order to stretch myself, so when I came into 2018 I didn’t necessarily think I was going to be writing towards album two.
“However, when I went through a breakup, which fucked me up pretty bad, I had a lot to get off my chest and work through. So I would walk into these sessions with other songwriters sit at the piano and just go through a lot of those thoughts and emotions. Then by the end of the day, we’d have a song which was fully written.”
Thanks to this more melodic and emotional approach to Malibu Nights the group has found during their current 100-day world tour that these songs “1000% hit different and connect on such a deeper level.” This is something they expect to see continue when they arrive in Sydney in July because these songs are no longer just their stories.
“Nobody is thinking about me or my story when they hear these songs, attend these shows and sing along. They’re thinking about themselves. Everyone can identify with heartbreak and loss. It’s really beautiful and rewarding to walk into a room and see people sing their guts out because it means so much to them. I can’t ask for much more than that.”
Jul 14-15. Enmore Theatre, 118-132 Enmore Rd, Newtown. $69.50+b.f. Tickets & Info: www.enmoretheatre.com.au
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