Indie-rock artist, composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer Laszlo Jones just recently released his latest single and music video, “In The Morning,” a first glimpse of his upcoming EP Beyond The Door.

Hi Laszlo, welcome to Honk Magazine, it’s a pleasure having you!

Aww thank you it’s a pleasure being here

What first made you get into music?

Well somehow I’ve always had music in my life. My parents put me on the Cello at 4 years old then on the piano, but I only started playing guitar quite late, when I was 17 years old.

My childhood was a bit weird in the sense that my parents kept on moving from country to country every couple of years, making me live in Beirut, Paris, Singapore, Bahrain, Milan, Bangkok.

I started singing in Bangkok when a friend who played guitar in the local high school band asked me if I wanted to do a tryout, because the previous singer had left the country. Next thing you know I was doing gigs at school on a regular basis. Later when I moved to beirut, I met a few cool guys who were starting a rock band and were looking for a singer, so i joined in although it was more of a metal band then a rock band to be honest, we were doing covers of Guns and roses, skid row, faith no more, metallica etc ..  And then at some point I realised I wanted to try writing songs, I wrote a first, a second, and I loved the process so I never stopped  

How did you sound evolve over the years?

It actually evolved a lot, not just the sound but also the music. When I started writing my first songs, I was very much into classic rock, and I started making a few demos with my band in Beirut. Then I went to Paris and joined a progressive metal band and at the same time I met these guys who were producing hip hop tracks, and they were looking for a few guitar licks. I made a few tryouts, and although in retrospect i didn’t play very well, I guess i kind of had the Hip Hop vibe because they took me in and became a guitar session player for Hip Hop artists. 

Then I worked a lot for advertisement, TV, and movies, and started writing tracks in all sorts of musical genres, ranging from classical to rock, to electro pop, to jazz… Maybe my fusion of styles comes from there :))

Then I recorded my first record “Banana Nation” that was signed with Universal. It was a particular mix of hip hop, jazz, rock and mainstream pop. It was actually very hybrid stylistically, and it was my first record, so I wanted to put everything into it  

Now I guess my new record is a little more mature, more rock oriented, the vocals more in the foreground. Also I took a lot more liberties in the songs, in the artistic choices, maybe this EP will be less consensual than the previous one. But I absolutely love the production of this record and the way it is mixed. For production I worked with Michael Buyens (The Gathering .. ) who co-produced the record with me and we were fortunate to get to mix with Kane Churko in vegas (5 finger death punch … ) who did a tremendous job.  

What inspired you to create your new single “In The Morning”?

I actually wrote this song a few years ago …. It is essentially a song about war and violence.

There’s actually a story about what inspired this song. It’s a long one but I’m gonna keep it short

When i was around 8-9 years old we were visiting lebanon with my parents, and were at a small hotel high up in the mountains spending a week’s holiday, and a conflict exploded in that same area. So the whole hotel spent the whole week in the  cellar while all hell’s breaking loose around us. We heard the mortar shells falling every 5 minutes and when they fell a little too close to the hotel the walls shook tremendously. 

But early in the morning there were no shells. So every morning at sunrise my dad took me out for a walk on the mountainside, short and close to the hotel. I remember thinking how strange it was that mornings are so peaceful when the night was so violent and full of horrors… which kind of unconsciously led to this song.

Did you participate in any online concerts or music related events during the pandemic, what’s your take on that?

Not really, I was really busy recording the songs and working on the music videos

My take on that is that it’s actually awesome that our technology allows us to do such things … if we’d had a pandemic 20 years ago it would have been much harder for everyone. 

But I guess nothing actually replaces the real live experience be it from the perspective of the performer or from that of the listener……  so I’m anxious for everything to open up again and to go tour  :))

What is your favorite country or place and why?

It’s hard to answer that … every place has its charm, and its difficulties. 

If i had to choose from all places in the world i’d probably settle in the south of france, on the mediterranean. It has the perfect mix of good weather, beautiful landscapes, amazing architectural heritage, the sea, good food, nice people, and is quite central in Europe allowing easy travel

What is the best advice you have ever received in relation to making music?

Do it for the music, not for the fame. If the music is good, people will hear it and will give you all the love you need

 

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Post udostępniony przez Laszlo Jones (@laszlo.jones)

What can we expect from Laszlo Jones in 2021?

Oh loads of things : 

One new single at the end of the summer

Another new single and a 5 track EP in fall

And a tour that’s not planned yet but that’s definitely taking place with the release of my EP

Thank You Laszlo!

You’re most welcome, thank you it was a pleasure