With an enormously prolific spate throughout last year, releasing three standalone singles and an EP, Oxford-based producer George Cobb aka LZYBY has found himself at a marvellously motivational point in his career. And with so much promise building for his work to date, he now returns with his latest effort ‘Take My Time’.
Channelling the dexterous direction of bands like Everything Everything and Alt-J, his newest gem is this broad and adventurous journey into his own musical obsessions. Inspired heavily by the sounds of disco, musical theatre, and RnB, this wonderfully diverse return gives us an incredibly dense look at what he plans to do with his sound in the years to come.
So with the new single out and about, we took some time to talk to him about his latest release and what his plans are for the future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Chris) Hi, how are you today?
LZYBY) Hello! I’m not too bad, just trying to keep myself busy and on top of things until this all hopefully blows over.
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
I really struggle to define my sound, as each individual song takes inspiration from multiple sources. I would say that my music has an 80s feel to it, alongside elements of folk, disco, synthwave, pop and sometimes house. My vocals are very theatrical, and my violin arrangements are in a folk-style, so once all these are blended together I find it hard to give the final result a genre! Nu-dance-wave-theatre pop! As my music becomes more synth-based and lively, Jessie Ware has probably turned out to be one of my biggest influences; I am obsessed with her most recent album and I try to emulate her very delicate handling of dance music. Other influences are artists such as Rina Sawayama, Dua Lipa, Steve Lacey, Kylie Minogue.
You are also based in Oxford. Can you tell us how the music scene there has inspired your sound at all?
I started producing and writing during the pandemic, so I sadly haven’t been able yet to immerse myself in Oxford’s music scene as an artist. Despite this, the city itself inspires me; I’ve been studying here for nearly four years and I’ve changed dramatically in that time. Everything that I write is about that journey, those changes and the person I’m growing into, so in that respect the city has had a huge influence on my sound. It’s also just such a beautiful place to live, and I’m sure that beauty inspires me indirectly in some way or another.
Do you remember what the first song was that made you want to start a career in music?
I’ve dreamt of being a performer and a singer for as long as I can remember, so the first song would probably be one of Jessie J’s back when her first album came out. Her song’s ‘Price Tag’ and ‘Do It Like a Dude’ were two of my favourite tunes back when I was growing up, and I was always so blown away by her powerhouse live vocals and her amazing stage presence. If I ever get the change to perform at that level, I want to be able to blow people away with my live performance like she can.
You have just released your new single ‘Take My Time’. Can you tell us how that track came about? Is there a story behind it?
I wrote ‘Take My Time’ while locked down with my family in January. I wrote, produced and recorded the whole thing in my bedroom, which in itself was a bizarre experience! I had wanted to write something, which revolved more around synths, and once I wrote that synth arpeggio the song just grew. It’s about learning to love yourself as you are, and to shut out the noise of other people who might make you doubt yourself or hide your quirks. Over the last year I’ve discovered so many parts of myself that I’ve suppressed in the past, and I’m trying to embrace these things more and be my authentic self. As an LGBTQ+ person I’m also trying to express my queerness more, as that’s always been something that I’ve downplayed in the past. Learning to dance to your beat is a beautiful thing once you discover what exactly that beat is and welcome it with open arms!
And was there a particular style you were looking for when you wrote it?
This song was very heavily inspired by Jessie Ware’s music. It’s a dance song, with heavy synth-wave influences, however it still has a slightly ambient feel. I wanted it to be danceable, but also something that you could have on in the background. It has some elaborate violin solos, which I recorded myself, and these are very folky, and I really enjoyed the combination of the delicate synth backing and these sudden bursts of strings. I also wanted the vocals to have a mysterious and almost cheeky element to them, representing the meaning behind the lyrics.
You have recently released an EP, but can we expect another, or even an album from you in the near future?
Definitely! There’s lots and lots more music in the works as we speak, and once I finish my degree this summer I intend to bring these songs all together into either another EP or my first album. Whichever one it ends up being, I hope to get it out by the end of 2021.
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
I’ll be moving to London in July, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the country will be in a much better place by then. The plan is that, with my degree out of the way, I can devote far more time to music than I have been able to thus far. With restrictions eased I’m hoping that I’ll also meet more people, collaborate more, perform more, and be inspired more! Who knows where it will take me, but I can’t begin to express how excited I am.
And finally, what is the best piece of musical advice you have ever been given?
Less is more. The best songs I’ve written are the simple ones, and if your core elements in a song are good enough then you shouldn’t need to add more on top. Don’t overcomplicate a piece of music, just make sure that the base components are top-notch, and the song will fall together on its own.