At its core, badminton is a dizzying no-holds-barred exploration of pop. His futuristic, charming
Lasse Lokøy didn’t always plan on starting a solo project. Instead, the 24-year-old says that getting into the production side of music was more about “showing people what I was capable of doing”. He hoped that adding ‘producer’ to his “business card” would open up opportunities to work outside the genre of punk-rock (he is also the bassist of Norwegian band Sløtface) and with other artists. The change in direction paid off, as he’s since become Oslo’s go-to producer.
Across the 15 tracks, Lokoy found inspiration in unexpected places: ‘[weak soup]’ and ‘[freaking disaster]’ are brief interludes which take the form of short snippets of conversation with an Uber driver. “I was in a car with him in LA and he was so excited to talk, but because we were chatting so much he would take wrong turns and we ended up having this long conversation,” Lokoy remembers. “So, I decided ‘fuck, I need to record this; this guy is so fun’ – he was just having these monologues about how electronic life is making people believe they are living their lives or telling a story which is unique and something real. When we’re actually lying to ourselves”.
Unintentionally, the driver’s interesting interpretations helped to thread together some of the tracks thematically: from the lyrics of ‘both eyes’, which say “don’t lie, don’t lie, keep it honest, online online”, to ‘classic city girl’, along with Nils Bech collaboration ‘relay’ which finds Lokoy combining African polyrhythms and soprano choirs, and the Moyka-featuring clubby-electro-pop cut ‘murder in my mind’, which he thinks all fit that “2020 internet” vibe. “It’s such a wide theme with so many different points of view.”
However, it’s on the album’s title track and emotional (and literal) centrepiece where Lokoy comes into his own. A candid guitar-led track dissecting Lasse’s relationship with his father; „What I wish the most is that all of our hugs are like the ones we share in ball courts“ Lokoy laments atop of spiralling guitars and expansive production, providing an honest, playful examination of a father-son relationship.
In Lasse Lokøy you’ve got it all: bassist, singer, songwriter, producer, polymath and party-starter. Following previous collaborations and releases with some of Norway’s most exciting prospects (girl in red, Jimi Somewhere, dePresno), Lokoy has quickly become one of Oslo’s most in-demand producers and collaborators.
Beginning his solo career back in 2018 with his “Can We All Go to Bed” EP, he was swiftly praised for his unique production flair and sonic ambition, by the likes of NME, DIY Magazine, The Line Of Best Fit, Clash Magazine, Dork Magazine and more. Now with the release of debut album badminton, Lokoy looks set to align himself with some of the most exciting young producers, not just in Norway, but in the world.