There is no better universal language than instrumental music and the dance floor.
The Lom was born in a corner of Los Angeles where rhythms and genres from various cultures intersect. The trio formed by Zac Sokolow (guitar), Jake Faulkner (low) and Nicholas Baker (percussion) took advantage of the repertoire of sounds that surrounded the Los Angeles people and used it to shape great cumbia and bolero songs in their own style.
After performing songs like “Juana the Cuban” and “Cry” Through rock and other musical currents, the trio of musicians finally released their debut album, The Los Angeles League Of Musicianswhose songs do not need vocal accompaniment to get the party started.
“Our music is a reflection of what we hear in Los Angeles. We started out performing in front of all kinds of people, so that has shaped our sound and it’s been amazing to be able to reflect the musical culture of our city and bring it to the rest of the world.”
The Lom It began as a musical accompaniment for parties and bars where it was not necessary to hear a voice, and this experience encouraged them to consolidate themselves as a completely instrumental trio. Nicholas He mentions that there is no better feeling than making people dance to his music, no matter who they are or where they come from.
We realized that people want to dance just as much when there is no singer as when there is one.”
The covers They are a big part of their identity, although their sound was inspired by songs from all over the world, as they took sounds from Peru and Colombia, as well as from Ethiopia, Romania and Ukraine. Of course, we cannot forget the Mexican influence.
“A lot of music from Mexico has inspired us, it is very popular in every corner of Los Angeles. When we started, we liked to play a lot of huapangos and boleros by Los Panchos. From current projects, we really like Sonido Gallo Negro.”
Although they are used to playing live, taking their music into the studio for the first time gave greater dimension and depth to the songs, and allowed them to play with instruments that they cannot use live as they are only three members, such as the saxophone, violin, organ and flute.
“A lot of the music we play comes from bands that were more than three musicians. Especially in cumbia, there are three or four percussionists, but we found a way to condense all that mix into a trio and that has made our sound unique.”
There was no pressure when it came to taking their songs to the studio, because “We love making music together,” he said. Jake; although the excitement turned into hard work for getting the right feeling on slow tracks like “Lorraine”, “Moonlight Over Montobello”, “Rebecca” and “Ghosts of Gardena”whose rhythm is more nostalgic.
I think slow songs are the most romantic, but also the hardest to play well. It took a while to get the feeling we wanted to convey and we kept coming back to them until we found the right feel.”
After opening some shows from the tour of Vampire Weekend and with its own tour about to begin, the members of The Lom They are very grateful to reach not only cities like New York and Houston, but also to reach European lands. “We are proud that people want to come together and dance to our music. We started out playing for 12 people, so sometimes it's hard to bring the same energy to dance to a big theater, but I think we do a good job of getting people to dance along with us,” he said. Zac.
