Music means a lot to them, and as proof, they are currently devoting their studies to it. Alexandre Soret and Max Renout make up the duo Lost Island. They have just released their very first single “Little Bird” this Friday. Rodmusic went to meet this ambitious Parisian duo. Tell us how you met? “…
Tell us how you met?
“Max”: We met at university. Alex came across one of my videos I had posted on Facebook, in which I had remixed a viral YouTube video. We realised straight away that we were made to work together; we’ve been inseparable ever since.
How do two friends who met barely two years ago end up with such a musical bond?
“Alex”: We quickly realised we had the same taste in music. We each share our latest musical discovery with the other, so we enrich each other. We both play guitar too, and we share a passion for production.
“We complement each other well. When one of us is short on ideas, the other always finds a way to get the music going again, it’s really great.”
You are both at music school today. Lots of artists start out self-taught, so why choose this route instead?
“Max”: We chose to go to music school to understand what we were really doing in the studio when producing our music. We think it’s important to have some music theory to talk with other producers and musicians during collaborations; it lets us move faster and be more efficient when we compose.
Devoting your studies to it means music is much more than a passion for you?
“Alex”: It’s literally our whole life, we can’t see ourselves doing anything else later on. Our ultimate dream would be for this passion to become our everyday job! I’ve been playing guitar since I was 4 and Max has always been into music; it’s our thing.
Lost Island means escape and freshness. Does your stage name sum up the sound of your first single pretty well?
“Max”: The feeling of a lost island matches exactly the impression we want to give when people listen to our music. When Alex and I produce our tracks, we have this feeling of being somewhere else, somewhere we are not judged, a place where we can express ourselves without pressure. Our first single “Little Bird” and our upcoming tracks are the result of that escape.
Have you ever set foot on that island called Iceland?
“Alex”: Yes, it was the country of my dreams and I got to visit it during a school exchange. I discovered those amazing landscapes everyone talks about, and I’d really love to go back to explore the other sides of the island, because it inspires me in so many different ways! Musically as much as personally.
I’d like us to talk about this first single, “Little Bird”. Who does what on a production like this one?
“Max”: From the start, we have always each found our place during the creative phase of our tracks. We swap instruments and the mouse, we guide the singer. It’s a musical exchange, and that’s actually why we love working with all kinds of other musicians. For our single “Little Bird”, Alex handled the guitars, I did the production, and Laivin took care of the vocal melodies and the lyrics.
How long does it take to write a track like “Little Bird”?
“The main idea came very quickly, over one evening with friends.”
“Alex”: I started playing a guitar riff and Laivin had this idea of using the bird as a metaphor for life. It’s the second phase that takes a lot of time: the arrangement, the details, the coherence and the overall production of the track. For this one, about three months went by between that famous evening and the final track.
The track came out on the brand-new label Riptide Records. Is it an honour for you to launch this label?
“Max”: Antoine, our manager and the managing director of Riptide, was the first to really believe in us. Seeing him found Riptide Records alongside the rest of the team is just an extraordinary experience! We are proud to be the label’s first release; for us it’s like one big family. Being alongside talented artists like Darlinn is an honour. We might even be cooking something up together (laughs). We are proud of the whole team. They are people at least as passionate about what they do as we are!
An EP is currently in the works, can you tell us more?
“Alex”: For us, Lost Island has two sides: a calm, acoustic, dreamy side and a deeper, electronic, danceable side. We’d like to capture both of those sides on an EP in the future.
I suppose you are pretty impatient for it to come out?
For now, we’d like to focus on the single format! It suits the way we work. That said, we can’t wait to develop an EP and maybe even an album after that.
What would you like to do after this EP?
As we said, the idea of an album really excites us. But for now, we are focusing on our world without tying it to any particular format. We are also working on a live setup for our future dates, which we can’t wait to show you!
Thank you, Lost Island
