Lostboycrow is a traveler at heart. The Los Angeles-based singer, who fuses electro-pop with modern R&B with a soulful voice, chooses to be identified by his intriguing artist name - which is more than just a stage name. He grew up in the Pacific Northwest and would frequently travel with his family to Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas, and through those travels he felt the most himself. Just listen to his single, "Real Name," and you'll feel the deep personal connection he has to his name.

Throughout this year, Lostboycrow has been slowly releasing an album within three Legend EPs. The first one, Traveler, has already been released and the second will be released in full very soon - but he has already released two singles from it; "Spin the Globe" and "Missing London." When completed, the three Legends will make up a map that "guides the traveler (Lostboycrow) on his journey." His singles are consistently featured on popular Spotify playlists, such as "Pop Chillout," which has helped him reach his music to 2.6 million monthly listeners and over60 million streams overall.

From middle October to late November, Lostboycrow will be traveling all over North America and Canada on the "Spin the Globe Tour" to share his music. I spoke to Lostboycrow about his new music and what people have to expect from his first ever headlining tour. No matter if you've seen him live before or if you've just become familiar with him, the Spin the Globe Tour will be a personal and passionate musical experience. You can see when he's coming near you and buy tickets here.

Sophie Harris: So tell me about your recent single, “Spin the Globe.” What was it inspired by?

Lostboycrow: “Spin the Globe” picks up where “Real Name” left off, which is a song I released earlier in the year with the first EP. “Real Name” is an introductory to me – my past, who I really am, and what defines me – because I do get asked what my real name is quite a bit.

“Spin the Globe” digs a little bit deeper – not necessarily [about] how I began, but who I am right now. More often than we realize we’re at a crossroads, and “Spin the Globe” is about that ever changing junction and juxtaposition of being an artist, being in the industry, and being a human being. It's about how our passions and interests are no coincidence. That’s something I stand by. Doing those things and fulfilling those dreams will certainly look different than what we imagine.

SH: That’s beautiful, I love that!

LBC: Thank you! So that’s “Spin the Globe,” and that was the first single off the second Legend; the second part of this album. I released the first one not too long ago, and I’m about to release the second one in full. Then I'll tour, and then I'll give the third.

SH: That will be great. Are you going to have any more singles before the second Legend comes out? Or is the next thing you release going to be the full EP?

LBC: I’m going to have one more single that's also a video. I’m probably most excited for that than I have been for any release thus far. The second legend so far has been a little bit of a shift from the first one – it phonically and lyrically dives into who I am and where my interests lie musically. [I'm] becoming more of the storyteller that I want to be.

This next song that will be released with a video is a nice turning point for me - as a singer, as a songwriter, and visually as well, with the video. It’s a little bit darker, it’s a little bit more playful, it’s a little bit more existential, and it's a little bit more colorful. So I’m very excited to share this piece of me because I think from here on out, things will be a little bit different.

SH: Yeah, that’s really exciting. When you record your videos, what’s your process? Do you come up with all the storyboards yourself or do you work with a team?

LBC: It depends. I’ve been doing all my videos this year with a great friend of mine – Sam Miller – who is a great songwriter, a great performer, and a great guy. We have this comfortability between us and this huge, huge trust between us – his desire to have interesting songs that he can make visuals to and my desire to have someone that I trust with my vision. Our first video together was “Real Name” and we both kind of storyboarded that one together. I was really proud of how it came out. We both were.

SH: I could tell how personal the song was, especially with the video.

LBC: Thank you. That means a ton, because it is probably my most personal song and I wanted the video to capture that sense of childlike imagination. I hope that that’s what my music can represent to people as well.

SH: Oh definitely!

LBC: So we tried to come up with [the video] together. We knew we wanted to incorporate dance – same thing with “Devil’s in the Backseat.” “Spin the Globe” was kind of more me. I’ve always loved sports, I’ve always loved basketball - it’s a super simple video. And then this next one was a bit more of a process. We’d been both wanting to film in Canada – Alberta, Canada – for quite some time, and my travels have taken me there the past two summers, and so we took advantage of that. He met me up in Alberta with a great team, and we filmed a really special video that I’m very excited to share.

SH: I’m so excited for that. Any updates on when it's coming out?

LBC: It’ll be before the tour. I hate to use words like “guarantee” nowadays but I can pretty much guarantee it’ll be out this month, for sure.

SH: Yay! That’s awesome.

LBC: Yeah, so it’ll be really soon. Like I said, I’m the most, most proud of this of anything I’ve put out. I’m proud of Sam and the team and the actors and the location, and it’s just so unique. I’ve never really seen anything like it, never made anything like it. I think the song complements it quite well. I’m very excited to share.

SH: That will be really fun to see.

LBC: I hope you enjoy it!

SH: Yes, for sure! So what are we going to expect from the tour? How is it going to be different from when you opened for VÉRITÉ or when you’ve co-headlined with Flor?

LBC: We’re really excited. My team and I have all been so excited that we’re finally hitting the road because we haven’t toured at all in 2017. In fact, we’ve only played one show all year. We just didn’t waste any time diving in – there’s so much new music and new ground to cover. It is the “Spin the Globe” Tour and it’s something that we put our stamp on, so we’re having fun with it. There are lots of new songs, some old songs of course, and all new merch. I know I’m excited about that, I hope other people are.

SH: For sure.

LBC: That’s something I love. I’m a huge merch nerd.It’s a tangible piece to take away from an experience that hopefully means so much. It’s been such a long time coming. We’re wasting any time putting everything we have into it. It’s going to feel like the “Spin the Globe” Tour. And we’re going to make sure of that.It’s going to live up to the name. For anybody that likes LostBoyCrow, I think they’re really going to like it. I think it’s a really good balance, whether you’re just discovering “Missing London” and “Spin the Globe,” or whether you’ve been listening since 2014.

SH: Yeah, that’ll be great. You’ll definitely have more control than the other tours. You’ll feel like yourself, you know?

LBC: Exactly! Before the tour even came about I kind of thought I was going to name it the “Spin the Globe” Tour because that song totally encapsulates me. I’m thrilled about everything from the tour posters to the fact that we’re getting our overarching stamp on everything. Like it’s a new experience that we get to go out and like completely fucking own. Pardon my French. And that’s a really good feeling.

SH: Yeah! I was actually really curious to hear what kind of freedom you would have about the lighting because I know the venue you’re playing in Atlanta is fairly small but you still get some control. So that should be really cool to see how you’re going to be able to light up the smaller venues.

LBC: Totally. The venues vary so much on the tour, especially since I’m headlining for the first time, so the point is to be getting out there and making something like on your own. We’re playing The Troubadour in LA, which is probably my favorite venue of all time, and there’s plenty of room for lights and people. We’re playing some smaller venues also.

The lighting rig is cool enough that I can say it’s way over my head. It’s going to be a lot more interesting to look at, and yet, at the same time because of the venues we’re playing it’s a lot easier to set up.

SH: Yeah, and it will be easier to connect with the audience too because it will be such an intimate show. How do you usually like to connect with the audience and break that barrier between the stage and the audience?

LBC: Most of the time I feel like it’s like effortless. A lot of it is about planning the set and having it ebb and flow in such a way that’s exciting, and then gets very vulnerable. I’m not one that likes to plan a bunch of monologues between songs. I love to feel out the energy of the crowd and speak to what’s happening in the room, because that’s part of bringing the music to the people on tour. It makes it a personal experience. It’s something that’s meaningful to them in their city, in that room, in that moment. There’s always a moment to be had – you kind of are ready for it and realize that it will be there.

So to answer your question, it totally depends on the moment, depends on the city. But I think the best way is just designing a set that I’ll have the most fun with. I like kicking it off with an emotional bang, and then getting very vulnerable, and then taking it back up a notch with some of the more R&B, heavy-hitting songs.

SH: That’s great. So then you can really get each one of the crowd’s emotions.

LBC: Totally, yeah! Exactly! For instance, if you watch Twenty One Pilots; I love their music, but when I saw them live I really felt, like, “wow, I don’t have to even be a fan of their music to really connect with what they’re doing right now.” Because it transcends that. So that’s my goal.

Obviously I’m hoping people will like the music, and I’m playing songs that I know people are listening to, but ultimately it’s just about setting yourself up for those moments – whether it’s a transition, a breakdown – you know, a moment where it’s just you and the piano and your voice. But it’s an interesting way to get from Song A to Song B that the crowd isn’t going to expect. My goal when I’m planning the set is always [asking myself], how do I surprise the crowd? How do I completely come out of left field and give them something that’s going to make this tour totally stand out?

SH: Yeah! That’s great. Do you have a message to fans that are going to see you? Like, fans that have seen you a lot of times or fans that this is their first time?

LBC: I think to the fans that have seen me before, it’s going to feel completely different for a variety of reasons – number one being that we’re making it feel like a “Spin the Globe” Tour show. It’s going to feel like its own thing. I think people that have seen multiple shows are still going to be surprised – I think they’re going to have the familiarity of a lot of the songs but they’re going to be surprised still. And for people that haven’t seen me yet, hopefully it’ll be some stuff that they haven’t heard or weren’t expecting, and for them to fall in love with [the music] as well.

Listen to more of Lostboycrow's music below.

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