Daily Inspiration: Meet Linus Landucci

Today we’d like to introduce you to Linus Landucci.

Hi Linus, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a kid (in the 90’s) my dad ran a record label out of our house, producing very small batches of cassettes and 7 inches. Everything about it was DIY: from pasting together the release artwork on cardboard paper to shipping the orders out to the bands that usually recorded the music themselves. Five years old me even contributed my naive drawings as art for a few releases!

I was gifted a 4-track tape recorder for my 15th birthday and began recording music myself: usually messy rock experiments, inspired by bands like Sonic Youth. I also recorded and toured with my dad’s band ‘Gang Wizard’, creating completely improvised, chaotic, f*cked up tunes (usually in our garage). My musical background led me to the viewpoint: “what’s right is wrong, and wrong is right” and my music was mainly more about momentary expression rather than intentional composition.

Although I love experimental music, I also have a penchant for good melody. Under the name “Kiss Hello”, my focus has been on that side of music, inspired by bands like The Cure and Talk Talk. My new self-titled album is a more ‘pop’, succinct effort but still retaining a DIY edge.

I play the majority of the instruments in ‘Kiss Hello’, but always seek out talent to feature on my songs! (I like to say they do all the hard work, like the horn section on ‘All My Love’ or the bass guitar on ‘Juicy Time’). My brother Noah is an amazing classical guitarist and piano player and contributed a lot on the newest album.

But sometimes, I’ll record a friend’s violin, and if it doesn’t fit the track, I’ll mutilate and edit it into something that bears little resemblance to the original. In this way, I still love musical elements that are obscured and exploratory. Ultimately, music is most invigorating when it’s communal, there’s an energy to playing and recording with like-minded folk that I’ve been really missing lately.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I’ve found an appreciation and frustration in analyzing well-done pop songs. Listening to Paul McCartney’s solo stuff, or Hall & Oates usually leaves me saying: “How can anyone top this? Everything is so precise and well thought out…it’s pop perfection.”

Working towards that musical direction has been very challenging, especially vocal performance and production. I’ve spent numerous days taking vocal lessons and ‘finding my voice’, and I still feel I’m just touching the surface. I like to say that vocals are the one thing that can’t be faked, while you can always edit a guitar or synthesizer in post to sound just so. But vocals are organic, and a good performance is incredibly subtle, specific and hard to recreate. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
When I hear music, I hear emotion. My material is mood-driven and is intended to create an emotional atmosphere. My music would work well in a movie as a soundtrack or an ambient backdrop in other visual arts. I play multiple instruments and love blending organic tones with non-conventional sampling and textures. I like to call my stuff ‘experimental pop’ because I’m pushing to figure out new ways to tell the same story we’ve always told.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love Los Angeles because of the diversity. I like being challenged culturally by people of different backgrounds, perhaps people with completely different outlooks on life. I’m a white affluent male, and it gets kind of draining being surrounded by others just as privileged and similar to me. I like how industrious LA feels, it’s like super chill but also has no chill.

Pricing:

• I have cassettes of my new album available!
• 7.00 a piece!

Contact Info:

• Email: kisshellomusic@gmail.com
• Instagram: @kiss.hello
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXYhdqbK5zhShkJjkS2K8pA

Image Credits:
Pink Pictures – Aya Miller