Daily Dose: common goldfish – Low Lights and Throwback Tunes

Tottenham’s very own common goldfish is back with his fourth iteration of his distinctive psychedelic, British sound – new single ‘Low Lights and Throwback Tunes’. Infused with more electronic elements and free-flowing keys reminiscent of ‘90s piano house, with its essential mixture of hedonism and nostalgia that’ll carry the listener over into the early hours. With this instant party track, common goldfish invites everyone to dance and to treasure the moments spent with friends.

“The songs about those moments you share with your mates and that one iconic throwback tune starts blaring out the speakers. Before you know it, everyone’s up and dancing, and there’s an energy flowing through the room.”

‘Low Lights and Throwback Tunes’ isn’t just a continuation of common goldfish’s deep resonance with retro British sounds, but it’s a development in his music with more electronic elements. These were forged from time spent alone in the studios experimenting with looped beats and digital features. No one is an island however and the producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was most inspired by collaboration with a friend.

“I had a vocal hook in mind, but the lyrics came later, through collaboration with an old friend of mine who’s a writer. He’d sent me some poetry he’d been working on, and the first line of one poem really jumped out – “Low lights and throwback tunes”. I was immediately hit with a sense of nostalgia and knew that had to be the basis of the song.”

common goldfish is the brainchild of Jonty Lovell, a Tottenham-based producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His debut single ‘Feel The Fuzz’ was released on 10th March 2022 and received critical acclaim from the likes of Clash, LDN Magazine, The Most Radicalist, Joy of Violent Movement, This Song Is Sick and was nominated for Best Debut 2022 by Listen With Monger. This was shortly followed up by sophomore song ‘Shout Louder’, a summer indie anthem that also saw support from Backseat Mafia, CULTR, CLOUT and Lost In The Manor to name a few. The artist’s third single ‘I Don’t Feel Today’ was supported by Notion, Ones To Watch, Glamglare, The Music Enthusiast, Oculate UK amongst others. Alongside all this online activity, common goldfish has been drumming up excitement for coming releases through a series of public gigs set in iconic locations across London, including a gig in Tottenham’s DIY skatepark and set on top of a canal bloat while floating down Regent’s Canal.

The artist’s vibrant ear-catching melodies laid over a combination of breakbeats and funk-inspired bass lines create an irresistible groove that stirs a sense of optimism. His sound is underpinned by formative memories of his youth and childhood, as he anecdotally recalls:

“Growing up I was exposed to a lot of music, with my family all having quite different tastes. Deciding who had control of the CD player could often lead to arguments, but as the youngest child, I seem to remember rarely getting to choose. The soundtrack of my early childhood featured the likes of The Beatles, The Police, Moby, Blur, Gorillaz and Eminem and Dr Dre – it was quite an eclectic mix that lured me in.”

In his teenage years, it would be the impactful simplicity of The xx’s first album, and in particular the minimalist guitar riffs, that would further inspire Lovell. “I was by no means a great technical guitarist, and so I think this inspired confidence to continue writing music,” he shares. Then as a university graduate, he really began to take music seriously, honing his craft on Ableton with an old laptop that his friend gave him. This is where the electronic edge to his sound came in, being heavily influenced by the likes of Floating Points, Four Tet, Nightmares on Wax and Caribou. Lovell took his self-taught production style, eclectic taste in music and finessed live elements of the guitar, bass, keys and vocals to at last launch his solo project – common goldfish.

SOURCE: Official Bio

LINKS:
https://www.instagram.com/common.goldfish
https://twitter.com/_commongoldfish