Michael Lowman Releases PopRadio
Singer-songwriter Michael Lowman is far from your regular, schooled and bread musician. His story is quite different. Like something straight out of the Hollywood-underdog playbook. At the not-so-tender age of 17, Michael picked up a guitar for the first time. Songwriting came naturally for this John Mayer-inspired guitarist and he soon found himself in Los Angeles, heart firmly pinned and exposed.
PopRadio’s Release
Michael released a brand new album entitled PopRadio on 31 March. The album comes after the release of two singles from the album, namely Mixtape and Power&Glory.
I caught up with the man behind the music to talk about the new album.
Hi, Michael, thanks for the chat! Congrats on your new album, PopRadio! Tell me a bit about it – Who wrote the songs, where was it produced and who worked with you on it?
Thanks! I wrote the album and co-produced it with my buddy Howie Combrink. The tracks that have the features were obviously collaborations with those artists, and ChianoSky helped out with some lyrics to MixTape, which was pretty cool. I recorded PopRadio between Johannesburg (The Hit Lab) and Cape Town (my Home Studio setup) towards the end of 2015.
You released a single, Mixtape, before the album release, how was that received and can we expect a video soon?
MixTape was fantastically received. The song went to #1 within a couple weeks of release. I filmed a lyric video for the song and have actually already filmed and released another video supplement. I decided to go for an organic performance piece involving Karlien and myself. It’s real. It’s perfect.
Awesome! So, I heard you stayed in LA for a while. Can you tell me a bit about that time?
Sure. I started my career in LA. I made a great opportunity for myself to go over and record an EP in Las Vegas – my first ever recording of the first songs i’d ever penned – and it was with this EP that i lived and hustled around LA for a while. I learnt so much from my time there. I played lots of shows; open mics, bars, coffee shops, Nashville-styled ‘in the round’ singer songwriter showcases… you name it. I made some great friends and some cool connections and i kinda feel like the time is fast approaching for me to head back and really cement myself in that scene. Time will tell.
Where are you based now? How are you finding the local music scene compared to what you experienced in LA?
I’m in Cape Town now and loving it. The local scene is strong at the moment. I’m not sure why, but i’ve always felt like a bit of an outsider… that aside, i’m happy to be involved. I’m connecting with amazing musicians and can honestly see the talent growing by the day. The industry here in SA is raw and unguided, but i think that’s a little of where the magic lies. We’re still young. I’m digging it!
That’s great! So, while there, you recorded an EP with Mark Needham, how was that? And how does your new album compare to how your music sounded back then?
Mark Needham is truly one of the remains greats. I just wish i knew more about production back then so that i could fully appreciate what he was about. The music i record with him, and then subsequently back here in SA with ‘Crayon Boxes’ is vastly different from the album i’ve just released. This was a deliberate intention of mine. I needed to push myself out of the comfort zone i had created for myself. I needed to find out for myself, what i was capable of musically and from a producer stand point. I’m thrilled with the result and i cannot wait for what’s to come!
Are you having a few performances coming up? Where can we see you live?
I’m setting up a touring schedule as we speak. The details will be all over my SM accounts. Keep an eye out
Finally, where can we buy the album?
The album is currently available for an exclusive run on iTunes and Apple Music, and it will be available everywhere else towards the end of April. Physicals through me and at shows!
Photographer: Glen Montgomery
Styled by: Daisy May for ‘RealLifeStyled’
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