Lontalius Shares New Single “All I Wanna Say” & Signs to Partisan Records

Lontalius (Wellington’s Eddie Johnston) has shared his new single and video for All I Wanna Say, today with i-D Magazine. Lontalius has also announced his signing to Partisan Records. His debut full-length will be released in early 2016. Also just announced is Lontalius’ performance at Auckland’s St Jerome’s Laneway festival, Monday 01 Feb. 

The imminently charming All I Wanna Say video shows Johnston learning how to ride a bike with a friend as dusk fades into evening. The video’s images echo the song’s themes of trust and intimacy: a supportive hand; a gentle helmet adjustment; two headlights circling in the dark, each one searching for the other. His lyrics repeat this sentiment: “All I wanna say is it’ll be alright / and maybe I shoulda lied / All I have to offer is my love / it’s not enough / but boy, I’ll give you everything I’ve got.” Overall the piece captures the feeling of cool summer nights as they slide in to fall.

Watch video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCXb-suq6D4&feature=youtu.be 

Johnston has been releasing music since the age of 13, but started to turn heads in the last year and a half with his gorgeous Casio covers of Top 40 songs from Nicki Minaj (Pills N Potions), Beyonce (a gently crooned XO), Ciara (Body Party), Drake, Bieber, Pharrell (a mopey Happy) and others. Approaching the end of his teenage years, a now 18-year-old Eddie began to create and share his own original compositions. Initially heavy on lo-fi presentation and shoegaze style aesthetics, Eddie’s emotionally resonant songs steeped in youth, confusion and sadness have become cleaner, richly melodic, and lyrically focused. They’ve propelled him and his live band (Taylor Groves, Daniel McBride of Sheep, Dog & Wolf, and Miles Sutton of Tuff Wizard) to open for indie pop stars like Perfume Genius and How To Dress Well.

Last year’s Light Shines Through Dust again boosted Eddie’s profile, with massive online pickup and plays as well as college radio chart success. Friends and collaborators like Lorde, Ryan Hemsworth (who helped inspire the bike premise for the All I Wanna Say video), Tunji Ige and Corbin (Spooky Black) have helped as well. In the last 12 months, Eddie’s been the subject of a FADER GenF profile and an i-D feature, as well as gaining accolades from taste-making media outlets like Dummy and Stereogum.

Lontalius’ debut album will be released in 2016. Eddie recently spent time in Bristol, recording and mixing with legendary recording engineer and producer Ali Chant of Toybox Studios (PJ Harvey, Perfume Genius, M. Ward, KT Tunstall). Lontalius will also appear at CMJ this October in the states and will perform at Red Bull Music Academy in Paris in November.