The Lagoons
Photo Credit: Daniel Nguyen
The Lagoons prove to the world that it takes two. The LA-raised brothers, Ryan and Joey Selan, have been at it since their childhood, but made their professional debut in 2015. The impressive duo writes, records, and produces everything from their home studio in Austin, most recently their debut album. Midnight Afternoon, released in late June this year, already has over 890k streams. Unequivocally lucid, The Lagoons’ music is a delectable mix of seamlessly blended genres, including but not limited to pop, soul, soft rock, and indie. From the mellow and honest “Something Good” to the bright “Rainbows,” the duo fails to disappoint, evident in their place on 5+ Spotify-curated playlists. We recently spoke with the Selan brothers about the secret behind their sound, where they draw inspiration from, and more!
How did you start making music?
We both grew up playing music in our middle school and high school jazz bands. We each began venturing out learning different instruments and this is where we began writing our first songs. Once we began writing, it became addicting and we couldn't stop. We bought Ableton music production software and never really looked back. Producing and writing music has always been a creative outlet for the two of us.
How would you describe your sound?
Our general mantra as songwriters and producers is to create an overall vibe or a mood. Our influences are very broad from 1960s Laurel Canyon vibes to 1970s Steely Dan to 2000s+ Daft Punk. At the end of the day, we want the song at its core to be as strong as possible and then translate the song into a produced record that evokes the overall vibe we're going for on that particular track. Some of our songs can be very bright, chill, happy, and beachy while others are a little darker and deeper. We've heard our music described as Cali Pop, Groovetronica, and Vacation Indie.
Who’s someone that inspires you?
Inspiration can come from the oddest places. It really depends on the song and what story we're trying to tell. Generally, we tend to inspire one another by our collaborative process of provoking creative ideas out of one another. We're also inspired daily by our friends, family, and world events that are top of mind.
Which song from your new album, “Midnight Afternoon”, was your favorite to write?
They were all fun! But if we have to choose one, "Hazy" brought out a lot of emotion during the songwriting process which makes it a very rewarding song for us to listen back to.
What’s something you love to do in your free time?
We love to hang with friends by water, play basketball and other sports, and take our dog Leo on nice long walks. Anything outdoors is a good time with us.
If you could collaborate with any person, who would it be and why?
We really love what Tom Misch is doing right now. It's awesome to see the growth trajectory his career has had and we're just big fans of his. I think the jazz background would make for a great collab.
What can fans expect from you in the future?
A lot! We have tons of new music that we're gearing up to release and a lot of it is a bit different than our past releases so we're excited to share a different side to us.
