5 reasons to be excited for Seven Lions in 2014Seven Lions 3

5 reasons to be excited for Seven Lions in 2014

5 Reasons to be excited for Seven Lions in 2014

Seven Lions has proven one of the most exciting producers of the past two years. With a keen ear for melody and an unparalleled knack for sound design, Jeff Montalvo is easily one of the most exciting talents in the bass music space — but his work doesn’t stop there. Jeff’s music ranges from midtempo, to house, to trance-like offerings, yet somehow always retains the ultra-clean Seven Lions feel.

We recently caught up with Montalvo in San Francisco as he opened for Skrillex on the Takeovers Tour. Throughout the interview, it became clear that Seven Lions is gearing up for his biggest year to date. “I feel like last year was the calm before the storm,” he said. I was really trying to find my groove as far as making music and traveling and I feel like I’ve got that down now.” With that in mind, here are five reasons to be excited for Seven Lions’ upcoming year.

1. His third is EP coming out very soon

Jeff’s got a new EP, and it’s closer than you might think. “Hopefully the first single will be out in March, full release in mid-April,” he said, while also mentioning how variable these dates can be.

In regards to the tempo of the tracks on the new EP, Jeff said: “I think two of them are at 140, one of them at 132, and the other one I’m not really sure because it’s in 3/4 timing. I think I set it to 200 in my computer. I really wanted to work in music that inspires me and a lot of metal is in 3/4 timing.”

Considering that 99% of all electronic music is written in a 4/4 time signature, this is pretty damn cool. Jeff elaborated: “I’ve done a lot of stuff in triplets, but never straight up 3/4 all the way through. It’s probably one of the things I’m most proud of as far as an artist.”

2. He's experimenting with more dance-floor driven material

“I’m trying some different things,” Jeff said. “I’ve been inspired by a lot of shows I’ve played. A bit of the big room sound but still trying to keep the very lush, intelligent music that I’m in to.”

If there’s anyone to put an interesting spin on big room music, it’s Seven Lions. While the festival world has been a bit over-saturated with the sound, perhaps Montalvo will be the one to give it the fresh twist it needs: “It’s trying to walk that line of music that is intelligent and fun to listen to and music that hits hard.”

3. He's got his own headlining tour this year

After supporting Krewella on the ‘Get Wet’ tour, Seven Lions returns with a headlining edition of his own. The mysteriously named ‘Worlds Apart’ concept promises to be an all-out showcase of Seven Lions music with a long string of dates already announced and more on the way.

In regards to the tour, Jeff mentioned: “I’m going pretty heavy soon. It’s going to coincide with the EP.” This also gives us reason to believe that the new EP will be named Worlds Apart, but we’ll have to wait to be sure.

4. He's collaborating with Xilent

When I last sat down with Seven Lions, he mentioned how Xilent was one of the producers he most respected in the electronic world. It makes sense, as both producers share a similar style of colossal, yet polished bass music. Now the two artists are collaborating: “I’ve been working with Xilent for a little while on a tune. It’s been taking a while cause we’re both very perfectionists so we keep bouncing it back and forth so I’m not super positive when it’s coming out. That’s the next collab.”

Seeing as how both producers are renowned for their sound design and mixing, it’s safe to say the results of this collaboration are going to be massive.

5. He's got another EP on the way with more live elements

Referring to his touring in 2013, Montalvo said: “I wrote a lot of music, and I have a lot of music that is finishing up and ready to go. This EP is done, but I have another EP with a big amount of tracks that are done and ready to go.” This second EP, however, will feature a newer direction: “The next EP I’m working on, there’s a lot more live elements going into it,” Jeff said.

With his penchant for metal and non-electronic music in mind, this seems like natural progression for Montalvo’s music. Towards the end of our interview, he reflected on his overall vision: “At this point I’m starting to work with larger labels and having more of an access to things I’ve always wanted. To be like, man, I want this violin or guitar part not to be synthesized. I want to actually get a violinist and make these awesome — do this all the way. That’s where I want to progress to. That’s my ultimate goal, to be able to use the resources that are coming to me and push the boundaries of my music.”

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