New song. New video. New cast? Seems like a whole lot has been going on with Lightfoils. We last checked in with the crew in August 2019, pre-covid, as the future still looked limitless. As cornerstone artists on the DKFM platform, it’s up to us to find out what’s going on now, and what it means for this talented lot going forward. We caught up with the modified cast of Lightfoils for the straight scoop, as they unfurl the new song and video, “Sunblind”.
DKFM: Changes. A lot has happened since we last touched base: the departure of two key members, and the addition of new… what’s the scoop with Lightfoils 2021? Talk about departing cast, and what the new members bring to the table.
Cory Osborne (bass) – Yeah. 2020 just feels like a lost year. The first big change came right after the last Windy City CrashPop festival. Jane (Zabeth, vocals) decided to to leave the band in order to pursue more personal artistic pursuits. We had our sights set on going to Japan, with Sophie Brochu (Astrobrite, Fauvely ) temporarily filling in on vocals. Then the bottom dropped out.
John Rungger (drums) – The pandemic caught us off guard. We were just getting ready to fly to Japan to do a short tour, our first international shows, when Covid started to spread. We made the very difficult decision to cancel the shows. We lost money, time, and morale. It was a bit of a crisis of confidence for us.
Neil Yodnane (guitar) – 2020 was definitely a setback in many ways, but it also became a moment of clarity for us. Yeah, it sucked to have to cancel our Japan tour and put shows on hold altogether. But it gave us time to look inward and realize that some of the pieces needed reworking. That’s when we decided that it was the right time to part ways with Zeeshan, our co-founding guitarist. That was tough, but it was amicable and we wish him the best.
DKFM: Understanding that the “new sound” was in the can, ready to reveal to waiting fans last year. The pandemic shelved plans for this release, then challenges in pressing and distribution pushed back the timeline a little more. Talk about what gets this release unleashed into the bright light of day, finally?
John – These songs were all written and recorded during quarantine, so may not exist at all in these forms without the pandemic.
Neil – The best thing to come out of the pandemic was that we were able to focus more on writing and establishing a stronger lineup. Without having any shows on the horizon, songwriting took precedence. Shaping new sounds and ideas seemed to happen much more organically than it ever did in the past. Ryan Davis (Sleepwalk, Tragic Figures) came in on guitar. And we hooked up with Laura Boton (Todd Rundgren, Cheer Accident) on vocals, a talented multi-instrumentalist who brought added depth with her synth work.
Cory – Laura and Ryan being multi-instrumentalists really expands the possibilities for us in terms of widening the spectrum of sounds we can bring to our live shows as well.
DKFM: Is this a tease? With new personnel, and possibly more availability, is there more material to come, and possibly greater touring possibilities?
John – This is a present to our fans, a way of reminding people we are still around, and needed self-care for us as musicians.
Neil – We definitely plan on releasing more material and doing some touring in 2021. Sunblind is part of a four single release collection, with limited edition cassettes that will form into one collective art piece (more on that later). And we keep on writing, so a full length album release in the near future is not outside the realm of possibilities.
Cory – These cassette releases are kind of “high quality” demos for tracks that we may (or may not) be re-recording and releasing as part of a longer length record. They also serve as a platform for us to release some really great remixes our friends have done for us. For example, the Sunblind cassettes features a dope Honeydew remix by Vet Trip.
Neil – And yeah, touring is high on the agenda. We’d love to reschedule Japan as soon as possible but it depends more on their situation than it does ours. Beyond that, revisiting some of our favorite spots around the US will definitely be high on the list for fall 2021 and into 2022.
DKFM: Don’t call it a comeback… what do you hope Lightfoils will have accomplished by year’s end? Just reminding folks of the quality attached to your artistic imprint, charting with tastemakers and fans, planting a flag for the coming year?
Neil – Be prepared to hear us doing what we do best but also adding more color to our sound. We’ve always loved the idea of incorporating synth work, and with Laura on board this is now a reality that we are excited to embrace. Ryan brings a fresh new perspective on our guitar work and songwriting while still holding down a solid foundation for our trademark wall of sound. We cannot wait to share the newfound energy with our fans.
It’s a new chapter in the Lightfoils saga. No less engaging, but admittedly a different feel to the proceedings. One thing is certain: this imprint moves from strength to strength, and whatever comes next will surely get folks talking. Folks like us, anyway.
Lightfoils followable data:
Bandcamp: https://lightfoils.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lightfoils/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightfoils
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightfoils/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Lightfoils/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lightfoils
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lightfoils/
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