EXCLUSIVE: ✝ L▲ST L‡GHT ✝ - True RomanceFirst play of the début single from Alex Ward + his first interview in over two years
Alex Ward is a name that few will remember. Around 2-3 years ago the guy was the face of 'bad boys', as he pranced about with his heavily tattooed body ingesting every drug under the sun. Notoriously, Ward got arrested after the Chaos Awards in 2012 after he and Blood of Wecz prodigy, Scott Rose-Hilton, got destroyed on the streets of London before stumbling into a strip club and causing havoc.
Ward had been very good friends with Ryan Williams' old band Misery Loves Company, and found himself living of their fame rather than his own band Chasing The Sun (the band disbanded after a two years due to Ward's reluctance to sit down and record new material). A couple of years though, Alex cemented his relationship with indie rock's poster-boy Williams and back in May the two announced via Twitter that they had started a new music project together. Since the announcement, the water has gone cold and details about the project have been scarce.
After three months of writing and recording however, the first single from the aptly titled ✝ L▲ST L‡GHT ✝. Oozing from the gloomy depths of New York City, this R&B/witch-housed influenced electronica has risen. With a minor tweak to the lineup, confirmed to us by Alex Ward himself, he has told us that is his project solely and that Ryan Williams dropped ou due to conflicting schedules with PURE, however has helped write and produce some tracks.
It must be strange for someone who was so heavily featured in magazines and blogs for all the wrong reasons to come back years later and try for a second crack at the industry. "I genuinely thought my music career was over. I thought who wanted to hear what I had. It was partially the reason why I went under the radar for a long time and deactivated all my social media outlets." says Ward.
Alex was involved in a tough break-up with Pretty Little Freaks' Jade Clark and a much more publicised fall from grace after the 'cocaine' scandal between him and Erich Hess in Big Brother. "I was quite a brave character. I never let anything get to me, if I had a problem I just scooped up a line of something or took some form of drug. It was a release. Then when everything did finally hit me, it hit me hard. I realised everything I had done and thought, 'am I really going to end up like one of those people I have strived to distance myself from?' I mean, I still indulge myself with drugs, I have quit completely, but I don't think I abuse them quite as much as I did. There's still a bit of the old Alex left in me."
✝ L▲ST L‡GHT ✝'s debut single is titled 'True Romance' and Ward says it serves as a tribute to one of his favourite films and the relationship between the two lead characters. "I think the love shown between them is so so powerful. Me and Ryan constantly watch the film together. We both made a pact that neither of us would get into a serious relationship unless we found ourselves an 'Alabama'. Someone who will love you more and more no matter what you do. She will always see the positive and the daringly beautiful side of things."
'True Romance' is the first single from the untitled upcoming mixtape, which Ward says features three collaborators including one from indie princess Anna Villiot. "Not all of it has been recorded yet and I still need to ask a few people if they're willing to come in a lay down a few vocals for me but it will be a 5-track mixtape. The reason that it'll be a free to download mixtape rather than a EP is that I feel like I owe everyone something. And there ain't enough artists doing mixtapes at the minute."
Title: True Romance
Released: 12/09/14
Recorded: New York City (Summer 2014)
Genre: Electronic, witch-house, hip-hop, R&B
Length: 4:14
Label: Unsigned
Written: Alex Ward
Produced: Alex Ward, Ryan Williams
Sounds Like:
'True Romance' inhabits a shadowy subspace where R&B and dance music begin to blur together and blend. The song transcends standard lyrical lecherousness, advancing onto more troubling terrain. The vocal take is light and controlled, but it burns with menace and the type of heat lent to whispered threats in the corner of a black-lit club. A deep drowning synth plays out over the intro for a strong minute before any vocals are heard. This is definitely a big turn for Ward as the coldness from the production points to massive PURE and Ryan Williams influences.
Sounding awfully like the soundtrack to an 80's driver flick, 'True Romance' pays diffidence to it's influences rather than directly copying them. Flecks of steel drum sprinkled throughout the song's second half serve as welcome bits of colour and light, an indication of the band's gift for cultivating atmosphere, the darkness of 'True Romance' threatens to overwhelm, demands a search for relief.
A strong debut from ✝ L▲ST L‡GHT ✝, Ward's vocals sometimes don't make the cut but he's found a way to make them succeed and not feel out of place on this song. With an intriguing sound on his back, it will be curious to see how he can develop it with other musicians for his upcoming mixtape.
Let the love drip, let it go
Take another seat, get off your feet
Pull him a little closer
Wrap your bones around his heat
But everybody knows who she is
Everybody knows what he gives
A little taste of heartbreak
A little more than they can take
Maybe later will be different
Everything will be magnificent
Clouds of steam will come over them
Maybe then they'll know what to doDrive away deep into the night
Don't stop at a sound or any light
Daring obsessions of lust will end in a fight
Nobody can stop their love from shining bright
But everybody knows how this ends
Between two lovers and best friends
Clouds of smoke will overcome them both
Swear their partnership with a deadly oath
Maybe later will be different
Everything will be magnificent
Clouds of steam will come over them
Maybe then they'll know what to doQuarter past midnight,
Hearts are racing faster and faster
They wont forget who they are
Noises lasting long into the dark
Daggers leaving the deepest of marks
They'll never ever grow apart
To death til' they part
Maybe later will be different
Everything will be magnificent
Clouds of steam will come over them
Maybe then they'll know what to doEditors notes: Just wait til that second chorus kicks in at the 2:40 stage. The key change is magnificent. 