Unless you’re pretty sured up on your Peruvian geoglyphs, you won’t have the foggiest where the idea for Michael Lovett’s disemvowelled NZCA/Lines tag comes from. Perched outside a modest café in the heart of Brixton, he divulges his passage into musicdom.
“I was playing guitar from when I was about seven and then played classical piano, all of that exciting Bach, when I was younger, which I’ve now pretty much forgotten. I ended up playing in a lot of different bands and went to art college, because I thought it would be the best place to find other musicians rather than going to music college.”
It half worked, with Lovett brushing through a number of dormant bands before setting up a more synth-embracing project on the side. It’s when he started producing demos with Hackney-based producer Charlie Alex March that it all started to come together whilst simultaneously freeing a newfound esteem for Timbaland-esque, R&B production. His voice may not be salted with the same vigour as the late Aaliyah or primetime R. Kelly for that matter, but, “it was through listening to Aaliyah and Ciara, that smooth R&B sound; the more I realised how complex and how many nuances there were.”
The outcome is a batch of tracks, via his self-titled album, that are rich in electronic fibre. Whether it’s the images that the seatbelt-confined, nightly endeavours of ‘Moonlit Car Chase’ congeal or ‘Compass Points’ where falsetto trickles placidly over a glut of analogue debauchery. Now, with an impressive body of work under the belt, Michael’s attentions turn to audience reaction.
“It’s going to be interesting seeing the stage after you release something and how people perceive you after other people have heard it and the ownership is beyond you. I reckon that would be an interesting experience.”
Read Clash's review of NZCA/Lines' self-titled album.
Words by Errol Anderson
Where: London
What: Analogue synth pop
Get 3 songs: ‘Compass Points’, ‘Okinawa Channels’, ‘Base64 Love’
Unique fact: Michael can perform a primitive form of belly-dancing.
Photography: Samuel John Butt
Photographic Assistant: Maisi Lee
Hair: Meggie Cousland
Make-up: Danielle @ Technicolour
Jacket by CP Company, shirt by Carhartt