Lofi artist Yxngxr1 returns with his upbeat new single ‘Downtown LA’. Out 14th April, the track is another dose of sepia-toned dream pop from a young artist who continues to find rich inspiration in personal snapshots of life. All his output is filtered through his uniquely candid DIY approach, which The Guardian have described as “lovable lo-fi indie-rap.”
In ‘Downtown LA’, we hear Yxngxr1’s skill of telling stories through his witty and honest lyrics. The upbeat and summery instrumentation of chorus rich guitars and singalong hooks is countered with a sad and dark tale, inspired by a fateful trip to the side of LA where tourists don’t dare to tread. We find out that the city isn’t quite the magical place that Yxngxr1 expected.
“When I first ever came to LA I didn’t really know much about the place. We see on the screens from across the post that it’s a magical place where all the celebrities go to party and sniff coke 24/7.” Yxngxr1 says “Having no clue about other parts of the city, I booked us a hotel in downtown LA, not knowing what type of area it was. Every time we left the hotel there was always someone starting on us or cat calling from across the street and I hated it.”
This comes off the back of his previous single ‘Something Else’, a similarly nostalgic feeling alt pop track which garnered DSP playlist support from Spotify (New Music Friday and Our Generation) and Apple Music (INDIY, Indie Pop and Indie & Chill) as well as press support from The Independent, Noctis Mag and Ones To Watch.
A true product of the internet generation, his music has gained over 300M streams across all DSPs, national radio support from BBC Radio 1, Radio 2, BBC 6 Music and plaudits at press from the likes of Dork, The Line of Best Fit and TMRW. Despite his heady rise to success, he has continued to challenge himself in the studio, pushing the envelope and breaking the boundaries between hip-hop and indie.
Born and raised in Cardiff, UK, Yxngxr1 first stirred up buzz with his DIY record ‘Tyler’ in 2019 whilst holding down a post school day job at Foot Locker. Following its viral explosion, he quickly tallied tens of millions of streams across fan-favourite singles such as ‘Rather Do’, ‘RockStore’, ‘721’, ‘Pigeons’, and more. Simultaneously, he released a flurry of full-length projects, most recently last year’s well-received Teenage Motel.
The storytelling of ‘Downtown LA’ showcases Yxngxr1’s endearing and personable songwriting – expect more news from this one to watch very soon.
To find out more about Yxngxr1, go to:
Instagram | TikTok | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify