Music Spotlight: Germano

LA-based pop artist Germano recently dropped his debut single Lost Crowd alongside his self-produced + directed music video. The track is our new anthem for feeling lonely in Los Angeles complete with Germano’s smooth production, emotive vocals + refreshingly honest lyrics. We caught up with him to chat about the story behind track + his forthcoming EP.

photo by Marlee Forsyth

Asymmetric Magazine: Congrats on your recent release! Can you tell us about Lost Crowd and what it means to you?
Germano: Thank you! Lost Crowd is about realizing that there are things in life that you can't control and that's okay. I went through this phase—which I think a lot of us do as young adults—where reality hit me, and I realized that the plans I held on to for so long just weren’t working for me and probably weren’t going to. Having that thought was disconcerting, and it made me feel lost. I noticed that a lot of my friends, who are almost all artists, were going though the same thing in one way or another. So, the song is dedicated to them, and it is supposed to be a celebration. We’re all still figuring things out, but we understand and we have each other.

AM: You also released a music video along with the single—can you tell us a little bit about the concept for the video?
G: It was my first time directing and producing, and I really wanted the video to match the feeling of the song. We were playing back some of the footage at the shoot, and one of my friends said, ‘We look like we’re in a cult.’ I was like, ‘YES!’. That’s what I wanted it to feel like—a sense of togetherness. When I was still working on the song, I told the producers that I wanted the chorus to feel like an anthem, and in the video we’re wearing our ‘Lost Angeles High’ uniform and singing along with our hands over the heart. That was intentional to reinforce the message. It was also very important to me to have my friends in it, and at the end of the video when I get a little emotional, even though that was in the treatment, I didn’t have to ‘act’ that much. They were there because they believed in me, and when I looked at them, I was just reminded of how lucky I am to have their support. That itself is the message of the song, so it wasn’t hard to capture it because it was real.

AM: We love the ‘Lost Angeles High’ uniforms! Does living in Los Angeles play a big role in your work?
G: My entire EP is about growing up here. In Lost Crowd, I sing ‘At 3 AM / The train is mine / I found a new home’. The song is also about finding a place where you belong, and to me, that could be on a train on the way home, driving through the canyons, or walking around Hollywood with my friends. Every song on the EP is inspired by LA in some way. I have one called Valley Nights and one called Orange Line, which is the name of the bus line that crosses the Valley. I always have to explain what it is to people because none of my friends take public transportation, so I wrote a song about that.

AM: Are there any consistent themes you typically pursue through your music?
G: This EP is very introspective, yet at the same time, I insert myself into a larger group of people (my people – my friends) that I’m singing about or singing with. I guess that comes from the theme of growing up and feeling lost and wanting to belong. A lot of the songs that I’m writing right now aren’t like that—they’re still introspective, but I’m only singing from my personal standpoint, which might be because now I feel much more secure with myself and being my own person.

AM: Where is one place that you feel completely in touch with your creative self and your music?
G: I usually write in my bedroom by myself. But then I’ll be walking somewhere, and I’ll sing a melody or think of a lyric that I might end up using for a song. There’s not really a place for me. I like to write by the piano, though. That’s my foundation.

AM: For first time listeners, how do you like to describe your sound?
G: I’m very influenced by 80’s synth-pop and soft-rock, and I love a big pop chorus. I describe it as ‘Coming-of-age Pop’. It’s self-explanatory lyrically, but I also like that it sounds dramatic and cinematic, and the visuals are really important to me, as well.

I realized that the plans I held on to for so long just weren’t working for me and probably weren’t going to, and it made me feel lost.

AM: What other musicians are you currently listening to?
G: I discovered MILKK this week, and I have a couple of their songs on repeat. I also found this girl named Griff at random on Instagram—she only has one song out, and it’s great. I’m excited for the new Melanie Martinez film/album, which is coming out soon, so I’ve been playing a few of her old songs lately.

AM: We love MILKK. So, what can we expect to hear from you next?
G: The Lost Crowd EP will be coming soon with a new music video that I’m creating right now, which I’m really excited about. I’m still working on the production of the songs, but I also already have one song that I know will be on my next project. I’m always writing.

// listen to Lost Crowd:

// Listen to more Germano on Spotify.