Multi-instrumentalist producer and fine-artist, Lomea has released his second album Echoes in Bloom on May 31 via Here & Now Recordings. Previous single ‘You Are Your Memories’ garnered significant attention on release, premiered by Electronic Groove, with the video premiering on Son of Marketing. Lomea’s music has been championed by the likes of Nick Luscombe from Late Junction on BBC Radio 3, as well as Nemone from BBC 6 Music’s Electric Ladyland and an array of blogs. Lomea has also featured on Listen on Repeat’s Staff Pick for his track ‘Three Graces’. While this album is self-produced, Lomea has worked with David Baron, most notably known for his work with The Lumineers, Jade Bird, Bat for Lashes, Lenny Kravitz, Michael Jackson and Shawn Mendes, to name but a few.
Growing up on the outskirts of South London, Richard Keyworth aka Lomea’s early musical interests lay with drumming. He fashioned makeshift drum kits out of found objects, and eventually also went on to play the guitar, for which he had classical training. He is a University of Brighton graduate, with a first class degree in Music Production. Lomea is a skilled fine-artist and designed the cover art for Echoes In Bloom. He created an interlocking series of 9 canvas paintings inspired by the concept of Ouroboros, the ancient circular symbol depicting a snake swallowing its tail, symbolising unity, wholeness, two opposites coming together as one.
Lomea cites a range of artists who have served as inspiration – from legends Radiohead to trip-hop giants Massive Attack, the experimental jazz of Jaga Jazzist, to the dream pop/Ambient stylings of Sigur Ros. Although Lomea’s own sound remains enigmatic in terms of genre, it bears resemblance to the electronic world of Amon Tobin and Matthew Herbert, with the minimalistic air of Steve Reich and touches of Cinematic Orchestra and Alva Noto.
Lomea is forging his own sound often pairing 12 string guitar with techno and electronica. His multi-layered, processed, filtered and acoustic guitars coupled with all manner of synths, found sound, field recordings, effects and electronics, lends itself as much to alternative, post and prog rock as it does dance music with nods to film-score and classical music too.
On Echoes In Bloom, Lomea continues his exploration of the synthesis of duality, delicately pairing opposites in slickly arranged light and dark narratives. The album features ten full instrumental songs, on which he weaves the electronic with the acoustic, analogue with digital, the intense with the serene, creating a distinctive musical palette and revealing an instinctive natural warmth and empathy. His soundscape can be likened to the yin & the yang – opposite forces, yet, existing together in the harmony of a perfect orb.
On the inspiration behind Echos in Bloom, Lomea explains, “With Echoes In Bloom I wanted to make an album without any considerations for what genre it fit into, let alone what’s currently fashionable – just whatever felt honest. Music allows me to express things in an infinitely more profound way than language ever could.”
