An Interview With The Musical Act, LAYNE On Their Upcoming Summer Release, “The Black Hills” And More!

Photo Credit- Brandon Wolford

With a sound that combines the best of bands like The 1975, PVRIS and Halsey, LAYNE delivers their own style of dystopian indie-rock in their hit single “Good.” 

“‘Good’ is a song about finding the ‘togetherness’ between two people who feel so alone who live in ‘the dark’ but find each other in that place,” articulates lead singer-songwriter Layne Putnam. “It’s a giant comparison between the person who I found was as lonely as me and an environment of sorts that I created in my head.”

The single itself has received viral success, already reaching over 1 million streams on Spotify and earning Top 15 spots on two key Spotify charts: (U.S. Spotify Viral 50 and Global Viral 50).

LAYNE will also be releasing their debut EP The Black Hills later this Summer, featuring more of their signature dark pop rock and self-reflecting lyrics.

LAYNE is Layne Putnam (vocals/guitar) and Alexander Rosca (drums)

Learn more about Layne in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! How’s 2016 treating you so far? How’s your summer been going? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for you and your music?

Of course! 2016 has been going great! We spent a lot of 2015 getting all our ducks in a row trying some different things and creating a lot of content to roll out; I feel like now we are in a place where LAYNE the project is really starting to move. The highlight of 2015 was probably putting out “Somebody” because it opened some doors for us and we made some very important relationships because of it.

Can you recall forming this duo? Why do you two work so well together?

We don’t usually like being referred to as a duo; we think of LAYNE more as a collective and Alexander and I are the faces of it. I think we all work well together because we all care about music and have a deep understanding of what this project really means and the investment, time, and hard work we all have to put in together.

How would you describe your unique sound to someone that has never heard it before? 

I think the easiest way to describe the music in terms of genre would be to call it indie/pop/rock. But if I were to get into detail I would say it’s an energetic, sad music. Generally with groovy guitars, drum and bass parts over atmospheric synths.

What was it like making the transition from South Dakota to Los Angeles? How has it changed your sound and style?

The transition from South Dakota to LA wasn’t to shocking because I had parents that made sure we traveled a lot and weren’t closed off to the world plus I had been to LA a couple times the two years before I actually moved. But It was definitely a struggle to start over, I only knew one person when I first moved so that was difficult but I found my way and now have an amazing team of people around me and the best group of friends I’ve ever had.

Can you talk about the inspiration for your debut EP, “The Black Hills”?

This EP was made over the course of a year so the inspiration came from many different places and emotional states. The reason we are calling it the Black Hills EP is because that is where I grew up and one week Devon Corey ( the producer ) and I went to my home town and collected a bunch of samples from all over including the lake where I would go and write songs when I was feeling too much in highschool. I mention that lake in “somebody” as well. We used the samples in this EP.

How creatively involved were you two with the making of your newest video, “Good”? What was it like shooting it?

I tend to be pretty heavily involved with the videos. I usually walk into them with a very specific idea as to what the video looks like in my head. The tricky part is translating that into the real thing. Shooting the Video was pretty relaxed most of it was just the band and the director/ videographer Ryan Valdez although we were crunched as far as budget and time so we had to be efficient.

What if anything has surprised you about the music industry?

I’m not sure if anything has surprised me. But I’ve definitely seen some of the darker sides of things. I grew up listening to a lot of indie bands and bands that were all about the artistry. And I’ve found that that doesn’t always matter if you don’t have a “hit” defined by them. But on the flip side I’ve also met a lot of really great people who truly care about the musicianship and artistry.

Who are some of your favorite artists? What artists continue to inspire you? Who would you love to work with in the future?  

This is one of the hardest questions because there are so many artists that I look up to and learn from. I think the bands I grew up listening to like Death cab for cutie, Blink 182 etc I will always listen to their records and learn something from them. But I also love artists like Bjork who I feel has taught me so much about being human. I can’t say who I’d like to work with in the future because I have no idea how I would work with them and that’s the most important thing. But I would love to tour with bands like Melanie Martinez; Pvris, or The 1975.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I hope people find power and confidence in their emotions. Emotion is the most powerful thing we’ve got as human beings good or bad we get to feel. And its that alone that makes a life in my opinion.