Behind Icarus

Behind my Debut EP "Icarus"

The name of my Debut EP "Icarus" is derived from the Greek myth.

Here is a short summary of that story:

"Icarus was the son of Daedalus, the craftsman who built the Labyrinth. But after Daedalus aided Ariadne by telling her how Theseus could escape the Labyrinth he’d designed, King Minos locked Daedalus and his son, Icarus, inside the maze. Ever the inventor, Daedalus fashioned some wings out of feathers and wax, for him and his son to use to fly their way off the island of Crete. They escaped and flew up into the sky. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the sun; however, Icarus got carried away and promptly did just that, upon which the wax in his wings melted. He fell to his death, drowning in the sea surrounding the island of Samos, a sea which is now named after him."

I have spent three years crafting this EP. I have literally created hundreds of songs and thrown the vast majority of them away to whittle down to these four songs I present to you. This EP has gone through multiple names, covers, release dates. Over this course, I have changed managers and agents too many times to count. Been told by major labels that my music was great but my social media wasn't what they were looking for. I have lost jobs, gained jobs, grown from a boy to a man, and become a more assured and confident version of myself. But for me to become this version I had to have flown too close to the sun.

All Tracks Recorded, Mixed, Mastered by James Laurent (me <3)

Toxic FT. Laney Piper:

This track featuring Laney Piper produced by SlayingIbis is one of the hardest most rock oriented tracks I have ever created. I personally had such a challenge as an engineer on this song and ended up with close to 20 or 30 different versions I had worked on. 

Paint Me:

This track is a very emotional one for me. Relationships have never been my strong suit in life, although I feel a lot better with them now. I wrote the first hook initially while very angry with a situation I was facing. I didn't come back and write the pre chorus and verses until later. Paint Me started as just a hook and it was a diss track. I eventually rewrote certain lines in the hook and started on the Pre chorus to turn the song from angry, into more of a sad yet hopeful song about young love. Production by Alexander Bierk!

The Storm:

The Storm is one of my personal favorites. Produced by Dutch Revz, this grungy, dark, and emotional song really allowed me to showcase my natural vocal tone and style. I had a lot of frustration with my ex who would not stop being a consistent hassle on my life and the words to The Storm just flowed out of me.

Moonlight:

Moonlight is the only song that has stood the test from the very first iteration of the EP 3 years ago, to the very final release. One of my most lyrically in-depth tracks touching on losing yourself in suit of perfection. I personally think Moonlight is the best song I will have released.

Thank you for reading my excerpts, I truly hope you enjoy my EP. If you do let me know on instagram! @iamJamesLaurent ! I'd love to talk more about it with you and share and repost all the love <3