Daily Discovery is a feature that will highlight a new or recently discovered artist that we’re excited about. See the rest of our Daily Discoveries here.
We love steel drums here at P&P. We love it when Jamie xx uses them, we love it when The Clipse uses them, and we love it when La Roux uses them.
We also love the way T.O.L.D., a musician originally from Birmingham, England, uses them on “Lucifer’s Eyes,” the first song to be uploaded to his Soundcloud. As debut tracks go, it’s highly impressive, a thoughtfully put together blend of upbeat elements (the bright steel drums, the airy backing vocals) and lyrics that are darker, referencing being trapped, loss, and being “taken” by the devil who is name checked in the song’s very title.
It’s not easy to make a song as tropically enjoyable to listen to as “Lucifer’s Eyes,” but to make one that hides this sort of depth and emotional weight is an impressive feat, especially for your debut song. The many layers and different influences make sense though, as T.O.L.D. (which actually stands for “The Order of Life and Death”) worked on the song on his own before taking it to Iceland to finish it off.
T.O.L.D. has now relocated to Los Angeles, saying “The grey skies in England made me too blue, the blue skies in L.A. make me less blue,” and we can’t wait to hear the rest of the EP that he says is already finished. Check out “Lucifer’s Eyes” and get to know a little more about T.O.L.D. below.
There’s not much info about you out there, so who is T.O.L.D.? Is the picture on Soundcloud you?
T.O.L.D. is indeed the guy in that photo, I’m just a kid from Birmingham with stars in his eyes.
Did you produce and play all the instruments on “Lucifer’s Eyes”?
I did, very slowly, then I went to Iceland to make is sound shiny with Biggi from GusGus.
Why did you decide to move to LA? How do you think it will affect your music?
The grey skies in England made me too blue, the blue skies in L.A. make me less blue. Maybe my music will become less sad as I age here.
What’s behind your name, The Order of Life And Death? How did you choose it?
I started a cult a few years ago, this is just a really good way to market it.
What is “Lucifer’s Eyes” about?
It’s about the struggle, fear and mourning that comes with the loss of a long held identity, maybe it’s a coming of age song. Maybe it’s about addiction?
The song has a lot of different elements packed in it—what music or artists have most influenced you and your sound?
I’m really into the epic tones of ’90s dance music, that’s why I went to Iceland to finish it with a ’90s dance music hero. Also, I have always loved the clean guitar tones of Robert Smith. As for the steel drums, when I was 7 years old, my older brother had a friend called OJ. OJ was my hero, OJ played the steel drums.
What’s next—have you got an EP or album on the way?
I’ve got an EP all wrapped up and ready for the real world, conceived in the British summer and finished in the Icelandic winter. I don’t know when it’s coming out yet, what’s the hurry right? The cover art looks sick though…
