It’s Okay To Be Lonely, Pt. 1 – an interview with Loud Hound
Loud Hound is the musical project of songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Tommy Florio and he has just released his debut EP It’s Okay To Be Lonely, Pt. 1. Tommy was born into a very artistic family and learned to play drums at 13-years-old and picked up the guitar not long after. His art and songwriting was always an oasis to him, an outlet. He started to learn more about recording and production after attending college at New York’s Fordham University.
Written and recorded over the past two years, It’s Okay To Be Lonely, Pt 1 was completely recorded in Tommy’s home studio in the Philadelphia-area where he played all of the instruments and produced the EP. For “Monday Morning,” Tommy teamed up with mixer Justin Gerrish (Vampire Weekend, The Strokes, Ra Ra Riot) and Paul Gold (Panda Bear, Tycho, Weyes Blood) for mastering and Ricky Berroti mixed the single “Keep Ya Head Up.”
We caught up with Tommy to talk about the EP and how he approaches recording new music.
Hi Tommy! How’s everything going right now?
Everything is going great, just enjoying each day as they come.
What classic album cover is your current mood?
It’s getting cold over here so I’d say Boards of Canada – Music Has The Right To Children.
Your debut EP, It’s Okay To Be Lonely, Pt 1, is out now. When and where were the songs written and recorded?
I wrote and recorded most of it in my house in New Jersey. Some of it was by the beach and some of it was written when I moved closer to Philly.
You’ve been releasing singles regularly since 2018 – were you tempted to use some of the older tracks that you felt had not got the attention they had deserved at the time?
Truthfully, I’m always ready to move onto the next project but I do understand bringing older singles from previous releases onto the record. I ended up doing that with a few tracks like “Monday Morning” and “Keep Ya Head Up.”
If you could only listen to one record, what would it be?
I listened to Bibio’s record Ribbons on repeat for like 2 weeks straight last month so either that or King Krule’s debut record.
It’s hard to pin the EP down to one “sound” – is that because it’s just you and you can take the music wherever you want rather than having the more rigid structure of a full band?
Yeah absolutely. I just like making songs that feel good or evoke some type of emotion regardless of how they sound. You can produce the track any way you want, making it more electronic or acoustic sounding it just depends. When I’m playing around the studio I like to just work off of whatever I’m working on – so if I decide to start off with an electronic drum kit versus a real one I’ll just keep it moving. Ya know.
Who did you listen to when you were growing up and how have they influenced Loud Hound?
I’d say a lot of bands like Brand New, Beck, Gorillaz, and Rolling Stones. Especially as a teenager.
Do you have any live shows planned as part of the release?
At this time, no I don’t. Maybe some for 2023.
What would go on your signature pizza and what would it be called?
Probably like broccoli and olives, maybe some pepperoni too lol.
What do you have planned for 2023? Is there a Part 2 on the way?
Yes there’s a part 2! And Yes it will come out next year.
You can find out more by following Loud Hound on Instagram and Twitter.
Photo Credit: Brittany Desterno
