Lionel Boy Announces Debut Album Out May 14

The Hawaiian native and Long Beach based songwriter Lionel Boy has announced that his debut self-titled album will be released on May 14, 2021 via Innovative Leisure. To celebrate the announcement, he shares his second single of 2021, "Kam Highway".

The synth heavy and ethereal track is the follow up to the laid back "Flower Girl," released in March. "Kam Highway" highlights Lionel's sultry baritone capabilities and is set against a reverb-drenched backdrop of airy synth textures, extra low bass, and a heavy beat laced with trap elements.

"Back home in Hawaii, one of the main highways we have is called Kam Highway." Lionel Boy shares. "For me, it connected the two places I grew up in-Waialua and Wahiawa. It's my favorite drive in the whole world. I hadn't done much previous work on my own with synths or beat making but it was something I'd been wanting to try. When I started working on the song, it sounded a lot like a long, dark road and the first one that came to mine was the one I'd been taking my whole life."

The visual companion to "Kam Highway" was directed by Joanna Nguyen. "'Kam Highway' was shot over a span of three days on my home island of Oahu, Hawaii by my awesome friend Joanna Nguyen. It's funny - I grew up in "paradise" wanting nothing more than to escape it. I've driven many roads looking for an exit only to realize-you can't run from what's inside."

Pre-order / pre-save Lionel Boy via Innovative Leisure HERE.

Native to Hawaii and now living in Long Beach, Lionel Boy's sound mixes spacey synthesizers, impromptu breakbeats & bedroom pop. "Kam Highway" and "Flower Girl" are the first hints of new music from the Hawaiian native since his debut Who Is Dovey? EP was released last year. The EP served a perfect introduction to Lionel Boy's sound and included songs "Lately," "Summer Fun", "Are You Happy Yet" and "Lost," a song which The FADER described as "a detuned slacker-pop song that builds to a satisfyingly down-tempo guitar hook."

Listen to "Kam Highway" here:

Photo Credit: Basil Vargas

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