I make alternative music. My first song, Towel, is out now on Spotify and Apple. Go to the release below to check it out. Thanks for stopping by!

Radiat.in/g

This is my second track, Hot Dogs.

It's based around a 'boing' sound, distorted beyond recognition from a game show sample.

Between the verses are harpsichord solos. I've wanted to use the harpsichord in a song ever since hearing it in an incredible [mixtape](https://soundcloud.com/sincerely-yours-3/neo-bahamut) from a Swedish indie band, Team Rockit.

I loved Team Rockit so much that one winter's day in 2015 I flew to Stockholm alone for an evening to see them in concert. I stayed in a boat-hotel moored on Södermalm and arrived early at the venue. I was the first person there. I walked into the room and saw all of my Swedish musical idols sat down for a convivial dinner next to the bar. Not just the Team Rockit crew, mind you. I'd been following the Gothenburg-based record label Sincerely Yours for a while, and their top stars were all there, like the two members of jj, and Erik Berglund from The Tough Alliance. It was insane.

But I didn't want to be the fanboy type who goes up and asks for an autograph. And also, I didn't have the guts. So I tried my best to ignore them, carried on drinking my over-priced beer at the bar alone, had an amazing time at the gig, went to sleep in a small, hot cabin, and the next day walked around Stockholm in the snow.

Hot Dogs

Louis here. As you might know, I'm making music under the name Radiat.in/g. This is the page for the first song I've released, Towel.

I thought I'd use this space to write about why I've started releasing music, what went into making Towel, and why I've called myself Radiat.in/g.

I've loved making music my whole life. Specifically, weird music. The kind of music that doesn't often get played on the radio. You could call it experimental, alternative, indie or a hundred other niche terms.

For me, weird means music that tries to do something interesting and new. But at the same time, *sounds good* — even to someone who wouldn't usually listen to weird music. That's the kind of music I love making.

I've always had a problem though. Sitting down to make music on my own, it only took a few minutes for me to feel frustrated.

I always started with a good idea in my head of what I'd like a song to sound like. But I didn't understand how to create that sound in real life. It was like typing a sentence and seeing Wingdings appear on your screen.

After years of wandering around in the musical wilderness, setting and breaking a new year's resolution to release my first album every year, I realized I needed someone to help me turn my compositions into reality. And I didn't have to look far, because my brother-in-law Dean is an absurdly talented producer. I can't actually believe my luck.

The sessions I had with Dean were some of the most creatively fulfilling hours of my life. I left glowing with happiness at what we were able to make together. Dean's magical musical touch was the bridge that took me from idly composing to being able to make songs.

After a few months, I had a set of tracks that wouldn't have existed without Dean. Towel is the first of these that I'm releasing, with three more to come soon.

I composed Towel on my iPad using a tool called GarageBand. I was musing over how composing by recording lots of voice memos didn't seem very efficient, and then I realized that my iPad already has GarageBand, which lets you record multiple tracks of music in an incredibly user-friendly way, and make the outline of a song in light speed.

So that's how Towel came about. I came to Dean with my iPad, and then we turned it into something real. iPads are great, but you need to use a proper piece of software like Ableton at the hands of a magician like Dean if you're serious about making something that sounds good.

Towel is a waltz, where the anchor — that triple time riff — is played with samples of my voice. I love using my voice as an instrument, not just to sing lead or backup vocals. The waltz builds up alongside the sound of harps, pianos, and wood being split into pieces, which adds texture, randomness and atmosphere. Then the vocals come in, and everything builds up to an instrumental finale.

The song is about the feeling of having an amazing shower. The kind of shower where you stop thinking about anything apart from the warm water wrapped around you like a blanket and the shampoo you're rubbing into your head. The kind of shower that washes everything away.

Oh, and one last thing. Why is my musical name Radiat.in/g? There's a sentimental reason, a strategic reason, and a weird reason.

Sentimentally, the word 'radiating' fits with how I feel about my music. It's an old-fashioned term for what we now call 'broadcasting'. That's what I'm finally doing, after years of keeping my music to myself. And radiating is also a word that we use to describe emotions being beamed out, like when someone is radiating joy. I'd like my songs to be radiating *something* every time.

Strategically, you might have noticed Radiat.in/g is a website. Getting music out there is rough these days. Sure, anyone can now publish on Spotify, Apple Music and so on. And that's great. But if you get a bunch of people following you on those platforms, you'll never be able to form much of a personal connection. They'll just be numbers on a screen. Making my music name a website means (I hope) that people who like my music will go to the website, where they'll be able to follow my music on a much deeper level than what Spotify allows. Basically, it's my go at hacking the platforms.

And the weird reason is simple. I make weird music, which deserves a weird name. Having a dot and slash in there makes it a little weird.

Wow. You read all the way down. That's crazy. Thank you so much. The next song is called Hot Dogs, and I'll let you know when it's coming out.