The Lost Hours (singer-songwriter Callum James Hamilton) debuts the live session video of his new track Lonely Love right here on RockShot Mag.
The song, which draws on indie, folk, and pop influences, is taken from the 20-year-old musician’s debut EP due later this year.
“Lonely Love is a bittersweet cocktail of emotions,” Hamilton tells us.
“Moving from the introverted intro and verses, into a bubblegum call and response chorus. It is the culmination of months of personal lyrical writing and reflection met with raw nervous performances. I wrote it in a rehearsal room the size of a glorified wardrobe in Old Street.
“I played the song to my manager Bnann the same day. ‘Where’s the chorus?’ he exclaimed. I jokingly bet him that by the time he returned I’d have a chorus, and what do you know!”
Born and raised in Leeds, Hamilton discovered his dad’s old record player and vinyl collection, which included the likes of Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, and Nick Drake. In 2017 he moved to London, gigging every night after challenging himself to play seven straight nights a week for a whole year. He reached his goal, with his gig tally actually reaching 366 as he played twice in one night at an unassuming working mens club in the East End where he was discovered by former Infadels frontman Bnann.
He started receiving radio coverage from BBC Introducing and by 2018 had signed to independent label High Tribe Records.
As for the name Hamilton picked for himself?
“The Lost Hours are the small hours, where you spend your time wondering how lonely a prospect it is being a celestial object, and where my obsession of trying to mix John Martyn-style acoustic riffs with Radiohead’s In Rainbows-era style production whilst channelling the infectious nerving bubblegum melodies of Talking Heads takes place,“ he explains.
His forthcoming EP contrasts love and hate emotions; “deep, woozy, twisted, soulful acoustic grooves”; and (on the track Miss America) stark, stripped-down rawness – fitting for a one-take song about the recent US school shootings.
Mixed by Ruadhri Cushan (who’s worked with musicians like Mumford and Sons, Gregory Porter, and James Bay) the EP also features a contribution on cello from Dan Caplen, the Ivor Novello winner who’s played on both of George Ezra’s albums.
