* En anglais uniquement
Sapphire traditionally suggests psychic sensitivity and intimate understanding. Though it may often be relatively small, this twinkling blue stone actually represents a heightened level of cosmic awareness. Landon Cube achieves a similar level of creative awareness on his full-length debut, Sapphire [Republic Records]. The multiplatinum Maryland-bred singer and songwriter integrates intoxicating melodies into smoked-out soundscapes underpinned by rock instrumentation and hip-hop beatcraft.
The 16-track journey sees him confidently step into both his signature sound and himself.
“When I was coming up, I had a lot of things to figure out as far as being an artist goes,” he admits. “Enough time passed to where I discovered exactly what I wanted to make and who I wanted to portray. Sapphire is the kind of music I like to listen to. I’m completely proud of it. It’s what I want people to hear from me.”
He inched towards this realization since his childhood in the quaint and quiet suburb of Pomfret, MD. Inspired and encouraged by his professional pianist father, he learned piano and theory before cutting his teeth in a middle school pop punk band. Under the influence of The Doors, Nirvana, The 1975, The Beatles, and The Zombies, he slipped into a dreamy style of his own. At 16-years-old, he took to YouTube and shared early acoustic guitar compositions in 2013. Fast forward three years, he met Lil Skies on Twitter. After kicking it, they hit the studio and ultimately broke through together. Landon’s voice took flight on multiplatinum bangers such as “Nowadays” and “Red Roses” by Skies. However, his acclaimed 2019 EP Orange gathered nearly 100 million streams powered by “20,” “Nuisance,” “Makeup,” and “17” feat. Lil Skies. He ramped up his prolific output in 2019 and 2020 with the singles “Pretty” feat. 24kGoldn, “Carrie” feat. Lil Skies, “Drugs,” “Groceries” feat. Lil Keed, and “Eighties” feat. 24kGoldn, posting up another 20 million total streams and counting.
In June 2019, he entered into an intense long-term relationship, which ran its course almost exactly a year later.
“That gave me a lot of inspiration for the album,” he says. “My ex is a tattoo artist who goes by Sapphire. I decided to name the record after her, since she inspired a lot of the songs. The relationship was important, because we went through so much. There’s no mistaking that it’s about her. I could’ve changed the name, but it needed to be true to me and what happened.”
At the same time, he embraced his formative influences again. Rather than simply “write songs from emailed beats,” he teamed up with producers Nicco “Neek” Catalano and Tristan “Tito” Seccuro most frequently, while also working with Omer Fedi and Diamond Pistols, and brought the guitar back to the forefront of the sound. Working with collaborators face-to-face, he fashioned Sapphire out of an organic sonic framework.
“They all really understood my direction,” he explains. “These guys would play something, and I could say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. I was involved in the songs from the ground up, which was important to the get the exact sound I always envisioned. My career veered toward hip-hop, but I really returned to the style I started doing as a kid.”
Landon introduced the album with the first single “Lie To Me.” A funky guitar riff cuts through handclaps as he pleads with a hypnotic croon, “Why would you lie to me? You make it hard to breathe. Some nights it’s hard to sleep, ‘cause I see you in my dreams.”
Written by Landon on guitar, his punky rasp glides above an equally punchy riff on “Calm Down.” Colored with strings, “money” details how “you can still be going through shit even though you’re good financially.”Above sparse clean guitar and a glitchy beat, the finale “Wishing and Hoping” carries emotional confessions a la “I should get the fuck up out L.A.” and “I miss the rain…I hate to say.”
“A lot of emotions come out of that song,” he admits. “At the time, I was feeling pretty depressed, so I just said everything that was on my mind. It’s very real to me.”
In the end, Landon’s vision unfolds like never before on Sapphire.
“This isn’t just some clout shit,” he leaves off. “I hope my music could be something timeless you can listen to over and over again. I’ve really grown, and I’m making the exact music I want to make.”