My Adventures in LA
photo by Matt Lange
Los Angeles is a mighty strange place to end up in after Southeast Asia. Bali and LA couldn’t be any more different from one another save for the beautiful ocean-side sunsets they both share. Being back in one of my favorite cities in America was a bit of a culture shock. I flew to Los Angeles for a few weeks to work on some new music with my friend and collaborator Matt Lange , who graciously invited me to stay at his place. The first few days in town my jetlag got the best of me. I’d wake up at 5am and fall off my feet around 8pm, often while catching an evening screening of a movie I’d pick with Matt. It took us three evenings to watch Deadpool because I kept on dozing off every half hour (the film was actually fantastic, but I was exhausted out of my wits).
I didn’t leave the house for a few days, to honor my suggested quarantine. A few weeks before I landed in California, LA became the most infected city on the planet. When I finally made it out of the house to do a Trader Joe’s run and get some new kicks, I was armed with a mask and spray sanitizer. Other than that I was happy to be back in California. I hit the shops for my favorite foods and clothing - the items you couldn’t necessarily pick up overseas. The weather was cool and rainy at times, a far cry from the heat and humidity of Bali, and I loved it. Matt and I slowly started working on new songs and I acquainted myself with the neighborhood’s hippie dippy crystal and tarot card shop called ‘The House of Intuition’ where I popped in on an almost daily basis to get sage or palo santo incense.
In the coming days Matt and I made a ritual out of working on new tunes and popping into The Hermosillo - a local pub in the late afternoons. I’m not a big fan of alcohol, taste wise or what I’ve seen it do to people. I’d have a drink on occasion at a party but never fell into any sort of ritual or admiration of it. In fact I had stopped drinking alcohol from 2017 to 2020, save for a single glass of chardonnay on the coast of Costa Brava while yachting with friends. It was partially because I was processing a lot of emotional pain after my fiance’s passing and I didn’t want to run the slightest risk of alcohol becoming a coping mechanism. But upon my return to Bali three years later and having restaurateur friends on the island means you have on-the-house martinis sent your way when you walk through the front door, and I started having one or two once in a while, literally just to avoid offending my hosts. However, there was one place which turned me for a short time into a connoisseur of a well crafted cocktail, and that’s Aperitif Bali. So going to the Hermosillo after the studio was more exciting for Matt rather than myself, because as you may have already guessed, I’m not much for beer. Alas, I was in for a surprise and a new discovery - boozy kombucha. Now, I’m a big fan of traditional kombucha, and at the Hermosillo I had found kombucha with a kick, and would have one once in a while to support the company. Matt also introduced me to deep fried pickles, a shockingly addictive junk food monstrosity which was good fun to eat but knocked me out with tummy aches post fact. That and the vast array of LA junkfood available on the strip. No one does fried and ridiculously sized portions better than America.
On my first Saturday in town we decided to go for a hike and my friend Tony Austin suggested that we meet up in Angeles Crest Mountains. I had never been so I thought it was a great idea and we set out on a little trip. I hadn’t looked up the spot we were going to but was in for a stunning surprise. Angeles Crest was absolutely breathtaking. Matt and I drove up the mountain range listening to the studio demo we made the night before. The weather was perfect: cool and sunny. It took a little while to find Tony because we had lost reception up in the mountains but we finally managed to meet up and set out on an epic hike across the national park. even though we had been chatting on socials for nearly three years, this was only the second time I had ever seen Tony in person. We became acquainted after his showstopping performance with the Kamasi Washington band at Potato Head in Bali the summer of 2018 and stayed in touch. Matt and Tony had met for the first time. The company clicked immediately, sharing stories from the road, tours and nerdy gadget studio talk. With a backdrop of the gorgeous mountain range, it was an ideal afternoon. After the hike we agreed to meet up at the Hermosillo and stayed there, chatting and having a blast late into the night, joined by Matt’s friends Tiara and Jack and their adorable puppy Liam.
A few days later I finally made it down to Venice and Santa Monica Beach, perhaps my favorite neighborhoods in the Los Angeles area. The last time I walked the beach from Venice to Santa Monica was in 2015. It brought back a lot of memories and made me reflect on just how far I had come in the past five years. During my stay in Los Angeles Matt and I wrote and recorded four new songs. I’ll keep the details under wraps, but what I can reveal is that they’re going to be a part of a debut for a brand new project between the two of us and I’m pretty excited about it. The sessions turned out fantastic. Matt and I share great creative flow - as musical collaborators we just click really well and it’s always great fun writing music with someone who you also share a friendship with. We’ve had our disagreements sometimes as any friends or workmates do, but he’s a really good person, super talented producer and a great friend. I feel really grateful for our dynamics. While I was in town Matt also agreed to mix and master the new solo acoustic record I wrote and recorded with my Indonesian co-writer Rian in Bali, which I’m really really excited about. The mixes have just been completed and the masters folder is on my desktop. You can expect the first single to drop May/June, so stay tuned!
In Partnership with Tropical Nomad Coworking Space