Billy Lloyd

Billy Lloyd began their musical journey learning to play classical and minimalist piano at age 6, with composers such as Mendelssohn and Einaudi being instrumental in their musical upbringing. At age 10, Billy began experimenting with a looping system after they became too frustrated with the rules and order of classical music, creating vast arrangements of repetitive piano loops, eventually learning to record and structure them into fully fledged songs. !!A morbid fascination with death lead to writing a musical at age 12, following three young children as they deal with the deaths of their parents, deciding to live in the graveyard where their parents were buried so that they could always be close to them. Though never performed in any official capacity, this began what was to be a long-time fascination with the darker side of the human psyche, influencing future subject matters to this day. !!After many years writing mainly instrumental, minimalist pieces of piano music, largely composed stream of conscious with a looper system, Billy realised that they wanted to be able to confront the issues and feelings they were experiencing in their music. Joining a classical choir at age 16, Billy learnt about harmony and structure with multiple voices, an influence that is self evident in a number of their songs. !!Billy then set about teaching themself to use the recording program that they downloaded onto their laptop, slowly piecing together a sort of makeshift bedroom studio, where they recorded their first few songs. Experimenting with synths and rich vocal harmonies, they spent hours playing around with different effects and sounds to create the distinctive dark electro that underpins their tortured melodies. !!Fast forward a few years to 2014, which saw Billy release their first EP ‘Who ( / )’; part one of a trilogy of EPs concerned with identity, both social, cultural and personal. Then, a trip to Moscow, Russia that saw them headlining a show and holding the LGBTQ flag in front of the Kremlin.!!In early 2015 Billy then went on to do a mini-tour of the USA, with their US debut at the legendary Joe’s Pub in New York being made critics choice on Time Out New York. April saw the second instalment of the Who trilogy: ‘Who ( // )’, reviewed in Attitude Magazine amongst other places; “Their first EP took a look at ideas such as consumerism, personal identity and online reality – in the second act of this trilogy they have delved even further into these ideas with great harmonies and melodies throughout.”!!“Billy continues to anchor the drifting and intricately constructed layers of their songs with their clear voice to great effect, as they did in their first EP. When I first listened to Billy’s music, I was struck by how well considered each element was and how Billy brought everything together so well.” - The Beautiful Wild!!“Just as he doesn’t shy away from a physical queer aesthetic, his music’s thematic terrain also explores matters of sexuality, identity, politics, and the overarching queer agenda. It’s dark, brooding, introspective electro-pop that paints sonic landscapes as mesmerizing as his nightly attire.” - Next Magazine!!“Billy’s sound is pretty unique. It has a real ethereal edge to it that reminds me a lot of Perfume Genius and his brand of queer, experimental music that is finally getting the recognition that it deserves. Don’t mistake that for equivocating though; Billy’s sound is even more divorced from pop-music clichés and he has a remarkable clarity and unity of message for such a young artist.” - Beat Selector Magazine!!“Every so often you hear a sound that’s fresh but familiar and spirits you away to past musical memories, whilst making you appreciate the nuance and individuality of the new music. Listening to Billy Lloyd is one such experience.” - Vada Magazine