R.LUM.R (pronounced Alamar) has been singing and playing guitar for as long as he can remember but, as is increasingly becoming the case in this online world, it was the Internet that would eventually take the R&B sensation from bedroom dreamer to international singing star.
Spotify, while maligned by musicians in many quarters due to the meagre earnings that it generally generates, has helped put R.LUM.R in front of international audiences. His “Frustrated” single recently passed the 15 million-streams mark, leading to him being listed in a “10 artists you need to know” feature in Rolling Stone. Things are really happening.
“Everyone seems to think that I bought some streaming promotion company or I have some secret ‘in’ or some silver bullet,” he says. “I truly don’t. Management knows some of the Spotify playlisters and that was as far as it went. Setting yourself apart––I don’t have a magic answer but, top of my head, I would have to say authenticity. Try to be as authentic to your story and sound as possible. That’s a journey and much easier said than done.”
R.LUM.R is from Florida, but he relocated to Nashville aiming to do something a little bit different in a vibrant musical city. After all, Nashville is known for country music, not R&B. When he got there, he realized that he wouldn’t be quite the novelty that he had anticipated.
“I didn’t see anyone in Nashville doing close to what I wanted to do, so I saw that as an opportunity,” he says. “I get there, and I see some great artists. There’s a lot of stuff going on down there that isn’t what you might expect, and I think that’s a secret weapon of that scene.”
R.LUM.R was signed to PRMD last fall, though he doesn’t like the use of the phrase “get signed” because he believes it doesn’t properly cover the work and deliberation that goes into the process.
“Me and Chris (Martignago, manager) have been working together for five or six years, but this project is only two-and-a-half or three years old,” he says. “We were just busting ass. We come from the DIY scene. I’m just used to writing all the songs, recording all the instruments and doing what I had to do. Booking our own shows and tours and doing the grassroots thing like we’ve always done.”
You can guarantee that he will keep working hard. In the meantime, his Image EP is out now.
Date Signed: September 2016
Label: PRMD
Type of Music: R&B/Urban
Management: Chris Martignago, Mike Bachta & Dirk Hemsath / Working Group Artist
Booking: (U.S.) Corrie Martin & Sara Bolwinkel - Paradigm; (U.K.) James Whitting & Mike Malak - CODA
Legal: Martin Frascogna - Frascogna Law
Publicity: Michael Moses & Amanda Brophy - BWR PR
Web: werlumr.com
A&R: Daniel Vayness
