R&B duo Lo Boii––Aalias (a.k.a. Aaron Kleinstub) and Corey Latif–– was formed in New York City in 2017. The pair had been friends since 2013 and both were fellow writers and producers. After they’d enabled countless other artists to create music, they realized that it was time for them to record some of their own. Their original material found a friendly ear with British label AWAL. It was only later that the two learned that old friend and industry vet Eddie Blackmon was well-placed there and would become their A&R rep.
"One of our managers had sent our music around,” Latif recalls of the duo’s path to its label deal. “Eddie [Blackmon] knew that we’d started the band, but when he heard our material, he knew that [signing us] was a no-brainer. It was definitely useful to have management to help keep us on track and focused.”
“Both of our managers are collaborating on this,” Aalias adds. Each of the artists had management in place well before Lo Boii’s formation.
“They let us take our time, grow and be fresh.”
The music business has changed significantly in recent years and likely will continue to. Indeed, many of the barriers to entry have been eliminated. That’s partly why Latif observes “We didn’t actually need a label. These days you can upload your music and aggregate it yourself. When you have help doing a lot of the work, you can enjoy the fruits of your labor a little more. But AWAL is definitely the best thing for us. They let us take our time, grow and be fresh.”
Lo Boii’s single "Floor Seats" dropped on April 19 and a full-length record is targeted for July. Showcases on both coasts will be put up in the same month.
AWAL is based in London and in 2011 was acquired by Kobalt Music Group, which handles independent rights management, publishing and, moreover, neighboring rights (a.k.a. related rights), a service that scours various sources to find monies owed to artists. Other talent signed to the label includes major label expat Bruno Major, Tom Misch, who was featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and Brooklyn-based indie artist VÉRITÉ.
Date Signed: December 2018
Label: AWAL
Type of Music: Electronic R&B
Management: Josh Kamen and Seif Hussain - Mantra Management, [email protected], [email protected]
Legal: Josh Kamen and Nick Rosenberg - [email protected]
Publicity: Mikaela Duhs, [email protected]
Booking: N/A
Web: loboii.com
A&R: Eddie Blackmon
