Volume 1 // ‘Lone’ by Caleb Carnell
Caleb Carnell takes a shot in the dark before his official debut.
On Friday, September 29th, Wichita recording artist Caleb Carnell released his first official album in LONE. Being a musician who has dabbled in vocals, instrumentals, artwork, and several other ventures, this project is one of his first to feature predominantly his own voice (following his previous project, In Stores Now, which did not feature his voice at all).
While many of his closest fans and contemporaries long for his heavily-delayed debut LP, Florence, we were given LONE as an appetizer for what is to come. Consisting mostly of B-sides and leftovers from the Florence sessions, LONE is just a small scratch on the large surface of Carnell’s artistry.
Through Apple’s ever so handy iMessage, I was able to nab Carnell for a few thoughts on the project. We discussed the inspiration and context of some of the songs and he went on to explain how his releases, at whatever time they are actually released, all fit in to his current situations and feelings. I started off asking him about the accompanying playlist that came the same day of the release. You can listen to that playlist here: https://open.spotify.com/user/1216105754/playlist/769uF2FfxPjTPa8LPB5Sfv?si=GyYPCDU7
Q: You posted a playlist on spotify that was a compilation of songs that inspired LONE. Were there any other inspirations for the music that we are hearing?
Carnell: Me being by myself and just thinking over shit really inspired this album. LONE is basically me getting everything off my chest that’s been happening these past couple of years.
Q: What transpired in the months leading to this project and where do you plan to take your music in the coming years.
Carnell: I fell in love and everything I was talking about was slowing fading away, I had found my yellow and my void was being filled. I released the album and everything somehow came back full force so I’m back into the depressing state LONE is about.
Q: Is the music on LONE similar to or widely different than what we can expect on Florence.
Carnell: Not sure, everything I make describes me at a certain point in my life. I don’t know what it could sound like, but I would like there to be less rapping and more singing.
Q: Do you feel that your music may be criticized in the future for drawing too many similarities to other conscious/non-mainstream hip-hop and R&B artists?
Carnell: Nigga I don’t know, I like to make what I’m feeling and what sounds good to me. If it ends up sounding like someone else’s music then whatever.
Q: When can we expect more music and/or Florence?
Carnell: I plan to focus on other artists for a while. Helping out other talented people who love what they do. Whether it’s music or photography or whatever. I wanna focus on clothing, the sunflower mag too. So Florence might have to wait and it might change into something else.
Q: Tell me about the collaborations on LONE?
Carnell: Working with everyone was easy. It wasn’t planned and I just loved how it sounded when we finished it. Like I asked Ryan to send me some guitars for me to put over these drums and Jackson was like “let me play bass on this” and we had the song. The only planned thing that I knew I needed someone to do on the album was Young Social doing the ‘you ain’t shit’ talk on RUN IT.
Q: Can we expect any additional music videos from the project?
Carnell: At this time no. I thought about it and I want the music to be digested fully before doing so. SILENCE has a sorta video connected to a song called Running Man off of Pilgrim Gang 2. That’s it for now.
Caleb Carnell’s album is another youth driven project that expands on the psyche of the average teen. However, the musical composure on LONE shows that Carnell has already passed several artists his age in terms of maturity and sound. Whether it be the smooth and silky jazz rhythms of STOLEN MOMENTS, the anthem atmospheric punk rock vibes of RUN AWAY, or the thumping bass and snare of CLAMMY HANDS, Carnell has proved to be one of the most eclectic musicians of his generation.
Although short and anticlimactic, LONE delivers a promise of incredible things to come from the Wichita artist. Carnell is one of many talented acts to come from his camp, and if this is the new wave it’s only a matter of time until their names are on everyone’s mouth.
You can listen to LONE virtually anywhere. It is available on Spotify, SoundCloud, and YouTube as well. Soon it will be available on both TIDAL and Apple Music. Here is a link to the YouTube stream: https://youtu.be/N33Q3sDaud8