With a strong academic background and a deep commitment to creating bold, unconventional music, Johan Lenox has emerged as one of the most daring composers and vocalists of recent years. His signature style blends trap, hip-hop, and pop elements with classical music, creating a unique fusion of sounds that has become his unmistakable hallmark.
Johan’s immense talent early in his career led him to music production, collaborating with industry giants like Travis Scott and Kanye West. After releasing two studio albums, countless piano compositions, and earning recognition from some of the biggest names in the music world, Johan is now gearing up to release his third album. Described as a work combining expansive instrumentation, choral vocal textures, and Paul’s signature piano-driven melodies, the album is accompanied by a North American and European tour with 070 Shake.
Johan Lenox discusses his latest single, When Morning Comes, his recurring post-apocalyptic vision as a solo artist, upcoming projects, tour, and what success truly means to him beyond the number of streams on digital platforms.
Your new single, When Morning Comes, has a very distinctive vibe. The music video features scenes of you in what seems like a post-apocalyptic setting. What’s the message behind this visual concept?
I’ve had apocalypse-inspired imagery across pretty much everything since my first album. That just feels accurate to how the world feels right now and how I feel going outside my house. But I’ve been hitting that idea for a while, and for this album I really wanted to focus on what comes after that, how we rebuild a new world. Like in Wall-E. I feel like we’ve all been through a lot in the past few years, and I’m getting tired of wallowing in it. I want to find a way forward from there.
What inspired this new single? It’s certainly a theme we can all relate to as it delves into the complexity of relationships. But in your case, where did the idea originate? Are there any personal experiences behind the lyrics?
I thought of it more as a love letter to just everyone than any particular person. I wanted to comfort people and provide some sense of optimism. I think I also just wanted to do this for myself. No one else will probably hear this song as often as I have. I talk about watering flowers. Now that I own plants, I have to water them every day, and it reminds me of how I have to water my music career every day too.
The intense percussion in When Morning Comes is truly striking. Can you share a bit about this? What’s the story behind this classical element that you don’t often use in your other compositions?
Well, most of my music uses live strings, which are certainly a gesture back to my background as a classical composer. But the drums were really just trying to be as messy and chaotic as possible. I’ve experimented with a lot of different sounds for drums, but for this, I wanted a real explosive and celebratory sound. I tracked them live with producer Suzy Shinn, and I think this is the first time I’ve ever used live drums on a song. But they’re distorted to hell
The music video evokes a powerful sense of absolute solitude, reflected in its sepia tones and minimalist visuals. What was the creative process behind this concept?
A lot of it was inspired by the look of Mad Max: Fury Road, which is my favorite movie of this century. I did the video with Vincent Giovinazzo, and it was probably the lowest-budget video I’ve ever done. I created and modified the clothing myself, and he found the location and shot it with me, and we colored it together ourselves. Color correction is a huge part of this process. Everything in Mad Max is orange and blue, and finding the right balance to get there was fun. The goal of the video is just to show the world after everything is over and you have to start again. Searching for life, finding signs of moisture in the soil, shelter, etc.
Blending classical elements with hip-hop and pop has become your signature style, and it’s evident in When Morning Comes. How does your classical training influence this musical approach, and what do you think is the biggest challenge in achieving this fusion?
I usually try to put the weirder stuff into the outros of songs, and there are some string textures in there that I like a lot. But I think the biggest way it affects me is just helping me hear like structure and long-range music decisions like album sequencing and transitions and stuff. I feel like without all the training, I would have a lot more trouble figuring out how to put it all together and knowing when to change key and when to slow down or speed up. I think of it all on a symphonic scale and not just as a playlist of songs. I will happily put an outro on a song that only works in the context of the full project and makes no sense if you hear the song by itself.
You’ve worked with artists like Kanye West and Travis Scott, both known for their innovation. How have those experiences shaped your growth as a solo artist, particularly with this release?
Honestly, just seeing how my favorite artists make decisions about stuff. The biggest takeaway from Kanye was basically just to focus on one thing at a time musically; don’t try to pile things on top of each other if you want people to notice something; mute everything else and put the full focus on it. It’s pretty good advice for classical music too, and something I have to remind myself about often. 070 Shake is someone else I take a lot of inspiration from, and I think that getting to reflect on her taste in harmony, texture, and vocal style has affected my music a lot.
The music video was directed by Vincent Giovinazzo, with whom you’ve previously collaborated on I Guess We’ll Find Out. What did he bring to the vision you had for When Morning Comes, and what does this partnership mean to you and the musical concept you’re building?
I met Vincent, working with 070 Shake. He’s incredible and has a really exacting approach. He won’t tolerate anything that isn’t fully committed to the artistic vision, and he won’t cut corners. So even when we did this video for basically no budget, we were really meticulous about how every shot was edited and framed. I do a million things at once, and sometimes it takes someone else to force me to really just focus on nailing every detail of the thing I’m working on right now.
Your tracks Love and You Up have surpassed 14 million streams on Spotify. Do you feel any pressure to replicate that success, or do you try not to focus on the numbers?
It’s hard to tell with streams where they’re even coming from sometimes. The people who really care about my music often prefer songs of mine that only have like 20,000 streams. I get texts from many people talking about how Love or You Up was playing at their gym in Australia or something, but I care more about who comes to the show and who listens to the deep cuts and the full album. There’s a track on WDYWTBWYGU that is just a voice memo of my girlfriend and some ambient music and it has almost 40k streams on it. To me that’s much more interesting—the fact that so many people wanted to listen to that weird little interlude.
This new single kicks off your North American tour with 070 Shake. How does When Morning Comes fit into the setlist for this tour, and what message do you hope to convey to your audience?
Right now, my plan is to start the show with it. I think it’ll provide a good prelude for my show and for the whole evening. And get people excited for the album when that comes out.
Johan, could you share more details about your tour? What are the dates, and where can fans purchase tickets?
The tour starts Jan 21 in Atlanta and we’re doing North America and Europe. All tour dates are listed at https://www.070shake.com/ as is ticket info.
This new single is part of an upcoming album. What can we expect from this new chapter in your career, and how does When Morning Comes set the tone for what’s ahead?
I think it will all become clear soon. I have most of an album done but I really wanna wait to release until everything is perfect.
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