Now, ETHAN has released his new single '90s Babe'.
It's a collaboration with fellow R&B powerhouse Keiynan Lonsdale – a sensual, queer anthem with a clear (if not from the title, then the song itself!) nod to the nostalgia of the '90s. There are harmonies and vocal runs reminiscent of the glory days of Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey. . . But a freshness in its themes and slick production that reflects the modern day.
Meanwhile, the accompanying video oozes sensuality with low lights, red and purple tones, and smooth movement, as the pair explore each other and their intimate connection in a series of vignettes harking back to music videos of the '90s.
ETHAN and Keiynan met during Sydney WorldPride, during the APRA AMCOS Songhubs: Pride, curated by Troye Sivan and Lucas Keller.
To learn more about the creation of '90s Babe', plus the meeting and collaboration between ETHAN and Keiynan, we speak to the artists.
ETHAN, talk a bit about the idea behind the track – where did you draw inspiration and come up with the ‘90s babe’ reference?
I have always been someone who naturally gravitates towards '90s R&B as a first point of reference for sonic inspiration. Growing up I just listened to so much stuff from this era and all my vocal influences are kind of derived from artists like Brandy, Mariah, Xtina, Boyz II Men, Brian McKnight etc, but for this track especially I was in a place where I was reminiscing and missing the honeymoon phase or the velour and excitement of a new romance. I was in a relationship that was starting to feel quite stale and soon after we actually ended it, so it was like I could definitely see how things were shaping up. This song at the time was a call to action for people to kind of embrace love and how beautiful it could feel in its rawest, most innocent form, and I think the music of the '90s, especially within R&B really reflects that fuzzy, puppy dog feeling, so I just lyrically and sonically matched the two and did a bit of a word play in the chorus where I’m talking to someone who might not necessarily see eye to eye, or think it’s a bit cheesy to be so romantic, but for one night only, it’s an invite to take it in and be a little bit “'90s, babe”.
When it comes to putting pen to paper for a new track, what’s your process? Where do you begin?
As I executive produce most my tracks, I’m always finding a soundscape first. I sometimes begin at the piano if I’m really in my feels and need to just sing my soul out, but for this track and most, I pull from beats and sound references from other songs that I think would suit the vibe or concept I have and go from there. Once I have something to work off on my DAW [Digital Audio Workstation], I am then able to start randomly going in with melody and lyric ideas until something sticks. And that’s kind of how I seem to work best until we reach the end of the song structure, and then I go back and forth to edit.
Was Keiynan on your radar to feature in the track from the get-go? Or was he added later in the process?
At the start I wasn’t thinking about a collab, I just really wanted to create this romantic, cute but super sexy track. But I got to the second verse and thought about how amazing a duet could be between two gay male artists in particular. Keiynan and I had met earlier in the year at Sydney WorldPride for a songwriting camp, and although we didn’t have much history working together yet, I bit the bullet and shared the track with him. We were both mutual admirers of each other's voices at least, so with that in mind I think he was more inclined to accept the offer! And he did!
Why do you think Keiynan is a perfect fit for ‘90s Babe’?
Keiynan is someone whose work I admire so much and he is also just the best person. The chemistry I think just flows so well between us as we both connected musically on so many fronts. We are both big R&B geeks and had a mutual enthusiasm about really doing the references justice but taking the song into a more modern dimension, and I think the end product shows just how committed we were to it, and that we are both clear fans of the music of the '90s in how we vocal produced the record. Keiynan exudes that perfect mix of romantic, cute and sexy in his music and performance and it was just what I needed to season this duet to perfection.
On to the video – it’s visually a perfect match with the track. . . Low lights, sensual, smooth. What was it like to jump into this video and be a part of it?
I had the best time shooting this video. It was quite a last-minute thing but it flowed so organically and I had the best team of talented people around me shooting and getting everything together while I ran around like a mad man half the day. Having the best co-star too helped!
Keiynan, what’s it been like to work with ETHAN both in the writing process but also the video?
Seriously, E is dope. He really knew what he wanted for the world of the song, which was so refreshingly clear, and I felt definitely some pressure to get my part right. . . Of course, understand the storytelling already happening, what’s in the lyrics and what’s really unsaid, and then add to that story and expand on it form my perspective. . . Which in the end I think we both felt puzzle pieces clicked into place. As for the video, we are both obsessed with music videos and classic R&B ones are at the top in many ways, so we just vibed out and watched cool sh.t and then we were set on holding to true to that nostalgic feeling and aesthetic, while also bringing our own chemistry and spin. It was cool to be part of ETHAN's first music video shoot and see how well he handled all the elements.
Are there any fun little behind-the-scenes anecdotes re the making of the video?
E: My personal favourite was the random giraffe painting at the fancy hotel. If you watch closely you can see it! But no seriously, I think probably the fact that it really took a village to get what you see here in the final cut. The street scenes were my favourite to be honest, and there was barely any light. We almost didn’t shoot anything, but I think I insisted we tried and I’m so glad we did.
K: Probably some of the sh.t that we were talking about when doing the more acting scenes, you can’t hear them or tell in the video, but we had some ratchet stories and I loved them. . . We laughed a lot through the day especially when we were up in each other's grill so much.
Keiynan, in terms of your verse, what sorts of things did you want to communicate?
You know it’s very playful, it’s honest. . . I can easily get lost in someone’s fantasy and I can easily create a fantasy for somebody else to get lost in, so it’s putting light on these romantic tendencies that have for sure been influenced by '90s R&B music. It’s really laying it out there, because you want something real with this person.
ETHAN, the track was written after a meeting at APRA AMCOS Songhubs: Pride. Talk a bit about this experience.
This camp was the 90th Songhubs ever and they really amped it up bringing in the likes of Troye Sivan to curate. Seeing Keiynan originally I was super starstruck as I was with quite a few of the other people there, but Keiynan stood out to me when I had a chance to get to know him more because I found he didn’t have much of an ego that I would expect from someone with his resume, and it was so easy to chat to him and just bond over music. It was so nice to just get excited about making music in studio with so many other talented queer artists all week, and sit in the producer chair, artist chair and writer chair back and forth. This camp was really eye-opening for me and, yes, ended up playing a huge part in releasing one of my proudest works to date.
You both performed as part of Sydney WorldPride. ETHAN, what was that experience like?!
I had the best time. The night I played I got to sing to the biggest crowd I’ve ever sung to at the Oxford Street Party. The energy I felt was unreal, I did some of my favourite cover songs and also some of my own stuff and I just enjoyed owning the stage and doing what I love, to people who were so eager to just have a good time and celebrate pride.
What’s next musically for each of you? What’s on the radar?
E: I’ve been all over the world really writing music and more than anything living and soaking up wisdom at a really big turning point in my personal life. I have more music and a potential full project coming out really soon. There’s so much to keep up with.
K: I’ve been cooking for a really long time and I got a lot in the bank, so I’m stoked to now be sharing a mixture of works that have taken a long time to craft, and others that have been really spur of the moment. . . I’m loving both styles of creative output at the moment, it’s balancing me and keeping me inspired to keep sharpening my toolkit.
'90s Babe' by ETHAN and Keiynan Lonsdale is out now.
