Matthew Jordan Hemerlein ^[1] (born 20 October 1983), ^{[2] [3] [4]} better known by the stage name Lo-Fang, is a singer-songwriter and classically trained musician. ^[5] His stage name came to him while he was driving through Sedona, Arizona on his way to Los Angeles. ^[6] He chose it mainly because of the symmetry of the letters and his attempt to balance the feminine and masculine elements in his music. ^{[6] [7]} As he sees it: " 'Lo' relates 'soft and soothing' and the strings and kind of the way I sing, and the 'Fang' element is more like the harsh, electronic sounds and the bass." ^[8]

His debut album Blue Film was released on 25 February 2014, by 4AD. ^[9]

Early life

At age 5, Hemerlein began playing the violin. ^{[7] [10] [11]} His father plays the piano and his older brother and younger sister are both musically inclined. ^[8] He is classically trained and can play a number of instruments including: piano, cello, guitar, violin, and string bass. ^[8]

During the latter years of the 2000s, Hemerlein began teaching music to children and performing in galleries and museums. ^{[5] [12]} He had been with his sister Mallory to perform as part of the Family Hemerlein, a variety show featuring musicians and comedians. ^[12]

Career

In 2010, he self-released an album under his birth name that was recorded in a month with the help of a grant from DC Commission on Arts and Humanities called 'Hot Nickels' ^[10] and in spring of 2011 opened for British folk duo Smoke Fairies in London. ^[5] A friend put Hemerlein in touch with a European booking agent who praised Hemerlein's music to promoters in Belgium and Germany. He was booked for a number of appearances, including solo performance in Berlin and opening for James Vincent McMorrow in Cologne. He was subsequently offered a publishing contract by EMI. ^[5] He then received offers to collaborate on sessions in London and Nashville. ^[5]

Lo-Fang signed with 4AD in late September 2013. He wrote Blue Film as he traveled around the world to Cambodia, Bali, London, Tokyo, and elsewhere. While developing Blue Film from a mixtape to a full-fledged album, Lo-Fang collaborated with Grammy-winning producer François Tétaz. ^[13]

He was the opening act for Lorde in the Spring of 2014, ^[14] who picked his song "#88" as her second favorite from 2013. ^[15] He also made a cameo appearance as a singer in the ABC drama Revenge. ^{[7] [16]}

In the autumn of 2014, Lo-Fang was selected by Baz Luhrmann as the singer in his latest 'mini film' advertisement for Chanel No. 5. Throughout the film, he sings his slower, romantic, cover rendition of " You're the One that I Want", the classic from the 1978 film Grease. ^[17] This video has been viewed more than 15 million times on YouTube. ^[18] He released a mixtape entitled Every Night, which became available both to stream and purchase on 20 October 2014. Lo-Fang also toured with Rhye and a performed a handful of solo shows in the US and Mexico during the autumn. ^[19]

His song "You’re The One That I Want" was used in the Netflix original French film I Am Not an Easy Man in April 2018. In summer of 2018, he released a single, "The Whole Summer".

Personal life

Hemerlein is the middle child of three. He and his siblings were home schooled by their mother until age 13 ^[5] at their Columbia, MD farmhouse surrounded by a menagerie of chickens, dogs, cats and eight bee apiaries. His father was employed in the family's steel manufacturing business. Hemerlein drove forklifts during summers until he was knocked unconscious by a chain binder while working on the loading docks. ^[5] He attended Wilde Lake High School and graduated in 2002. ^[12] He attended Loyola University New Orleans but after contracting Lyme disease, returned to his home in Maryland, where he started teaching guitar and piano to children in Baltimore. ^{[6] [12]}

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Other albums

Singles

Promotional singles

Other charted songs

References

External links

• Official website
• Lo-Fang at IMDb
• Lo-Fang on Facebook
• Lo-Fang on Twitter
• Lo-Fang on Instagram