Born in London to parents, who immigrated from India and Kenya, the rising British chamber pop/psych pop artist Saint Kochi has led an extraordinary and unusual life, that for a while got in the way of his real lifetime aim — to make music his entire life, not a part of it. But there was so much else that occupied his time: a flirtation with genuine stardom as a professional cricket player, parents who doubted hat anyone could survive with a career in the arts, and an unexpected career as a seller of massive ships.
Saint Kochi continued to push forward with his lifelong dream of making music, releasing last year’s self-titled debut EP. Slated for an August 10, 2022 release, the British chamber pop and psych pop artist’s Dom Ganderton co-produced sophomore EP Almost Lost is reportedly a bold step forward as he crafts gorgeous music that transports the listener to another place.
The EP’s first single, the cinematic EP title track “Almost Lost” prominently features a throbbing bass line, twinkling keys, glistening, reverb-drenched guitar lines and Saint Kochi’s plaintive vocals paired with a gorgeous, soaring string arrangement. Sonically, the result is a song that to my ears brings The Beatles, Scott Walker, The Verve, and JOVM mainstays POND to mind — but while possessing an enormous sound, the song is rooted in intimate and lived-in lyricism that’s personal yet universal.
While primarily recorded at Saint Kochi’s purpose-built basement studio, the string arrangement performed by the 14-piece string section was recorded at RAK Studios, where iconic albums like Radiohead‘s The Bends and a lengthy list of others was recorded. The string section fulfilled the rising British artist’s ambition of “making a record that had these big cinematic James Bond, Beatleseque type of strings on them.”
Directed by Sam Hiscox, the accompanying video for “Almost Lost” is as cinematic as the song while employing a rather simple concept: We follow Saint Kochi in a white linen suit wandering the desert, alone and seemingly lost.
