Cole Lumpkin Embraces Emotions to Carve His Own Path in Modern Pop
Skilled musical creator, Cole Lumpkin, embraces emotions without surrendering to chaos to bring a fusion of progressive rock and modern pop to listeners’ ears.
Leaving the gimmickry behind, the artist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist releases his album OTHERWORLDS out today on Sony Music’s The Orchard and the label Suite 484.
Lumpkin’s album is a structural feat of progressive rock and pop with purpose, a record that challenges form and honors feelings through 11 tracks that have been entirely produced by the artist himself.
Refining Progressive Pop
Living during the hustle of 1990s New York City, Lumpkin’s attraction to music began at a young age when he began improvising piano pieces into tape recorders, transcribing Peanuts jazz themes, and writing tracklists for imagined albums in purple marker.
The artist’s parents, who came from other artistic backgrounds, supported his creative journey and encouraged his indulgence in the weird.
Sound-Shaping Influences
Foundational to Lumpkin’s relationship with music has been bands like Gentle Giant, Yes, ELP, King Crimson, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin, and Frank Zappa, which were unforgivingly themselves.
These musicians contributed to Lumpkin’s musical learning experience, with the artist beginning to write and record all of the instruments of his own music, ultimately shaping his ability to play every instrument on his album OTHERWORLDS.
A Commitment to Craft
While the artist fell in love with music at an early age, by the end of college, Lumpkin knew music was what he wanted to cultivate a living doing.
He started working at a studio and recording his original music, a blend of progressive rock and pop music.
Embracing complex twists and turns of progressive rock and the foundational simplicity of pop, the artist’s music, which he called “Progressive Pop,” is a language of control, clarity, and survival.
It was after Lumpkin met his manager, Ignacio Lecumberri, that the artist/producer began releasing music.
OTHERWORLDS: A Genre-Bending Debut
Releasing May 9, OTHERWORLDS simmers with emotional themes such as loneliness, obsession, hope, and disillusionment, which Lumpkin dissects and explores through layered composition wholly delivered and unfiltered by himself.
OTHERWORLDS is “a culmination of my past experience. I feel like it highlights the ups and downs of adulthood, but also symbolizes my life thus far. All the genres that have inspired me and been there for me since I was young, I have tried to nod to on this record,” stated the artist.
The 11-track album was crafted with obsessive care that reimagines musical boundaries, honoring the time, attention, and listeners who still value detail.
Each track fuses elements, including math metal, Cali reggae, indie folk, and disco with dexterity.
The lead single, “Euphoria,” has an indie rock/folk vibe, filled with punchy drums and lyrics that explore the importance of accepting love.
“Faith,” the opening track of the album, blends a bit of gospel with a muted piano line and eccentric percussion while diving into keeping faith that you can be the version of yourself you want to be, which is the penultimate lesson of OTHERWORLDS.
A Message of Authenticity
With OTHERWORLDS, Cole Lumpkin’s music is the most authentic version of himself, with the artist stating: “It is music that I hope represents being who you are at your core.”
It’s a testament to staying true to your creative instincts, even when the path is uncertain.
As Lumpkin presses on in his own direction in progressive pop, OTHERWORLDS declares that authenticity, heart, and complexity still have a place in modern music.
