"I think this is something that happens to 19 and 20-year-old writers. You're away from home, exploring new things and meeting new people, experiencing different feelings. I've always been pretty shy and sad, so I've tried to be more open, sociable and happy. There was a clarity that came when I moved home about what this project was, and what Lontalius is. I could have gone the more indie-rock way [instead of pop]. As I returned, and as I was leaving LA, it made sense that I exist somewhere in the middle."
Johnston, now 22, was introduced to more "out-of-the-way" collaborators by his publisher. They included Jim Fairchild, from US band Modest Mouse.
"He was a great person to work with and became a good friend just because he came from an indie rock background, similar to me, but was also very interested in pop music."
Credited as a producer on the album is Om'Mas Keith, who has previously worked with Jay Z and Frank Ocean.
The collaborations made sense for Lontalius: his quiet guitar-backed music sounds like a deliberate cherry-picking of genres — not quite pop, not quite indie rock. He admits not really getting pop before moving to the US.
"I remember going to New York for the first time, and I heard [US rapper] Future coming out of a car in Brooklyn, it was like, 'Oh, now it makes sense.' It didn't make sense to me in my bedroom in Wellington."
The new album is a tight eight tracks. Johnston says he wanted to release something easily digestible in the era of streaming and fragmented attention spans.
It's clear he thrives on introspection and honesty. He labels himself an introvert, and his soft-spoken nature translates to his stage persona.
At the end of September, he opened for fellow New Zealand artist, Thomston.
As his set began he stared into the crowd and sheepishly compared Auckland's Mercury Theatre to his high school hall, a glint of anxiety in his eyes like he was right back at school assembly.
His introduction to Thomston — real name Thomas Stoneman — was a short-lived Twitter beef, but Johnston insists they're on good terms now.
"I think the thing that maybe everyone is realising is that as Spotify gets bigger and the industry changes, is that no one really has the secret code to success and no one really knows what they're doing, which is exciting because it means that in a way, we're all on the same level."We're friends and happy to be playing together. I think New Zealand has such a good community of people. It doesn't feel everyone is competing in the same way that being in LA does."
LOWDOWN
Who: Songwriter and musician Eddie Johnston, aka Lontalius
What: New album All I Have
When: Out now
LONTALIUS ON HIS NEW SONGS
Make My Dreams Come True "It's upbeat and poppy, and that's something I've always struggled with. I don't think I would have been able to write this song three or four years ago."
Summer "I never understood why people love [the season] so much. Over the last few years I've kind of warmed up to it, it's not as bad as I thought."
Swim "You can feel like you have everything lined up in front of you, and I was like, 'oh, here's my perfect life, that's going to happen'. Then it never works out that way."
