Lakaff Expands His "Heart Music" Universe with "may.Be" and "Jambles"

Washington, D.C. based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Lakaff has been quietly carving out a world of his own since 2023.

He jokingly calls his sound “heart music”. It's quirky, playful and groovy because, as he puts it, “soul music” was already taken.

Drawing on influences as diverse as Oasis, Disclosure, Shania Twain, The Prodigy, Kasabian, and 50 Cent, he blurs the boundaries between rock, EDM, house and hip hop.

His records are full of diced up beats, dexterous bass, indie rock guitars, horns and other unexpected touches. With his two latest singles, “may.Be” and “Jambles,” Lakaff shows just how wide and personal his sound palette has become.

“may.Be” marked Lakaff’s first foray into immersive audio. The track features Grammy-winning saxophonist Johnny Butler - fresh off his work on Beyoncé’s five-times-platinum album 4 - whose silky flute and saxophone lines wind through Lakaff’s shimmering guitar and soulful vocals.

Emmy-winning engineer Cheryl Ottenritter handled the Dolby Atmos mastering, transforming the song into a three dimensional soundscape. Yet even without Atmos, the track feels expansive, a sleek electro groove built from drums, guitars and woodwinds that retains the intimacy of Lakaff’s “heart music” ethos.

The single also represents a milestone in Lakaff’s steadily growing catalog.

Since 2023, he has been releasing songs that fuse his self taught, genre-fluid instincts with an ear for immersive production.

His path into music began on French horn and euphonium, instruments he initially picked up just to skip class, before gravitating towards bass, guitar and eventually songwriting and production.

He cut his teeth playing along to Aerosmith albums, impressed skeptical friends with his early songs, and gradually evolved into the singer songwriter producer we hear today. That unorthodox trajectory shapes his current sound - it's equal parts organic and synthetic, accessible yet adventurous.

If “may.Be” is expansive and collaborative, “Jambles” is leaner, sharper and more personal.Lakaff’s genre blending instincts are distilled into something immediate. The song channels the wiry guitar energy of early Strokes records while borrowing the percussive instincts of hip-hop artists like Future.

Instead of the usual drum machine foundation for a trap meets guitar vibe, Lakaff built the groove around live, kit oriented sounds which gives the track a punchy and human feel beneath its chopped hi hats and pulsing bassline. The resut is a hybrid that is nostalgic, futuristic indie rock energy with trap's rhythmic DNA.

Lyrically, “Jambles” captures Lakaff’s daily life observations and passion for music.

The words came together gradually, as fragments jotted down whenever they popped into his head. References to Oasis, “Sk8er Boi,” and other personal touchstones peek through, but the effect is less name dropping than a window into his creative world.

Together, “may.Be” and “Jambles” form a vivid snapshot of an artist in motion.

One track is immersive and collaborative, the other stripped down and immediate, but both carry the DNA of Lakaff’s “heart music”. They’re not just singles but signposts of an artist finding beauty at the crossroads of genres.

This is the perfect time to discover an artist who is quietly defining what it means to make music from the heart.

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