Lol Tolhurst

About me:

Laurence "Lol" Tolhurst was born on the Third of February 1959, years later he would discover that it was the very day that Buddy Holly passed on... ...five years later two little boys at their first day of school would meet... Lol Tolhurst and Robert Smith would start on a journey that would take them to the very pinnacle of musical success. In adolescence, Lol and Robert discovered that they shared a similar vision to form a group like the ones that influenced them. This simple inspiration would create one of the most influential, critically acclaimed and commercially successful groups of modern times: The Cure. From 1978 onwards, Lol and The Cure would chart an impressive selection of achievements: * Well over 27 million units sold worldwide * Extensive touring covering all the continents * 40 Platinum and Gold plaques in the US, Europe and Japan * Co-writing many of the group's big hits including "Let's Go To Bed", "The Walk" and "The Caterpillar" * Over 20 landmark award-winning music videos Now, fast forward into the 21st century. With The Cure's influence on artists growing in greater proportions in recent years, Lol dove headfirst back into the studio in 2002 with his new project: Levinhurst. A suave, exotic group comprised of Lol's keyboards, beats, and sonic landscaping against the stirring vocals of Cindy Levinson, the group met critical acclaim with their 2004 debut Perfect Life. It covered a much wider musical range than most electro artists attempt to fill, and pleased Cure fans and electronic music junkies alike. The next steps came naturally for Lol. "I started writing initially to continue where we left off with 'Perfect Life', but found that I really didn't have the same feeling anymore. I felt strangely stuck. One night, a friend suggested I should compose as if I was writing a book and treat the songs as chapters. I cleared the decks, sat down and wrote straight from my experiences allowing whatever would come to come and not consciously edit myself." What came out in the recording session was the new album House By The Sea, a dark brooding album in every sense of the word that has already been called the Electronic version of the classic Cure record, Pornography. "I was not prepared for the torrent of raw emotions and dark seams that I had not mined for a long time," says Lol. "I felt more like a conduit at times as if the music and words were coming from another place and we were there to channel it into a coherent form" A much more spiritual element also took over the recording process. Since Perfect Life, Lol began reading and integrating many Eastern spiritual philosophies in all aspects of his life, including the recording sessions. This took on added importance when the record was being mixed at the legendary Village Recordings. "One night, the CEO of the studio, Jeff Greenberg, told me that the ballroom next to our studio had been used when the Beatles had first meet the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in California. They had left the room exactly as it was at that time. You could almost smell the joss sticks and patchouli!", Lol remembers. "I sat there alone thinking about the songs and what to do next. Suddenly, I was aware of an odd, electric, hyperreal atmosphere in the place. It was as if time was standing still for a short while. After this, I felt quite certain that this album was being created in exactly the right place with the right energy." This spiritual energy is what led Levinhurst and the new album to their new label home in early 2006. Lol recalls, "I was introduced to this gentleman by a mutual friend at a SxSW party. We started a conversation about several strange phenomenon and metaphysical topics and found we had much in common. We talked for an hour before we were really aware of who each other was!" The gentleman turned out to be Rob Gordon, President of What Are Records? and a deal for House By The Sea came soon after. In anticipation of the February 2007 release, What Are Records? is releasing a digital release entitled The Grey EP that includes alternate versions of 2 songs from House By The Sea along with a new recording of the Cure classic "All Cats Are Grey", which is featured in the new Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette. Once again, the timing could not be more perfect for more people to hear Lol's release. Says Lol, "Our latest music connects me to my past, present, and future in ways that I used to only dream about. There's so much of my spirit in House By The Sea, it's easily my most personal work I've ever created. It's also some of my proudest moments as a musician." ******************************************************************* TO PRE-ORDER OUR NEW ALBUM "BLUE STAR' CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE Levinhurst Store!