All My Friends: Connecting with the Musical Mind of Byron Langley
If you have yet to hear of Byron Langley, you will soon. This London-based, multi-talented musician, singer, and songwriter hails from South Africa and is taking the music scene by storm, gaining impressive traction on YouTube, Instagram, and Spotify. With over 230,000 followers on Instagram, 118,000 subscribers on YouTube, a new album coming out, and multiple acting credits to his name, Langley is making quite a splash in the entertainment industry.
Though Byron Langley’s prominence in the public eye is starting to rapidly rise, Langley has had a passion for music from an early age. “I have always played instruments,” Langley explained. “I started on the drums as a young child, then moved onto guitar in my teens, and most recently piano.” While Langley is completely invested in his music now, it was not always the case. “A career in music was never in the cards for me. I dreamt of playing cricket for South Africa up until the age of 22,” reveals Langley. “I played provincially back home, as well as an overseas professional in the UK. I drifted from cricket into acting and was lucky enough to land some awesome roles, including Netflix’s The Kissing Booth.” When Langley made the move to the UK to further his career in acting, he found himself sucked into the world of YouTube instead. “After receiving a bit of traction on my channel, I made the plunge into making music full time.” Whether it is Netflix or YouTube, three simple words drive Langley’s mindset: “I like performance.” Making the decision two years ago to become a full-time YouTuber who posts music-based content, the undeniable performer has never questioned himself since. “It would seem a fair amount of juggling finally found me doing something I was completely invested in.”
Since making the transition to a career in music, Langley’s popularity has skyrocketed. His first-ever tour with 23 performances across the UK was scheduled for March to April of 2020 with a second tour in October. “Unfortunately,” Langley sighs, “the Covid-19 outbreak slammed the brakes on that one.” With promises of an upcoming tour, however, the musician is excited by the prospect of reigniting the feeling he experienced at his first-ever show. “I was 16 and in a band with some high school friends,” Langley reminisces. “We entered a ‘Battle of the Bands’ competition and did quite well. I remember in the final round, whilst we were performing a cover of Muse’s ‘Plug In Baby,’ I pulled the jack from my guitar out of my amp and spent about 30 seconds mid-song trying to get it back in. All catastrophes of that evening aside,” he continues, “I remember feeling like I could have played for days up on that stage. It was so cool to play with a band instead of just by myself in my room.” A memory Langley would not soon forget. This time around, Langley will not be covering other artists’ songs, but will instead be performing his own. “I am currently in the process of rolling out a new album,” Langley confirms. “We’re releasing the tracks as singles a few weeks apart from one another. So far, one single is out with the second out soon. The album is called All My Friends. I’ll be playing sets around town again once lockdown allows,” promises the piercing green-eyed performer. Counter to his album’s title, Langley acknowledges his choice of making All My Friends as a solo musician had its ups and downs. “More voices equals bigger sound when you’re playing live, so that is a drawback,” recognizes the multi-talented creative. However, there is a definite upside to going solo. “You have only your voice to worry about when performing, you don’t need to listen out for anyone else’s.”
While transitioning into solo music means he can no longer compete in any “battles of the bands,” Langley’s musical abilities have seemed to progress in this new performance style, especially in the face of isolation. It seems that everyone has found some sort of lockdown routine during Covid-19 and Langley is no exception. “I spend 90% of my time in my home studio making songs, practicing instruments, or watching tutorials,” Langley shares. “If I can, I like to play golf — I love and I hate it, but I keep going back so that must mean something. Other than that my week doesn’t change a whole lot.” The only significant “pre-lockdown” lifestyle factor that has been affected is “playing sets anywhere” he can and “seeing friends.” The reason for a relatively unaltered, quarantine lifestyle is that Langley lives the life of a musician where it is more repetition than rock-n-roll, more practice than partying. While glamour can be a portion of that lifestyle, Langley fears that his audience would “be bitterly disappointed by the lack of shenanigans. It’s a lot of practicing the same over and over again,” the singer says, “playing instruments until your patience runs out, vocal exercises, music mixing tutorials, and pretty much anything other than being cool. I’m sure my roommates can resonate with that,” the musician jokes, “unless the noise has resonated with them too much already.”
Before lockdown measures were implemented, Langley was fortunate enough to “travel quite extensively” and found “a love for southeast Asia.” Admiring various aspects of its culture, the songwriter notes that “the fashion around there is more comfort over swag. If what you’re wearing doesn’t allow for your body to be able to stay cool, then you’re doing it wrong.” It is no wonder this type of fashion resonates so much with the performer since his go-to ensemble consists of “boots and oversized t-shirts.” Should he be going out somewhere, Langley might opt for “a jacket or a trench… if they’re oversized then that’s a win,” but rarely goes for any pop of color. “White, grey, and black are me 70% of the time.” Though his sense of fashion may stray from the colorful, Langley’s music certainly showcases his artistic flare. “I struggled for some time to write songs that all fit under the same genre ceiling,” Langley elucidates. “I don’t think every song should sound the same, but it is important to have a sound that can be traced back to you as consistently as possible. I’d say as a whole,” the musician muses, “I make indie-pop music with electronic infusions.”
Electronic infusions, however, influence Langley’s music in more ways than just the sound. “Without social media, I would be miles behind,” the singer admits. “It is almost the unsung band member. Without it, no one would be listening to anything.” The power of social media allows many musicians to engage with their audiences and further cultivate their careers. “When releasing music, the first, and sometimes the only step, is a social media plan that introduces or expands on what you’re releasing. This could be to your 100 followers or your 10 million followers.” Just like any musical collaboration, “members” of the band can get on one another’s nerves. “On the flip side, social media can feel very taxing,” the songwriter posits. “ You have to juggle the thought of posting things you find to be engaging or posting for the sake of not being ‘gone’ too long.” With the multitudes of social media platforms that one must be consistently active on, to the musician and many others, it can often feel like “a job on its own.” “All that being said, if you can get on top of social media, your career will be massively aided and I’ve seen occupational and lifestyle benefits from it.” Known for his down-to-earth and laid-back style, Langley has no qualms with opening up about his personal life on his Instagram or YouTube channel. “The message to my audience is always sent out with a touch of humor, but usually lies within my struggles with mental health and trying to find your place in the world. I’d say I’m bare all if the occasion permits it,” shares Langley. “Being on a podcast around mental health, for example, is a good place to open up about private matters in your life. You can state quite clearly that you aren’t an expert and what you say is just personal experience.”
Speaking of personal, Langley has not seen his personal life affected much since starting his music career. Since almost everyone has a portion of their life available online, it is not as much pressure. “I could follow anyone, random person and soon enough, I’d know a bit about them. Having that at a larger scale doesn’t make too much of a difference,” says Langley. Even with a larger following, Langley has managed to be authentically himself online. “I’ve not changed much and I’d hope that reflects through what anyone sees online. I think staying true to yourself is important when making music,” advises the singer, “your brand and image will come across organically that way.” As for what’s next for Byron Langley, he has a few things planned. “I’m finally going on tour! We set new dates for 2021, so that’s exciting. I would love to get into some acting roles again. There is plenty you can do online yourself,” the YouTuber encourages. “You don’t need to be booking roles on TV and film to do something.” And if one of his fans does heed his advice, Langley earnestly hopes he gets “to read your story in an interview soon. Thanks for reading mine.”
