{"id":393318,"date":"2026-07-10T12:18:24","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T12:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/393318\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T12:18:24","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T12:18:24","slug":"in-a-conversation-with-lyke-san-jose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/393318\/","title":{"rendered":"In a conversation with LYKE: San Jos\u00e9"},"content":{"rendered":"

The melody came to him on a small plane. LYKE <\/a>was flying over Costa Rica after a show last year, looking down at San Jos\u00e9<\/a>, and the whole thing just hit. The city below looked unreal, like a dream he had somehow flown over instead of imagined. That feeling stuck. He kept it and turned it into the track.<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d was recorded in Costa Rica. What drew you to that location for this track? How did the environment\u2014the atmosphere, the energy of San Jos\u00e9\u2014shape the sound and feel of the record?<\/p>\n

I was in Costa Rica last year for a show, and from day one the place moved something in me. Down there, nature doesn\u2019t sit in the background \u2014 it swallows the city whole. You don\u2019t decide to be inspired; it just takes you.
The melody came to me on a small plane, right as we crossed over San Jos\u00e9. Everything below looked unreal,\u00a0like\u00a0something I\u2019d dreamed instead of flown over \u2014 and that feeling became the whole track. It moves, but it never chases the high; the voice and the melody keep pulling it back, letting it breathe. The synths fall\u00a0like\u00a0raindrops, slightly off the grid, never quite locked in \u2014 and that imperfection is the point. It\u2019s what makes the dream feel real. I\u2019m still attached to that synth line \u2014 it takes me somewhere every time.<\/p>\n

Down there, nature does not sit quietly in the background. It swallows the city whole. You can hear that in the final record. The synths fall like raindrops, slightly off the grid, never quite locking in. That imperfection is the point. That is what makes the dream feel real. LYKE<\/a> is still attached to that synth line. He says it takes him somewhere every time he hears it.<\/p>\n

\"LYKE\"LYKEThe single is described as Electronica\/Downtempo, a stylistic shift from some of your previous work. What inspired this particular sonic direction for \u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d? Was it a conscious departure, or did the track simply evolve that way?<\/p>\n

Both, but it was inevitable. I grew up on classical and jazz, then techno raised me \u2014 though mine was never the standard kind: warmer, more melodic, built on harmony. The classical never left; it just hid inside the machines. Then at some point the drums stopped being the most interesting thing in the room, and my voice became what mattered most. A lot of people still don\u2019t realize the voice on every one of my songs is mine.
So I lowered the energy and let the melody breathe. \u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d sits at a club tempo but moves at half speed \u2014 it doesn\u2019t chase euphoria, it pulls you under. None of this is new: it was all there on my debut, \u201cNothing Around Us<\/a>.\u201d I\u2019ve never wanted to be one genre or one label \u2014 I\u2019d rather cross them. I don\u2019t know exactly where this sound is taking me, only that it\u2019s my own road, and San Jos\u00e9 is the first step on it.<\/p>\n

This is a shift for him. The track sits at a club tempo but moves at half speed. He grew up on classical and jazz. Then techno raised him, though his version was never the standard kind. It was warmer, more melodic, built on harmony. The classical never left. It just hid inside the machines. But somewhere along the way, the drums stopped being the most interesting thing in the room. His voice became what mattered most. A lot of people still do not realize the voice on every one of his songs is his. He lowered the energy on \u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d and let the melody breathe.<\/p>\n

LYKE treated the vocals like a pop record this time. The voice and the melody weave through each other, answering back and forth harmonically. The synths are all real, played by hand, never pulled from a preset shelf. He stopped chasing perfect. He left the human stuff in. The slight drags, the tiny hesitations. That is where the emotion actually lives.<\/p>\n

\u00a0You\u2019ve mentioned this is \u201cthe first single release of a new chapter\u201d. What does \u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d represent for you at this stage of your career? What can listeners expect from what follows?<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d is a transition \u2014 a new beginning, not a finish line. It\u2019s me stepping out of the old sound and into something that\u2019s finally mine.
What comes next? Honestly, they can expect anything. There\u2019s so much music I can\u2019t wait to put out \u2014 sounds that move across genres and feelings. That range is me. San Jos\u00e9 is only the first step; everything after it is even more me. The real me.<\/p>\n

See also<\/p>\n

\"Amnesia<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the first single of a new chapter. LYKE calls it a transition, not a finish line. He is stepping out of the old sound and into something that is finally his. The track is closer in spirit to his earlier work on \u201cAROSE<\/a>\u201d than anything else, built on feeling first, with everything kept natural. He did not force a single part. Every element had to serve the main melody. If it did not, it got cut.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re known for blending refined melodies, distinctive vocals, and authentic synths. How did you approach your vocal and production process on this track differently\u2014if at all\u2014compared to earlier releases\u00a0like\u00a0\u201cAROSE\u201d or \u201cStay With Me\u201d?<\/p>\n

Honestly, \u201cSan Jos\u00e9\u201d is closer to \u201cAROSE\u201d: feeling first, everything kept natural. I didn\u2019t want to force anything. It was all built around one goal \u2014 protecting the main melody and letting it lead. If a part didn\u2019t serve that melody, it didn\u2019t make the song.
The real difference is the vocals. This time I treated them\u00a0like\u00a0a pop record \u2014 up front, carrying the track, not just another layer in the mix. That\u2019s what really changes on \u201cSan Jos\u00e9,\u201d and on everything coming next: the voice sits at the core, right beside the melody, the two weaving through and answering each other harmonically. The synths are all real, played by hand, never off a preset shelf. And I stopped chasing perfect \u2014 I left the human stuff in, because that\u2019s where the emotion actually lives.<\/p>\n

Three singles are planned for this summer, leading into a debut album in 2027 and his first live tour. LYKE says there is so much music he cannot wait to put out, sounds that move across genres and feelings.<\/p>\n

Out June 19 via MHA, it is the kind of release that announces a direction without giving everything away. It hints at a broader sound and leaves you wanting the next one.<\/p>\n