The Alchemist
There is a childlike innocence represented in the emotive new single “Lost” by producer, DJ, and artist, Namix. Originally from Michigan and now based in Washington D.C., Namix collaborated with another talented songwriter, vocalist, and artist, KWITNY (Peter Kwitny), known as the vocalist for the indie-pop rock band The Kelseys, for this unusually uplifting song about lost love or about feeling lost in general.
Namix, aka Naman Gupta, began exploring electronic music production as a DJ for competitive collegiate dance teams before transitioning into writing and producing his own original hip-hop, pop, and electronic songs. Throughout high school and while pursuing his degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Namix cut his teeth DJing and performing at a variety of events for diverse audiences and opening for big-name artists. “Lost” is his debut single as one of the newly signed artists to Instant Records founded by legendary producer, songwriter, and record executive Richard Gottehrer; more on that story here.
“Lost’ is a well-crafted song cunningly juxtaposing the warmth of the music with the disheartening nature of the reflective and thoughtful lyrics exploring feelings like: “Did I try hard enough? Did I love well enough? Or, what if we had more time?” The driving beat of the kick drum and swagger of the acoustic guitar contribute to the track’s uplifting character, expanding into the realms of empowerment and encouragement. By the end, listeners can’t help but recognize that there is hope for future possibilities in spite of the sadness.
This childlike innocence and optimism can be seen visually in the music video for “Lost” directed by Cole Cronk. Illustrated by Ashley Blacher and animated by Arne Christiansen, “Lost” depicts the ‘Astrokid’ experiencing the feelings of heartbreak before boarding a rocket headed for outer space, eventually finding their way to a massive festival depicting Namix performing on stage.
“KWITNY and I made ‘Lost’ when we were students at the University of Michigan,” says Namix. “I had started the instrumental during a road trip in California with my family, and I eventually sent a draft to KWITNY who helped take the song to a whole new level. I think ‘Lost’ resonates beyond just a ‘heartbreak song’ context because I think we can all relate to feeling lost in a lot of ways. Hopefully, the dancy vibes add a different and potentially comforting spin on that feeling.”
Read about how we came to discover Namix and his story about signing with Instant Records. Check out “Lost” below, and find this and more great music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify and YouTube.
Daniel Warren Hill is an American musician, writer, and motivational speaker. He is best known as the frontman for Washington DC area Alternative Rock band YellowTieGuy, as co-founder of Capitol Groove Collective, and increasing the exposure of artists on a global scale through his work with Alchemical Records.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
