Calgary-born singer/songwriter Turbo releases his third single, with its title inspired by the Netflix quarantine hit Tiger King, “Bo Exotic” today via 10K Projects/ Homemade Projects/ Internet Money Records. His latest single blends a country twang with heavy bass and a fun EDM beat, similarly seen in past single “Racing After Me.” The new track follows the release of singles “Racing After Me” and “Heart Stop,” both of which were highlighted on Spotify’s New Music Friday (US). The latter was featured on Spotify’s Outliers, and Wild Country playlists as well and was heralded by Ones to Watch as a “confident and honest crossover track.”
LISTEN TO “BO EXOTIC” HERE
Born Nicholas LaMonaca, Turbo grew up on country thanks mainly to his father (a famed guitarist in the international bluegrass scene), but felt drawn toward rap music and obscure electronic genres like hardstyle, the fusion of techno and hardcore. At the age of 12 he started making his own music, a move heavily inspired by Avicii’s progressive-house classic “LE7ELS.” “Once I heard that song I couldn’t get enough of it,” Turbo recalls. “I was so obsessed, I ended up downloading FL Studio to try to recreate the melody on my own.” Although he instantly discovered a natural talent for production, Turbo put music aside for several years, until he graduated high school. “On my 18th birthday I bought a laptop, keyboard, and set of speakers, and figured I’d have rappers come in and do their thing,” he says. “But after a while I just started winging it, making beats and rapping over them myself.”
As he pushed deeper into his artistry, Turbo began mining inspiration from left-of-center country singers like Colter Wall, a Canadian musician he stumbled across while stocking the shelves at his full-time liquor-store jobs. “Colter Wall has one of the raspiest, rawest, rudest voices I’d ever heard in my life, and it just completely took me over,” he notes. From there, Turbo tapped into his own country roots and created a full-length project titled Sixth Gear, a 2019 release featuring his breakthrough single “Light Speed.” Soon after YouTube curator Astari shared the song’s video on his channel, “Light Speed” caught the attention of 10K, quickly paving the way for Turbo’s signing to the label, along with Homemade Projects and Internet Money Records.
In the making of his 10K / Homemade Projects / Internet Money debut, “Heart Stop,” Turbo embraced even more confidence in his songwriting, and followed his intuition more fully than ever. “The more music I make and the better I know myself, the more I’ve realized that the best songs come from me sitting in a room alone and just taking my time—that’s how I come up with something honest and timeless,” he says. “I don’t really follow a particular process. Instead of worrying about any kind of rules, I just do what I want, and go with whatever feels right to me.”
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