Exclusive Premiere: Former Hero releases “In Lieu”

Former Hero returns with a fresh track, “In Lieu,” out now on bitbird. The UK-producer combines post-rock, emo and ambient music with dance music in a way that puts emotion at the center of everything. He creates songs that feel both extremely personal and upbeat at the same time, even describing his sound as “music to make you dance through the sadness.”

Former Hero taps feelings of loneliness onset by small-town-life, which are especially ever-present due to the current state of the world in 2020.

In Lieu’ is a song about having mixed feelings about the town you’re living in. I grew up, and live in, a very small town that can sometimes feel completely disconnected from the ‘real world’. It’s truly a stunning place that I’ll always keep close to my heart, but it can feel like a very isolating experience…

Former Hero

In true Former Hero fashion, this track moves through a wave of emotions from expressing melancholy to “reconciling those feelings, accepting the comfort of what you’re familiar with, and still longing for something more.” The vocals, sung by Former Hero himself, also create a raw sense of connection and vulnerability between him and the listener, leading one to think this is a way for him to connect to others while being so remote.

Former Hero has been a very close member of the bitbird family for years, yet it was just this past August that he made his official debut, with “Friends Now.” The track was very well received, so not only are we excited to release “In Lieu,” but fans are also highly anticipating this next chapter of the story that is Former Hero, which unfolds today. We hope you’ll join along for the journey because there is lots more to come.

About Former Hero:

Combining dance music with post-rock, emo and dance, UK-based producer Former Hero creates music around emotions rather than sticking to one genre. Personal and intimate yet upbeat at the same time, Former Hero encourages his listeners to dance through sadness.

Being musically inspired for the first time at the age of nine when his brother got a cheap classic guitar for his birthday, Former Hero’s fascination for music only grew over the years. Listening to rock music as a teenager and playing in several bands, Former Hero first got introduced to dance music through Skrillex and Pendulum, while still listening to post-rock bands such as This Will Destroy and Caspian.

With this varied pallet of musical influences, Former Hero started making electronic music himself under multiple aliases. These aliases never really seemed to connect until he realized that he could take his non-electronic music influences and contextualize them into something that worked in tandem with the upbeat music that he wanted to create, marking the birth of Former Hero.

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