Montreal-based pop savant Soran understands how to dismantle sorrow. When you find yourself alone, life chewing you to pieces, the walls of the world enveloping around you -- making art can feel like an explosive way through the dark. “Every song should be made with that excitement, that playfulness, or else just don’t do it,” he says with a coy smile. Soran’s latest LP, Loneliness Confetti (2024), more than lives up to that promise. Dripping with ‘80s-vintage synthpop bliss, Prince swagger, and maximalist modern pop wonder alike, the eight-track set is the latest statement from a rapidly ascending multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and lyricist stepping further into the spotlight.
“Loneliness Confetti celebrates being alone and living with the beauty that we’re choosing not to see every day,” Soran explains. “It’s surrendering to what some call boredom and finding the playfulness and euphoria of every moment.” The record opens with a glittering testament to that worldview in the form of Diamond. Riding a quick-shuffling breakbeat and immaculately layered synths and strings, the indie pop gem finds Soran exalting a loved one in a honeyed falsetto.
It’s a marvel that Soran was able to produce an album over the past year, let alone a record this ecstatically hopeful. After the isolation and frustration of COVID lockdowns, Soran’s long-term relationship ended. Not long later, his mother tragically passed away. The two had been particularly close, and after her passing, he found himself living in her home and converting it into a studio space where he could host other artists. “Ultimately, that experience pushed me to make music I knew my mom would like, which is good because she liked really good music,” Soran laughs. “My mom was a music journalist in Japan who loved listening to Prince and David Bowie, and her energy is there in the house—and she’ll always be a percentage of me.”
Around the same time, Soran also left behind a deal with a major label that wasn’t working out—a decision which allowed him more creative control and freedom. Third single Magic shows that Soran is capable of radio-ready hooks all on his own, though always with unexpected twists and turns in the composition. Soran’s come a long way from busking in the Montreal Metro with an acoustic guitar, but the beating heart in the midst of these deeply layered productions is still composed of unimpeachable choruses and deeply emotive lyrics.
Throughout Loneliness Confetti, Soran picks out touchstones of pop’s finest moments of the last fifty years and pushes them through his own patented kaleidoscopic view. “It feels like years since I’ve expressed myself the way I want to, and this record is unapologetically showing a deep love of pop I hadn’t been able to explore,” Soran explains. The majority of the record comes from Soran’s own hands—from keyboards to bass to drums. But as Soran also writes and produces tracks for others (ranging from electro-R&B wizard Zach Zoya to pop artist Audrey Mika), he has understood the importance of close collaborators and has built a tight-knit community of like-minded artists. Co-producer Samant helped guide the creation of Diamond and album highlight Mango—the multi-instrumentalist acting like a “super-talented clone” Soran laughs. Soran also credits Montreal pop experimentalist Miko with helping shape the record’s musical journey. Never content with an unforgettable hook or dense production wonderland, Loneliness Confetti continues to unfold and expand, each listen uncovering some new joy while ingraining its earnest lyrics deep in the heart.
After producing and writing songs for different artists such as Kyle Dion (LA), Juke (UK), Fouki (MTL), Johnny Orlando (Toronto, LA) and an album for Claudia Bouvette, to name only a few, Soran will drop new music of his own starting with the catchy 555 in October 2025. Another single, Momentary Good Times, will follow in November. His next album, a beautiful continuity to Loneliness Confetti, will be released Spring 2026.
