LeTrainiump Counts Michael, Miles, Frank Ocean Among His "Milky Way" Before Jazz Fest

LeTrainiump

It’s hard not to love LeTrainiump. 

Pop/R&B singer LeTrainiump Richard first got on our radar in 2021 when he collaborated with SaxKixAve on “Lost,” a song with more gravity than is immediately obvious. 

“Lost” starts with LeTrainiump singing, “We used to get high / stay up all night, and laugh in the morning. / We play to the end, always pretend / and fight when it’s over / over and over.” The lines signal that something’s wrong, but his upbeat performance and a sound that invokes ‘80s dance pop make it easy to overlook the singer’s anxieties. He’s worried he’s going in circles, but the song’s so catchy that the gravity only sinks in later. 

LeTrainiump has shown that the magic of “Lost” can be reproduced. On his album, In Real Time, the simple pleasure of “Falling Again” obscures a lyric about long term, committed love, and how it can still be a challenge and a thrill years into the relationship. In his best songs, he shows a deft touch for juggling mixed emotions with deceptive ease.

LeTrainiump has played Jazz Fest before with glbl wrmng, but he’ll make his debut on his own on Thursday at 12:20 p.m. on the Congo Square Stage.

This year, My Spilt Milk asked LeTrainiump for his “Milky Way,” the eight songs that map out his musical universe. His first artist and song should come as no surprise.

“Rock With You” - Michael Jackson 

This is my all-time favorite song. Growing up, I used to watch The Jacksons: American Dream, and I fell in love with all things Michael Jackson very early on. I wanted to be him until my mom (who gave me singing lessons) told me to sing his songs like me. 

It’s that undeniable energy in this song that moves me and it’s something i often find myself trying to replicate. I can listen to his music on repeat, but this would be the song I would repeat every hour. I never get tired of it. It’s timeless. In my opinion, it has one of the greatest modulations, and you can never be sad when you hear that drum roll into that first synth lead. 

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” - Tears For Fears

A lot of the nostalgia that lives in my own music was birthed out of waking up in the middle of the night and hearing commercials say, “Listen to the sound of the ‘80s” or something like that. I hardly remember the commercials, but this song always stood out and grew to become one of my favorites. 

It’s a perfectly written song in my opinion, and infectious. I knew that even as a kid. This song introduced a whole new world of music and sound that wasn’t what I would hear [growing up in Mamou, Louisiana] on an everyday basis. 

I looked forward to that commercial all those late nights, and this song is still a reference point for me when I produce. 

“RELEASE” - LeTrainiump

Yes, i know it may be cliché to say that one of my own songs is constantly in orbit in my mind, but if I'm being honest, it is. This to me is one of my greatest songs lyrically and musically. Everything about it captures my everyday life feelings. As an artist, I’m always on the grind to become better and be faster at realizing my ideas. In order to do that, I have to listen to my own music often. 

I, like most people I know, have a hard time hearing my own music and taking it in as a fan. I often am quick to critique, but this song is the only one that has never made me feel this way. I can listen to it on repeat everyday. It pumps me up and reminds me that if i can make this, surely i can make more of it or better. Nostalgia oozes out of this one.

“So What” - Miles Davis 

Contrary to popular belief that says if you want to be better at something, immerse yourself in it, I often come back to Kind of Blue when writing. This song in particular takes me back to my early years of independence. I had just finished school and rented my first loft apartment, when my mom gifted me with a record player. I had no records and wanted my first one to be special. 

I found this album and knew the minute I heard this song that I had made the right choice. Miles Davis is the father of cool, and “So What” became my chill out song when the ideas weren’t flowing. It’s a palate cleanser to me and space in music that allows me to give my brain a break and not worry about the next note. 

“Redemption Song” - Bob Marley 

Songwriting for me is not easy. I live for authenticity, and lyrics that have meaning and sometimes it makes me question the life path I’m on when i can’t find the words to say. That’s when I find my way back to this song. 

I’m a huge Bob Marley fan, and his story and legacy resonates with a part of me that remembers my small and humble beginnings.This song is one of the only songs that can make me weep. It brings a spirit out of me that reminds me to fight and keep moving forward. 

Spirituality is a huge part of who I am, and this song grounds me. 

“Weak” - SWV

At my musical core, iI am an R&B lover, and there’s something about ‘90s R&B that is irreplaceable. You know it when you hear it, but this song is the ‘90s song for me. It gives me a warm feeling and the production is outer worldly good. It’s a repeater for me. I can listen to this song and instantly go back to my grandmother’s garage and see my cousins and mom singing this one at the top of their lungs. All the r&b runs i sing and flares in my music stem from this song alone. 

“Bruises Off The Peach” - Ryan Beatty

This is a more recent favorite as I’ve been back exploring my instrument and getting back to the simplicity of writing songs from a guitar. Sonically, it pulls on all my heartstrings but it’s the lyrics that pulled me in. 

I heard this song and it gave me the feeling of discovery again. I immediately saved and ran the whole album on repeat. I always find my way back to it when I want to write better lyrics. I was always told that you know a song is good when you can strip back the production and sing it with simple chords and it still moves you. This song is one of those for me.

“White Ferrari” - Frank Ocean 

Frank is the GOAT of songwriting and production. Hearing it in the moment is good, but three years later when you’re walking away from the counter after ordering your fav coffee on a rainy day it hits you. A line from this song ear worming its way in your playlist and now you have to run Blonde top to bottom because if you don’t, you're just going to hum “White Ferrari” over and over again. 

Frank Ocean opened my mind to music production and composing like I had never experienced. “White Ferrari” is in constant orbit and something I will always go back to to break my own barriers and write my real life onto an unorthodox canvas.