Biography

Los Angeles-based EDM duo Lost Kings bring together woozy grooves, house influences, and more mainstream electronic styles to create a sound that has both the familiarity of pop and a distinctive party-starting energy. After first gaining some attention for their remixes of tracks by well-known artists like Halsey and Imagine Dragons, Lost Kings signed to RCA subsidiary label Disruptor Records and began releasing original material on a series of EPs that included 2019's Lost Angeles and 2021's It's Not You, It's Me. DJs Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz bonded over a love of electronic music culture and their shared status as recent transplants to L.A. from the East Coast. In 2014, the two began making tracks together as Lost Kings, focusing prominently on remixes of other artists over original compositions. The act almost immediately drew major attention for unofficial remixes of tracks by artists such as Disclosure, the Killers, and Dirty South, gaining enough momentum to sign a management deal. In 2015, they released The Bad EP, followed the next year by companion piece The Good EP. Amid constant touring and ever-growing popularity, Lost Kings began receiving commissions for official remixes for bigger names. The year 2015 saw them reworking Tori Kelly's hit "Should've Been Us," and they released an official remix for Rihanna's "Work" single in 2016. In addition to wildly successful remix work, Lost Kings also made it to the charts with their own compositions, including "Phone Down" featuring Emily Warren and early 2017's "Quit You" with Tinashé. They followed with "Look at Us Now" featuring Ally Brooke and A$AP Ferg, and "First Love" with Sabrina Carpenter. 2018 saw the releases of the singles "When We Were Young" featuring Norma Jean Martine and "Drunk as Hell" featuring Jesper Jenset, both of which appeared on the Paper Crowns EP in early 2019. Also that year, they issued a second EP, Lost Angeles. More stand-alone tracks arrived in 2020, including "Hurt" featuring DeathByRomy, "Oops (I'm Sorry)" with Ty Dolla $ign and Gashi, and "Mountains" featuring Masn. The 2021 EP It's Not You, It's Me saw the Kings expanding their style to include traces of emo-pop melody and songs built on guitar loops. The EP included guest features from MOD SUN, Ty Dolla $ign, Jordan Shaw, and others. In 2022, the group released the song "Under the Influence," again with guest contributions from Jordan Shaw. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi