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Interview with
POWLOH

(22nd August 2025)

Interview by Dave Bruce

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Photo – Cebu

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Have you always wanted to be an artist? When did you get the song writing bug?
When I was nine years old I was playing on my mum’s work computer she had brought home and I found a program for recording. It wasn’t even music production software, it was like some built in recording tool in Windows. It couldn’t do much but record audio, speed it up, slow it down and reverse it. So I’d make these songs or remixes by connecting an aux cable from the home stereo headphone jack to the computer’s microphone input and recording music from my mum’s CDs, and then I’d reverse it and slow it right down and record that back out onto a cassette tape. And then I’d record samples in amongst it from tv shows and movies like The Simpsons and Pulp Fiction along with gun shot sounds from video games. 
One day I brought one of my songs on cassette to school and asked the teacher if I could show the class. Everyone sat quietly as I pressed play. Since the audio had been recorded back and forth between the CD player to the computer, then back out to the cassette numerous times the quality was awful and also super quiet. Everyone sat through this song that went for about 5 minutes. When it ended it was dead quiet until this kid yelled out, “that sucked!” and everyone laughed. He was right though, I cringed at myself for years after that but talking about it now I feel kinda proud of it haha. 

Briefly describe your journey to date.
I grew up in the local hip hop scene in Melbourne. I DJ’d while also making music trying to figure out my sound. I went through a very quiet and hidden time where I was just experimenting with song writing and starting to sing, making a lot of songs I never released. I eventually made an EP I was happy with and sent it around. I signed to a label in 2020 and released that EP through them in 2021, my first under the name Powloh. I then finished my second EP but then got an email from the label saying it was a bit too different for them so I was dropped. I eventually released that EP independently in 2023 titled, ‘Cold Summer Paradise’. I played a sold out EP launch, and then decided to lock myself back in the studio, I guess I just had the fire in me and needed to let it out. That’s when I made my third and latest EP, ‘Lonely Driver’. 

How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
I always struggle to describe my sound but here’s another attempt… I love warm clean guitar tones, lots of 7 chords, classic vintage synth sounds and keys. A little bit of soul and R&B, blues guitar lead moments, sometimes a hint of country maybe some rock. I listen to a lot of different music and I don’t think of genres so much when I’m creating. I definitely sit outside of today’s polished pop landscape and aim to make music that is raw and real. I give myself periods of time to study and consume music but then when I go to write, I don’t think about it too much, I just let whatever is in me to pour out.
Lately and since the release of Lonely Driver, I’ve had people tell me they’re drawn to the authenticity and the feelings of nostalgia my music gives them. My songs are quite often written in reference to very specific experiences in my life but I usually write them in a way that hides the actual story. And although the story is unclear, it’s the feelings and the emotions tied to those experiences that are the universal thread. I think this allows people to find themselves somewhere in my songs and that’s what resonates with them. 

Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today? 
Durand Jones & The Indications. I saw them live earlier this year at The Forum in Melbourne and their show blew me away.
I’m also hugely inspired by artists such as Prince, Tame Impala, Mac Demarco and Tyler The Creator. I’m big into artists who produce and write their own music, or are across it all from corner to corner. There’s something raw and personal about listening to a record driven by a single person, it feels like I’m seeing deeper into who they are. 

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Your latest EP/Album ‘Lonely Driver’ has just been released! What’s it all about? Describe its origin and evolution. 
Lonely Driver came from an introspective place, spending late nights alone in my home studio, just sitting with my thoughts and letting the music take shape around whatever I was feeling in the moment. It’s a record about solitude, not in a sad way, but in a way that reflects the reality of my musical process – doing it on my own.  Throughout the record, the guitar and production are just as important as the vocals. I intentionally left space throughout for the music to live on its own and to let the instrumentation carry the emotion and meaning, even without words.

What are the signature tracks on the EP, and which are your favorites to play live?
The signature tracks on the EP are, ‘In Bloom’, ‘I Don’t Want To Write A Love Song’ and ‘Falling Out With Myself’. My favourites to play live would have to be In Bloom, Falling Out With Myself and although not a signature track, Lonely Driver which the EP is named after. 

What tours and events are coming up? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
Have some shows on the horizon for the second half of the year but still in the stages of confirming dates…. More to come soon.

If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why? 
I’d have to say Michael Jackson. He made so many hits that were a part of so many golden eras of music, from Motown soul, funk, disco, rnb, rock, new jack swing, gospel, jazz and pop to name a few. It’s one thing to study these genres and to understand the theory behind it, but it’s another to have lived it and to have been a part of it. He has been so influential in a lot of modern music and his active career went for decades, pushing boundaries not only with the records he made but his live performances and music videos. He was truly a musical genius. 

What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them?
To be honest, I’m just chasing to reach my potential as an artist and to make music I can be forever proud of. I’m self taught with pretty much everything I do and I do it all myself. From the music, to mixing and mastering and all of my videos, design and visuals. It’s been wild to navigate, but with every song I make, I feel like I’m inching closer and closer. To reach that point I’m aiming for and have people come along for the ride, that’s all I really want. 

With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out? 
Find mentors, coaches or anyone and anything that can help you level up your skill or at least set you on the right path. Focus on the music you’re making and your understanding of why you like what you like. Having good taste and then having the skill to make music to your taste will be a huge part of what makes you unstoppable. 

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What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
Looking out at the crowd and seeing people sing my lyrics. From sitting alone and delving into my deepest thoughts and feelings while writing these words, to then having people sing them back to me is quite a journey and such an intimate thing. 

Here are three general questions your fans will find interesting about you:
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? When I was in my late teens, a youth organisation was helping me get funding for some music gear as part of a program helping young people who were in the juvenile justice system. Long story short, I was given the opportunity to go on this 22 day trek/challenge- hiking through the Snowy Mountains. It included 3 days solo, a section of caving including a part where we had to wriggle through a pitch black tunnel called the wombat hole (most claustrophobic thing I’ve ever done) and then a 10km run back to base at the end. What actually made it crazy was I had no idea what I was in for, I didn’t even read the forms. I pretty much just went because they said I could maybe get some recording equipment if I did this thing so I said yes not knowing what I was getting into. I didn’t even prepare or train for it. We set off as a group of about 20 people, and everyone was there for different reasons, but more than half dropped out along the way. I made it all the way through, I really wanted that music gear – and yes I did get it.
What is the one topic you can talk about for hours? Vintage Japanese lawsuit era guitars 
What is the thing you like most about yourself? Where I came from to where I am now

Finally, just a few questions about your favourites, now or all-time –
Album – Daft Punk – Random Access Memories
Artist – Marcus King
Movie – This changes constantly but for now I’ll say, La Haine
Place to visit – The Philippines to see family
Venue to play – The Gaso, they closed down RIP but I think I saw this morning that it’s re-opening!
Food – Filipino Pork Adobo
Drink – Water
Person in History – My wifey, Meaghan <3
Tattoo – The trad bear face on my left elbow

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Follow POWLOH
TikTok – Instagram – YouTube – Twitter

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Press Release 18th July 2025 (below)

POWLOH
returns with
Lush, Soul-Steeped EP
LONELY DRIVER
Featuring Focus Track
“IN BLOOM”

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Following a breakout year of viral moments, sold-out shows and DSP love, Naarm/Melbourne-based producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Powloh unveils his latest body of work Lonely Driver, a 7-track EP built for introspective night drives and lovers of groove-laced melancholy. Anchored by its dreamy lead single “In Bloom”, the project sees Powloh doubling down on his signature blend of lo-fi R&B, modern soul, and warm psych-funk textures.

“In Bloom is a soulful, slow-burning track, built on nostalgia, guitar lines, dreamy chords and sonically sitting somewhere between modern soul and classic soft rock,” says Powloh. “I wrote, produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered the entire EP myself. Lonely Driver reflects my creative solitude, a nod to the quiet commitment of doing it all on my own.”

Lonely Driver is a cohesive body of work that plays like a cinematic, late-night journey through Powloh’s inner world, meditative, melancholic, and deeply soulful. Across seven tracks, he blends warm analog textures, hazy guitar lines, and slow-burning grooves to explore themes of love, loss, memory, and solitude. The EP flows like a series of emotional snapshots, tied together by a sense of introspection and quiet resilience. From deeply personal moments of connection to reflections on grief and creative solitude, Lonely Driver is both a soundtrack to stillness and a celebration of artistic self-sufficiency, the sound of an artist fully in his element, building something intimate and immersive from the ground up.

Born in the Philippines and now firmly embedded in Melbourne’s alt-soul underground, Powloh cut his teeth as a touring DJ and session musician, backing some of the biggest names in Australia and the US. But it’s in his home studio where the real magic happens. His DIY ethos meets a global sound palette, vintage synths, buttery basslines, hazy guitar licks, and woozy drum work, nodding to Tom Misch, The Internet, and Black Pumas while remaining distinctly his own.

The momentum leading into Lonely Driver has been undeniable. Recent single Ridin’ Round The City premiered on SYN FM’s Soulfood and earned spins on Magic FM (PH) and 2XX FM, racking up 40,000+ video views in its debut week. Follow-up Falling Out With Myself landed airplay on 2SER’s Tuckshop Radio, SYN FM, and Magic FM, with over 30,000 video views. Silver Bullet found its home on Spotify’s .Org playlist and received radio support from 2SER and SYN, while I Don’t Want To Write A Love Song landed on Spotify’s New Music Friday Philippines and Mood. editorial playlists, premiered on SYN FM’s Soulfood, was named Track of the Week on 2SER Tuckshop, and picked up spins from Edge Radio and multiple community stations nationwide.

Off the back of a sold-out debut headline show at The Gaso, a tripled Spotify following, and self-directed video content generating over 100,000 views (plus airtime on Rage and MTV Australia), Powloh is proving himself as one of the most exciting emerging names in the Australian alt-soul scene. His behind-the-scenes TikToks have gone viral, and interviews with Magic FM and SYN FM have spotlighted him as an artist to watch.

Lonely Driver isn’t just a record, it’s a deeply personal world Powloh has built from the ground up, offering raw emotion, soul-rich grooves, and late-night introspection from an artist confidently carving his own lane.

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AMNPLIFY – DB