T.O.L.D.

The Order of Life & Death, or T.O.L.D., is the atmospheric dark pop project of Birmingham, England's Daniel James Smith. The name was inspired by Gustav Klimt's painting "Death and Life," which the British producer first saw as a teenager. Smith got his start in the London underground -- where he experimented with different facets of pop music and self-released his own material -- and moved to Los Angeles in 2014, where he began work on T.O.L.D. His first release, the Heaven EP, was produced by Birgir Þórarinsson (GusGus) and included the tropical-tinged "Lucifer's Eyes," which merged Bastille's breathless indie rock with Kygo's steel drums. That song would appear on Smith's meditative debut LP, It's Not About the Witches (IAMSOUND), which was produced by Tom Biller (Kanye West, Eels, Karen O) and mixed by Peter Katis (Interpol, Kurt Vile). Jas Shaw from Simian Mobile Disco was also enlisted on "Return Forever." Released in June 2016, Witches incorporated Depeche Mode-styled new wave/goth synths, and gospel-backed '90s house similar to Moby's Play with a beating hip-hop heart.