Anthony De La Torre: The singer behind the latest break-up anthem

Meet Anthony De La Torre, who you surely have seen in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, or listened to as the singer-songwriter and musician from Ohio is an artist to hear now with his debut solo EP Find Me. With R&B and pop elements, his music features a collaboration with his girlfriend, the actress Lana Condor, in a soulful and honest track titled “Raining in London.” We sat down with Anthony to talk about the romantic vision he had for his music video, the agency he finds in songwriting, and his creative process.

While he released his EP as one musical project, his songs don’t have an over-arching theme, rather telling different narratives with each song. He describes, “We have six different stories that are like vignettes — a lot of them have to do with relationships.” His most raw and vulnerable track is “Fake,” written “in a rough moment” when Anthony was experiencing betrayal. His most notable track so far is “Raining in London,” a break-up anthem ironically performed by him and his girlfriend Lana Condor, the main character in To All the Boys I Loved Before. “The production, the lyrics — there was something that was special and stood out to us. Lana has a phenomenal voice which no one knew about up until now. She has a huge love for singing and we spend practically every day together. I was working on the EP every day. I just figured, ‘Why don’t we make something together?’” The music video for the song showcases intimate, romantic moments between the couple, with frequent close-up shots of the two wistfully gazing into each other’s eyes. “We wanted to depict how fame can drive you away from who you actually want to be and the people you actually want to be with. How easy it is for that to happen — that’s what drove us to want to do this song. We love the industry and the chase of moving forward, but also, we would be more than happy to live on a farm in Kansas. We also love the simple things in life. We value friendship and family above everything. That’s why we were so drawn to the story of the song and music video.”

While Anthony’s focus is on his music right now, he had his start in the industry as an actor, as he played roles in Nickelodeon and most recently, he scored a role in the thriller Lord of Chaos. The reason for his current shift to singing is the artistic power he gets from songwriting. “As an actor, unless you’re also a producer, you typically don’t have much control or say of the final product. That’s what drew me so much to music and now wanting to make more music videos. I’ve loved creating since I was 8 years old. I’m one of those people who always has to be making something. That’s what’s drawn me to music so much, the creative freedom you have with it.” Regarding his creative process, he begins his writing sessions by speaking about what he is going through and what has been on his mind. His music has an eclectic pop and laid-back atmosphere, as he describes that his collaboration with his producer informs his sound. “We experimented with a lot of genres, and that’s what we both kept getting drawn to. We love to create things with a positive vibe, it’s who we are. We like songs that left us feeling energized and uplifted.”

For the future, Anthony has planned a music video for the song “Do You Mean It?”. After that, he’ll be working on another EP in July. As for now though, “I would love for you to check out the EP. I think there’s a lot of really cool vibes and relatable themes.”