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. ~ Neil Z. Yeung