Before taking the stage for his Saturday night set at North Coast Music Festival last weekend, Seven Lions (aka Jeff Montalvo) sat down with us for an exclusive interview. Over the past decade, Montalvo has carved out a singular space in electronic music, blending genres with ease and cultivating one of the most devoted fan bases in dance culture. With multiple acclaimed releases on his Ophelia imprint and beyond, immersive themed tours, and a reputation for pushing creative boundaries, he’s become a defining voice in the scene.
In our interview, he reflects on his journey so far and offers a glimpse at what lies ahead. Check it out below!
Well first of all, it’s great to finally meet you in person and I’m very much looking forward to your set tonight. Let’s jump right in. Other than North Coast of course… what’s your favorite festival you’ve played so far? Or is there one you haven’t done yet that’s high on your bucket list?
Shambhala is high on my bucket list. Just because it’s kind of like Burning Man and that was one of the festivals that inspired me a lot. But this year, Badlands in Calgary was insane, it was super fun. I guess that’s a lot of Canada right there.
So you need to see more of Canada is what you’re saying?
Yeah, Canada goes off basically.
Well I’d love to see you play at Shambhala! Your debut album, Beyond the Veil, marked a turning point in your career. Looking back, what does that era mean to you now, and how has your creative mindset evolved since then?
That [album] was born out of the pandemic, so it was a little more experimental, I guess, and I feel like my music lately hasn’t been. That was more chill. And I feel like I’m not as chill as I was back then.
Instead of chill, what kind of direction do you think you’re going in?
Not necessarily like main stage festival vibes, but just a little more energetic and concise. That album felt a little meandering and just kind of long, you know? But I think lately I’ve just been trying to tighten things up.
Do you ever feel pressure to outdo yourself creatively, and if so, how do you manage that?
Not really. Honestly, no. Because I feel like I’m never satisfied with anything ever. I just don’t think about it that way, actually.
So it’s like a no pressure, you’re just doing “you” kind of thing?
I mean there’s always pressure, but it’s not like I ever look back at one thing that I did, and think ‘I hope I can be that creative again.’ It’s more like, ‘I’m going to make stuff, and I hope people like it, like they used to.’
When you say ‘outdo’ myself, it feels like a technical thing, but I just like making music, so I’m just going to keep doing it. I’m not really competing for myself.
What’s something about your journey people might not see from the outside?
There’s a lot of things in my personal life that inspire my music deeply, but nobody will ever know that stuff for sure. There’s a ton but I don’t even know how to go into how much that is.
That’s fair, it sounds like it can get pretty personal.
Sometimes it’s personal but sometimes it’s literally like just a band that I discover that I really, really like, that I know my fans would never fucking enjoy whatsoever. But I translate that to my music in a way that is personal to me. But if I was to even show that this song was inspired by this song, I think a lot of people would be like, ‘what the fuck are you talking about?’
Ophelia Records has been a defining outlet for your music since 2018. How does managing the label influence how you approach your own productions and collaborations today?
I like to work with the people on Ophelia, so it’s mainly like a big friend group at this point, so I think that influences who I work with a lot, just because we talk almost every day. I think we also really encourage each other to just be yourself and make music that’s true to yourself and to not chase the trends. So I think that also helps. I have a good group of peers that keep me grounded. And if I was doing some bullshit, they would call me out.
These are good friends to have.
Definitely.
Ophelia recently launched a new webstore and dropped some limited pieces that sold out almost instantly. Can fans expect more exclusive, art-inspired merch drops like this in the future?
Yeah, definitely. That was a big thing. I was on social media and trying to figure out why I hate it so much. Like what am I doing here? So I just started thinking, how can I use it as a tool? Ok—find art that you like. It’s just a great way to find tattoo artists, to find visual artists.
I commissioned a bunch of art, and then thought ‘ok so what do we do with this art? We make cool merch out of it.’ I still really like doing that, so yeah we’re going to continue to do that. We’re not going to rebrand Ophelia or anything into like this darker metal thing, just because that’s what I like. But there will be my little corner of it. More of what I kind of like.
You’ll get to have some fun with it.
Exactly.
You have two headline shows scheduled this year under your “Prelude: Gathering Twilight” banner – one in NY and one in AZ. What was the creative idea behind limiting the shows, and what can fans expect from the themes or visuals of these performances?
It feels kind of like entering a new era, a little bit, after the Journey III, because capping it off at III made sense. So this is kind of like a new path we’re going down, visually and with a lot of new music.
With everything happening around Gathering Twilight and Ophelia, should fans be keeping an eye out for something even bigger coming soon?
Yeah, definitely.
Can you give any hints about that or is it tight lips?
Yeah, we’ll just have to see…
Alright, what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Hmm I don’t know, that’s an interesting one. Maybe we can circle back to that one. I need to think about it.
Ok then let’s get into a few rapid fire questions:
What’s your go-to comfort food on tour?
Probably just like a burger, honestly.
Dream collab outside of EDM?
I think it’d be cool to work with Ghost. It’s super random, but I think that would be really fun.
What’s your favorite non-music hobby?
Probably skiing recently. Used to be rock climbing. But skiing now.
How long have you been skiing?
I was a snowboarder for a long time and then I switched to skiing like four years ago. I really like it. I’m just getting older and I feel like I got to the point with snowboarding where I can either like hit the park or go really, really fast and I’m like ‘I should learn something new.’
Pre-show ritual?
A few drinks. That’s kind of it!
Do you still get nervous before a show?
Yes, for sure.
Every time?
Some less than others. But honestly, some would be surprisingly more than others. It depends.
What’s the track from another Ophelia artist you’re obsessed with right now?
Both the last two MitiS tracks have been really really good. ‘Symptoms’ and ‘Sky is Falling,’ is the most recent one.
Ok last question. What’s next for Seven Lions? What’s next on your list of goals?
I’m always trying to re-calibrate and figure out what’s next. I never thought I’d be this far in the first place. So for me, at this point, it’s about community building and trying to build a platform for the Ophelia artists. I feel like the scene is changing and now more than ever, it’s time to really focus on community. Giving people something to connect with for a long time. The internet, TikTok, trends and everything, it’s all so fast, and I think a lot of people feel disconnected. So I think that’s kind of the main focus of the record label and Seven Lions.
Ok circling back – did you think of a piece of advice?
I remember my dad said something early on about when you are managing people, you want them to want to work for you. You can’t just expect people to like you—you need to be nice, and kind, and not a dick.
And I never planned on being somebody who would run a record label or do anything like that. So yeah, you don’t want to be a jerk I guess, just be nice.
So you feel like your heeding his advice then?
Yeah, I try. I think so. The people on my team generally stick around for a long time. I think it’s super important to have people that you trust and work with them.
Tickets for Seven Lions’ upcoming ‘Prelude: Gathering Twilight’ shows are available here, along with the latest news, merch drops, and more.