LANY, who come from Los Angeles via Nashville, don’t have the sultry Sade on their list of influences, but their smooth jams give out the same sexy vibe. On LANY’s new EP, Make Out, (out on Polydor Records) Paul Klein, Les Priest and Jake Goss put together lyrics, synths and beats that are begging to be your hot tub soundtrack. (Just check out the single “Kiss” — you’ll never guess that it’s a bitter message written for cheating lover!)

In March, LANY is opening for Ellie Goulding’s UK arena tour; pretty sweet for a band that just formed a couple of years ago in a Nashville bedroom. To date, LANY have reached No. 1 on hypemachine, was listed in Spotify’s 100 emerging artists at SXSW, performed at Lollapalooza and have toured with Twin Shadow, Tove Styrke, X Ambassadors, and Halsey. Jake Goss talks about their mish mash of influences, their upcoming tour with Ellie Goulding, and what LANY are looking forward to in 2016.

Hometown: Nashville, TN

Homebase: Los Angeles, CA

How did the guys in LANY meet?

We all met in Nashville. I met Paul at the YMCA. Les lived with me and we had side project called WRLDS. Paul dug what we were cooking up, so he flew in from LA where he was living at the time and we wrote and recorded our first two songs: "Hot Lights" and "Walk Away." We all love each other, so, we just wanted to make music together and see what could happen. So far so good!

Why are you called LANY?

It stands for the span of the country; Los Angeles New York.

How does coming from Nashville and living in LA influence your music?

[It probably has something to do with] the music we listened to with friends and family. I loved the grunge scene with my brother. I know Paul loved spinning John Mayer, and Les would destroy some Journey records.

Why is your album called Make Out?

Someone told Paul our music sounded like make out music. We loved that.

It really does sound like make out music! What about the song "Kiss"? Why did you choose that as a single?

It's a quirky story about love and heartbreak. We recorded it a long time ago but didn't feel right to release it at the time. Once we decided to name our EP Make Out it seemed like a perfect fit.

Talk a bit about your musical history. What made you want to be in a band?

We all started music early on. Paul started piano lessons probably when he was playing flag football. I started playing drums after I saw the movie That Thing You Do because, wow, that movie was everything to me. Les and his dad would crush 80s radio. The good ole days, man!

Who are your biggest musical influences?

That's a tough one. Music that has resonated with us since day one are artists like Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Michael W. Smith and Brian McKnight. We’d love to collaborate with Phil Collins and Frank Ocean.

What do you do for fun?

Eat, go to the movies, hang by the firepit. When we get nuts we slam some huge Cokes.

What's the craziest thing that’s happened to LANY so far?

We've had fans drive hours to see us play. That is insane to us. We freaking love our fans. Also, people are starting to get LANY tattoos. CRAZY.

And now you guys are going on tour with Ellie Goulding. How excited are you?

So excited! What a privilege to be supporting such a beautiful and wonderful artist!

What are your big goals for 2016?

Play insane shows, release new material and change the world. Let's go!