Creative Conversations 035: Lucian's Lavish Debut

Sydney producer, DJ and avid baker, Lucian administers a fresh vision for the club and festival stage, delivered through high fidelity, yet gritty dance music. For his debut release he pays homage to PNK FME's Body Language with a riveting remix. The original inky aura and twisted R&B inflections are updated for the dance floor as Lucian's unique brand of deep and progressive house combines pulsating basslines with infectious rhythms, organic instrumentation and transportive melodies.

Futuremag Music: Hey Lucian, how're you doing?

Lucian: I'm doing bloody great thanks! How are you?

Futuremag Music: We’re doing good, congratulations on your debut, a remix of PNK FME's 'Body Language', how's it feel to have it out in the world?

Lucian: It feels unreal to finally have the remix released. It definitely means a lot to me, not only to have my debut release out in the world, but to have the opportunity to remix PNK FME was unbelievable. A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes getting this project off the ground and settling on a sound that I really connect with, so I'm really proud to see it all coming together.

Futuremag Music: Jumping into the production process, could you talk us through how you remixed the record?

Lucian: I actually started with the buildup. It was super important to me that I kept hold of the sense of melancholic hopefulness that the original has, and I immediately heard the chorus of the song with big rising synths in my head. It gave it this hugely transportive and euphoric energy that was right on the money for me.

From there the drop had to be full club thumper. I'm a big fan of having two drop sections, one more melodic than the other - to me it tells more of a story. The remainder of the track came together really quickly after the buildup and drop were there - as always though it was the last 10%, getting each sound to play nice with its neighbours and lock in a groove that was the tricky part.

Futuremag Music: What does the future look like for the Lucian project?

Lucian: The immediate future is going to be club focused. I've got a few awesome vocal collaborations in the works which are more commercially sensible, but I'm not rushing anything just yet. There is an insanely talented bunch of deep and progressive house producers paving their way in Aus at the moment, so to get to a point where I can call myself a peer is definitely a goal. I've also got some big ideas for the club and festival on the back of the next few releases, so we'll see what happens post-COVID.

Futuremag Music: To wrap it up, if Lucian was a cocktail what would be in it to best describe the project's sonic?

Lucian: Definitely an espresso martini; smooth and tasty but gives you a kick - also I'm a hardcore caffeine addict.