ISSUE #6
AN INTERVIEW WITH
LUÍS
THEMNGRMAG.COM
OCTOBER 2019
INTERVIEW BY ANA BULNES CASTILLO PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARIE JUNKER
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FROM A PRODUCTION PERSPECTIVE: WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST CHALLENGING EXPERIENCE THAT YOU’VE EVER HAD? On my first EP LOVEFOOL there’s a song called ‘Better’ which went through 13 different versions. I was still new to the production world and had a really specific production style in mind for this song, and I couldn’t get it right for so long. One of the problems of being a DIY artist is that you have all of these different ideas and you can’t really pinpoint which ones are good and which ones are terrible. BEING A DIY ARTIST PROVIDES MORE ARTISTIC FREEDOM THAN BEING SIGNED TO A MAJOR RECORD LABEL, BUT IF YOU HAD THE OFFER TO BE SIGNED TO ANY OF THE TOP THREE MAJORS WORLDWIDE, WOULD YOU SAY YES? I’d say yes, as long as I could have artistic freedom and ability to make my own decisions to some degree, of course. Obviously record labels provide you with opportunities you wouldn’t have while being an independent artist, but having room to experiment musically is very important to me. DO YOU FEEL THAT YOUR MUSIC TONALITY HAS CHANGED AFTER YOUR FIRST YEAR STUDYING AT LCM? Definitely, I’m much more comfortable with
my production techniques and with the way I sing as well. I’ve always struggled with my sound and how I want to express myself musically, so throughout the year I allowed myself to play around with different styles and I think I’ve settled on a genre that best represents me. IF YOU HAD A BIG BUDGET FOR THE CREATION OF A MUSIC VIDEO FOR ONE OF YOUR SONGS, WHICH WOULD IT BE AND WHY? I have a song called ‘bright blue’ that as soon as I finished, I could immediately see a visual element in my head. I think the song is cinematic in a way and has this “blue” and melancholic feel to it, so I’d really love to do a music video for it one day. HAVE YOU EVER ENCOUNTERED WRITERS BLOCK WHILE WRITING YOUR MUSIC? IF YOU HAVE, HOW DO YOU OVERCOME IT? I definitely have, and I usually go for a walk or just wander off into the city. One of the reasons I came to London is because I love how big the city is and its metropolitan spirit. WHAT IS ONE THING THAT YOU DO TO EVERY MIX? I put a vinyl crackle tucked behind almost every mix. I do it because it adds warmth and a lo-fi vibe to the track.
