TFword in Conversation With Lex Luca
After making his long-anticipated return to his trademark production exploits, we had a chat with the London-based DJ and producer about his latest music, his style, his new podcast, and lots more.
After making his long-anticipated return to his trademark production exploits, we had a chat with the London-based DJ and producer about his latest music, his style, his new podcast, and lots more.
A little bit of funk, a little bit of nostalgia, heaps of energy, and music that puts a wide smile on your face and makes you want to hit a club; Lex Luca’s musical realm is full-throttle entertainment. Making his debut in 2016 and steadily building his funk-induced catalog that spans across labels like Cr2, Dopewax, Love & Other, Roger Sanchez’s Undr The Radr, Lex Luca has paved the way to create a sound that’s unique to his sonic identity.
Along with his dance-y and high-energy originals, Lex’s ability to work his magic with remixes has been thoroughly demonstrated with his reworks for the likes of Ferdinand Weber, Jaguar Skills, and SANJAY, to name a few. After releasing his studio material on labels across the spectrum, Lex Luca incepted his own label, ‘In Tune,’ which has been home to his critically acclaimed 2022 Exposure EP.
Now, after a brief hiatus, the London-based DJ and producer is all set to go on a string of releases and shows while expanding his OpenDAW platform and his newly introduced podcast. As he sets sail on this journey, we had a chat with Lex Luca about his latest EP, his upcoming music, his podcast, and his OpenDAW platform. The chat began with Lex in his studio, diving deeper into the time when his Lex Luca journey began.
“I’ve been making music since I was a kid and I’ve always been musical; I took lessons in both violin and drums as a kid playing in orchestras and bands. I dabbled with the piano and guitar too. Then I discovered dance music and DJ’ing when I was 15. My sister introduced me to some DJs. I got myself a pair of decks and started putting on parties until I found my niche, in terms of my style and my sound.”
Lex then revisited his time in Costa Rica, which turned out to be a pivotal moment in kickstarting his production journey. “I got a residency in one of the main clubs there. There’s such a vibrant music scene and it gave me an opportunity to establish myself. I ended up playing around the country and it led to me touring around the region from Mexico to Colombia to Dominican Republic, It was a wild time!.”
The conversation moved to Lex Luca speaking with us about the time when he landed on his formative sound. “It was actually quite challenging because I was playing great music but couldn’t find my sweet spot when I was trying to translate it into my productions. I took up some courses, got some of my producer friends to help me until I landed on something I thought was unique to my identity.”
Over the years, Lex Luca’s sound has progressed from hard-edged dancefloor-driven sounds to the funk-edged and energetic music that we have been witnessing in his releases, especially his ‘Exposure’ EP. Speaking about how his sound has evolved, Lex said, “I think as a listener, you can tell me better how my sound has evolved, but if I have to look at my evolution, I guess, it has come from life experiences; the pandemic, starting a family, Costa Rica; there are tonnes of factors that have influenced my evolution. Obviously, you have to adapt to the musical trends but never walk away from your ethos; that’s what I believe.”
To kick off a series of releases he has planned for us, Lex Luca has returned with two sublime cuts on his In Tune imprint that showcase his love for tribal elements. “They feel like a journey in their own way, but both the tunes were made at two different times. I first made ‘What’s This’ about a couple of years ago. Then I felt the need to have a B side to it. That’s when ‘I Think I Did It’ was made, which ended up becoming the A side of the release due to its tribal and bouncy essence.”
Having taken his music to several labels before, Lex formed ‘In Tune,’ where he has released a wide majority of his music since its inception. We were keen to know how the label and the idea to start one came about.
“I just wanted control over my releases creatively and in terms of their schedule. On the same day I got no on a demo I’d sent to one of the key house labels, Pete Tong played the very same demo. That’s how In Tune came about, and in hindsight, it was one of the best decisions I made. The first release from In Tune was ‘Control Ya’ which was self-explanatory of how I wanted to go about my releases.”
Another initiative Lex Luca has taken up after his much-anticipated return of the OpenDAW podcast is a translation of his music production lessons. Growing from a boutique writing camp and education platform, OpenDAW has launched its podcast with sit-downs that will feature heavyweights like Roger Sanchez, Mark Knight, DJ Cuppy, Louisahhh, DJ Spen, Camden Cox and Junior Sanchez.
OpenDAW was initially launched in 2020 by Lex as a way to support independent artists worldwide who found their ability to network and collaborate quickly cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. OpenDAW’s educational output has been significant, with Lex hosting a series of OpenDAW panels featuring guests such as Just Her, James Herr, Clementine Douglas, Eve Horne, and Roger Sanchez.
“I’ve wanted to do this podcast for a while; it’s been a brilliant experience to record, and I’m really proud of what we’ve got lined up,” said Lex about starting his new podcast with one half of Basement Jaxx, Felix Buxton. “I’m incredibly excited to launch our new podcast series and couldn’t have hoped for a better guest to kick things off with. Felix is one of the most respected artists in the world, and we covered a huge amount of ground in our conversation, so I know there will be some gold in there for even the most seasoned producers.”
Listen to the first episode of Lex Luca’s OpenDAW with Felix Buxton:
Closing our conversation, Lex Luca gave us a sneak peek into what the next twelve months are looking like for him and for OpenDAW. The answer was simple.
“More music, more songwriting camps, more tutorials, and engaging conversations through the podcast; that’s what the next months are going to look like.”
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