#004 - lucade
Welcome to our interview series, where we interview emerging creatives all over the globe!
Today, we will be interviewing lucade (lew-sod), an American Producer and Remixer who produces music in multiple genres. lucade's aim with music is to create project storylines with titles that convey messages that he wants to communicate with and pair them with opposing sounds. Having released four albums to date, with themes revolving around anxiety, sadness, relationships, and more, lucade continues to demonstrate an eclectic and emotional experience with his production.
With that being said, we will now dive into the questions we have prepared for lucade, get ready!
Hello, Lucade! We appreciate your interest in taking part in the FTWS interview series. How are you feeling today?
I’m feeling great! Thanks for asking! Life has been going quickly, so I’m trying to slow down and enjoy every moment before I graduate in May.
Glad to hear you're feeling great, and definitely, it's always good to slow down. Let's begin our chat with our first question: Can you describe the steps you take to create a track? Do you begin with a melody, a rhythm, or a particular sound?
It depends on the creative mood I’m in. I am very rhythmic-based. I will always steer towards drums nearly first every time. I’m a very imaginative person. I’d say I tend to begin with drums & also some bass. Lately, I’ve been playing around with more experimental but dreamy tracks for my fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth albums.
What production techniques and equipment are used to achieve your sound?
I have a very small setup. A MIDI keyboard, Ableton, and Splice. I know many people snicker when they think of Splice, but I use it lots to find atmospheric sounds to chop up for my productions. In my more recent albums, I’ve gotten way more experimental with that. I’ve kind of found my sound from doing that.
What has been the most difficult obstacle you have faced in your music life thus far, and how did you resolve it?
I think the most difficult obstacle I have run into thus far has to be relying on Splice. Around a year and a half ago, that’s all I used. Splice loops, drums, etc. I’m way more experimental now, and I got over that by utilizing my MIDI keyboard more and more each album. I’m ashamed to say I used to rely only on Splice, but it’s the truth, and I’m glad and proud of myself that now I can create my melodies and other things of that nature.
Does your production style draw inspiration from any artists or genres, and have you worked with artists from diverse backgrounds?
I am very versatile with each album, but I feel like I have found my sound in my most recent albums. In the past few months, I’ve been very inspired by the regretless art that The 1975 makes. Their productions for their albums are beyond incredible and have inspired me to experiment in so many ways. I've also collaborated with numerous artists through my side project, Just Productions, remixing songs from musicians across the globe. I’m especially drawn to working with artists who sing in different languages, come from diverse cultures, and bring unique perspectives to music. Experiencing how others interpret and create art expands my own creativity, inspiring me to push boundaries and explore new sounds.
The demands of the music industry can be high. How do you strike a good balance between your personal well-being, creativity and performance?
I actually have an “odd” approach to balancing my well-being & my creativity. I usually take a year off between actually creating music for an album so I can create new concepts, ideas, sounds, and more when I am recharging throughout that year. For example, I finished my recent four-album story “The Lost & Found” in August of 2023 and I took nearly a year off of creating music for albums until June-July of 2024. I began writing out tracklists way before that, but I didn’t work on the album until July. I’ve been working on my new four-album story since then, and I’m currently working on my seventh and eighth albums, the last two albums in the story. So really, I just have these large spurts of consistent workflow and then I take about the equivalent time to recharge.
That concludes our interview with you. Thank you so much for participating! Would you like to share any new music or plans over the next few months?
I am getting ready to release my fifth album, “Trapped Inside” on the 30th of May. I am just about to release the second single for the album titled “Where Am I?”. It releases on the 18th of April!
Follow Lucade:
YouTube
SoundCloud
Spotify
Apple Music
TikTok
X
Threads
Instagram
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