10 Things We Love About LUCI

New-York based artist LUCI is a truly captivating artist that is seriously flourishing in her own right. With a sound that blends genres from hip hop and R&B to psych-punk, she isn’t your average rapper or singer. Her eclectic, multifarious sound finds inspiration from everywhere; from line, colour, and cinema, to her friends who took her to Punk shows where she fell in love with the chaos of mosh pits. What’s more, with her great-great paternal uncle being the great John Coltrane, perhaps she was always destined for a life in the creative arts. Heavily influenced by the likes of Kanye West and Tyler the Creator for their contribution to hip hop, metal bands like System of a Down and Metallica that helped craft her sound and Drake and Future for the way they hold their hearts on their sleeves, LUCI is certainly a musical enigma, but one that is utterly captivating the more you discover.

Here are 10 things we love about LUCI …

We loved the video for ‘Ash + Dust’... Directed by Object and Animal who has previously worked with FKA Twigs, what was it like working with such a prestigious director?

Well first off Aidan, Ben and their whole team were such charms! Not only was the budget small but time was very crunched. I felt absolutely flushed and honoured that anyone of that stature would be passionate enough about my music and being a part of the vision to go this hard under the circumstances. It was my first time ever doing a music video and it really ignited a pilot light in me.

We love that you are related to John Coltrane … the American Jazz saxophonist and composer, do you feel as though creativity was always in your blood?

You know, my mother always nurtured my creative skills as a young child, but I never wondered where my spirit came from. I just knew I had a gift. Coltrane comes from my birth fathers side. He got in touch with me when I turned 16 and so many things started to make sense. He is a poet, rapper, producer and graphic designer... then I learned, frickin’ JOHN COLTRANE IS MY GREAT GREAT UNCLE!? WHAT!? Again, I never really thought about my bloodline or lineage being connected to my creativity but it all seems pretty undeniable. I watch documentaries on him from time to time and the way people speak about him is exactly how I hear people talk about me now. It’s very reassuring and heartwarming. We are game changers—his attitude and the way he rebelled... Aha he was just a natural.

We love the name of your latest EP… ‘Juvenilia’ what were the inspirations and main themes of the EP?

Juvenilia, by definition means ‘works produced by an author or artist while still young.’ This EP acts as my breadth during what I consider the evolution from 2016 LUCI to 2021 LUCI. The EP coming together over the past two years felt like the act of moulting. A juvenile hawk, their feathers look all mangled; they fall off and then matt together. It's abstract and emotive. The cover falls right in line; inspired by French sculptor Olivier De Sagazan, whom I have admired since I was in high school. Watching Sagazan change form and express himself so fluidly and comfortably is so beautifully vulnerable. Juvenilia is giving big phoenix energy; like watching a bird learn to dance and sing and fly.

We love who you collaborate with on your latest EP … working with Glass Animals’ Edmund Irwin-singer, what was this experience like?

Working with Ed is a breeze, we have a natural creative connection. He got in on this very early on in 2020 and has stuck around since. I really want to get in the studio with him because I know the ideas would just be flying off the walls. In the interim, he and I have developed a solid friendship and I’d even say he mentors me. He will call and check up on me and get involved if I need anything. I love that energy. What also makes this EP so great though, is the people I worked with to create these works. Elias Abid, Louallday, and Jackson Scott have all added genius and flow to everything I do. I’m forever grateful for every single collaboration.

We love your broad range of musical inspirations … Inspired by the likes of Kanye West all the way to Systems of a Down, how do you feel these artists have shaped your sound?

Their vocals, lyrical dynamics, expression, vocal composition, energy flow and textures have shaped me. Let's do this and draw a similar line with Lil Wayne and P!nk. We can clump them all together, why not? There is so much intent. There is so much said in so little. The attack is all the way up when it comes to their delivery. There is space. There is laughter in sadness. There is celebration, there are blues— like with trap and rap music in general. That’s why I love artists like Future and those influenced by him. There is dirt and grunge. There is jazz. There is FREEDOM. In turn there are no limitations and it's always REAL and it's always GOOD! And to be clear, these are not people I emulate. There is not a person I imitate. These are people I recognize and greatly appreciate; artists who have shaped my heart, mind and soul in many ways.

We love that you have been inspired by various different locations … Brought up in Charlotte NC and now living in New York, what have these locations done in terms of inspiring your music?

Ahaa! Charlotte is my energy. Charlotte is the way I speak. Charlotte is where I was born and raised. That is where all the seeds of expression and sound came from— my southern blackness, the amplified energy, the aggression paired with southern sweetness. However, that is not where I spread my roots. You skipped a very important one – Asheville, NC. I became grounded when I moved to Asheville. I was exposed to so much punk and psychedelic music. I was given a mic one good time and it only blew out of proportion from there. Asheville is filled with genius producers and musicians. Asheville gave me the microphone forreal. Asheville trusted me. Hell Asheville saved me. That’s where Jackson and I met and formed my band, ‘Defbeat’ together. We were a huge part of the shift in the music scene in Asheville from 2015-2017. I wonder if they’d admit that. New York, I came here to bring what I got. I haven't even really shown New York who LUCI is yet. I’ve been hibernating; preparing... Here we are. Get ready.

We love your traditional fashions … Rarely using social media, but instead using word of mouth to promote your music, how do you feel this has worked for you?

You use what you’ve got. It’s about showing up and delivering, which I do every single time. The moment I utter one note a room goes from empty to jam packed. I call em in like the wiz. I’ve moved this same way through the industry and it's a blessing. Now, how do we show her off to the rest of the world? I’m so excited.

We love the emphasis you place on productions … You really love to concentrate on visuals, what made you fall in love with incredible visuals and artworks?

You can say I have synesthesia. I’m an artist through and through, first and foremost. I see sound, hear color and taste words. Though I’ve always been a writer/poet since I could write, it was visual art that picked me up very early and carried me through. I went to art school surrounded by creative people, my whole life. Throughout my academic career, I was in modern dance, African dance, theatre, and focused on playwriting, and writing. I have always been in love with expression and creating experiences. Each of my practices have led to the next. I take all of them very seriously and personally. The world of visual art is just as significant and impactful to me as music. People that grew up with me know me for my paintings and drawings. But, the music and the art go together. They just do. They are dance partners.

We love how you’re not afraid to experiment … How do you think this bravery has impacted the sound of your latest EP?

There is literally nothing else like trial and error, freedom, and trying shit and then trying it again. Everyone talks about my work like it’s lemonade. “Refreshing,” they say. It’s balanced— it’s sweet, tart, sour... I am the experiment. I only exist to do what feels right, but I also make it a goal to connect. I still like to cater to my listeners and pick out their tastes, but I strive to be where it all coexists. I want to feel free, but I will always move with intent.

We love the themes you often explore … Empowerment, self-reflection and pride, why are these in particular so important to you?

Being black. Being gay. Being a woman. Coming from a place of constantly being judged and assumed. But it's never been about that. It's been about the rising above it all. I come from a place where people say “you can’t” and I never aligned with that. My hair, my language, all the way down to my walk... I could go out in the streets and receive love I wasn’t getting at home. I could see people accomplishing things I was told I couldn’t or shouldn't even attempt. But those people were happier. I just want to be happy. Every time I even remotely lean into the negative, life has shown me there is no purpose in that but death. My energy cuts deep. It's made me firm. I own it all now, because I know who I am and my power is more prominent than anyone's perception or projection. “I’m solid as a rock” like Sizzla. While it is great to have all that pride and self respect, it's important to keep reflecting and reaching inside. Keep digging deeper. Your inner gold is infinite.

Listen to 'Juvenilia' below: