Interview: @Lucas Boston
Half of the Cicada Team & one of Melbourne's current trending artists at the moment Lucas Boston has been making a big name for himself recently! Playing at the likes of Shelter Festival here in Melbourne & now Sydney & Ultra Festival as well Lucas is also hopping around the club scene in here Melbourne weather that is playing or hosting his events @Cicada.
Lucas's style in his own tracks can go as far as euphoric, breathtaking and bouncy just to name a few! It's nearly so unique people can tell it's his unreleased stuff getting played out! I personally think Lucas has a very big future ahead of him & we recently caught up with him for an interview for him to tell us more about how he is involved in the music scene?
Q & A w Lucas Boston:
Question 1: When did the drive to start mixing and being involved in Dance music be a big
thing for you in your life?
A: Dance music first became a part of my life at a very young age. I was initially introduced to this style of music at around 8 years old when my Mum would always listen to the Deadmau5, HedKandi and The Presets (to name a few) on CD during our car rides. It didn’t take long until I was addicted to this sound, finding myself starting to buy my own CD’s, listening to tracks on YouTube and also adding them to my IPod Nano to blast when everyone was asleep.
This passion for dance music then evolved into DJ’ing when I was around 11 years old, purchasing my first set of decks in which I practised and practised but still had no idea what I was really doing. It wasn’t until I was around 15 years old that I started to take what was once a hobby, more seriously and making it a job on weekends while I was studying at school. I would often work every Friday and Saturday DJ’ing at private functions where I was able to make some money doing
what I loved most, and most importantly, having fun while I was doing it.
However, once Covid-19 hit during 2020 I decided to say goodbye to doing private functions and instead focussed more on playing club gigs when lockdowns weren’t imposed. Along with this, I also had more time on my hands to expand my taste in dance music and experiment with other sub-genres by going into record stores and finding tracks that you wouldn’t usually be able to find online. One of the main reasons I believe my love for dance music has grown in recent times is because I learned how to DJ vinyl which posed a new exciting challenge for me over lockdown. Being able to go into record stores throughout lockdown gave me the opportunity to meet likeminded people at places such as ‘Profile Music’ who inspired me to continue to push the boundaries and give new types of music a red hot crack.
Question 2: Your producing skills are off the charts what would you say is the key to all your
tracks?
A: For me, the most important thing about being a producer is crafting your own unique style which is coherent throughout all your tracks. What I like about my tracks is that when I play out, most of the time people listening know which tracks are mine without even hearing them before because I have created my own kind of sound.
I also believe that the playing around with different sounds and genres of music when producing really helps bring something different and interesting to the table, ultimately, it will also help you incorporate these little elements into a track that is different from any other.
Question 3: What are your goals for 2022?
A: My 1 st goal of 2022 is to get one of my EP’s or singles printed on vinyl. This has been a goal for me for the past year however I am more confident in my music now and truly believe that people would enjoy it too.
Another one of my goals is to play at some renowned nightclubs and events around Melbourne such as XE54, Colour Club and especially some underground raves which have been bursting around all over Melbourne in the past weeks which are full of energy and communities of people who truly love the music.
Another one of my goals for 2022 was to travel interstate for a show, I can now happily say that I will be ticking this one off the list in April when I travel to Sydney to play at ‘Shelter’, alongside some big international acts.
Question 4 : What do you personally think is the most important thing in the community of
music & dance?
A: The most important thing for artists in the dance scene and community would to definitely stay connected with each other and help push one another to thrive and succeed. Over my time of being in the industry I’ve learned that other artists are my main motivation to work harder because I am so inspired by the sounds they are pushing, and by being connected with one another you might be able to teach or learn a thing or two off of someone.
Question 5 : Favorite All time tune?
A: This is definitely a tough question for any DJ. However, one of the most notable songs that I have loved ever since I was a child is Aussie legends ‘Pendulum’ with one of their songs called ‘The Island PT.2”. The track itself just reminds me of summer 2010 and brings back so many memories of my childhood as well as memories that I have created over the years since
Question 6: What is your style, if you could describe it in 5 Words? & why?
A: When it comes to DJ’ing I would describe my style as “turbo, diverse, energetic, driving and uplifting”. I believe these are all great words to describe my style during sets because I never like to stick to one genre of music. For those who have listened to my sets, I like to bring the energy back at the start and play a lot of groovy tracks that are a little bit slower, however, by the end you can always catch my playing some absolute driving techno/trance that’ll be sure to bring you to your knees.
Question 7: What is one piece of advice you can give to those just starting in the industry?
A: As much as this is said in every industry, the most important piece of advice I would give to others is to simply be yourself. Copying someone or their style will only lead to you being a lesser version of them. The most important thing to do is to work hard whether it be DJing or producing and try to create your own style that people will recognise you for rather than someone else.
Question 8: Is 2022 going to be a huge year for you & if so why?
A: I hope 2022 is going be a huge year for me, however I don’t see why it won’t be. I’ve got a new EP coming out around mid-March which has been in the works for over half-a-year and I cannot wait for people to finally hear it. Along with this I also have a few huge edits that I’ve been working on in-between the projects and the reception on them has been fantastic so far, so I definitely can’t wait to see how they go. Not only have I got some exciting tracks coming, but I also have the opportunity to play them at some huge shows in Melbourne as well as other states along some very talented artists, so keep ears peeled because there’s definitely a storm cooking.
Question 9: Being the creators of Cicada what does this mean for you behind the scenes? Would you say this helps you a lot get noticed by other clubs/event runners?
A: CICADA was created between me and my brother Maison after we choose to rebrand our previous event to cater for our love for underground techno music. Cicada was established in 2020 and has since thrived when covid hasn’t intervened, holding some wild parties with some seriously talented DJ’s.
For me my role at CICADA behinds the scenes is to mostly organise the lineup for our events. I feel as if this is one of the most enjoyable roles of our operation because I am able to meet so many talented people along the way and create some great relationships with artists, agencies and other event runners. The thing that I think seperate our lineups from other promoters is that nearly all of our DJ’s are producers as well. In my opinion this is my favourite thing about our nights because it gives local artists a platform to share their hard work to an audience of people while also allowing them to create a fanbase off of these performances. Having these artists perform ultimately benefits both our event and the artists themselves because it builds a closer relationship between patrons who know that they can rely on us for always hosting some of the best DJ’s in Melbourne.
In regards to the second part of this question, I’ve never really thought of this before. We don’t really do what we do to get noticed by other promoters, instead we do it because we love throwing parties and see a future for ourselves in the industry. However, reaching out to other DJ’s and going through agencies and building a community of loyal patrons definitely helps us to throw bigger and bigger parties. As we continue to grow more reputable artists continue to catch on to what we’re doing which in return means we can hopefully expand to larger events such as day and weekend festivals in near future. Until then, me and Maison are extremely proud of what we have created and can’t wait for the future and what it holds for us.
You can find Lucas on his socials down below along with one of his tracks I've selected to share called "Missing You" it is one of my favorites and always gets my heart racing!
SOCIALS:
Instagram: @lucasboston
Soundcloud: @ Lucas Boston
Spotify: @Lucas Boston (HAVOC is a track btw!)