TRACK BY TRACK – LUca Lozano

Luca Lozano fronts the highly applauded and much respected Klasse Recordings both as its co-founder as well as its primary artist. The British born, Berlin based DJ / Producer champions a sound that neatly rides the wave between House, Techno & Trip Hop where thuggish bass lines take center stage and deep, dark emotions intertwine with the upmost ease and style.

Lozano is not one to do things in half measures as his current role for Klasse Recordings encompasses much more than that of DJ / Producer. He is also the labels A&R executive calling to arms fresh and exciting producers to join his growing Klasse army of enthusiasts. As such Lozano has already brought to the fold the talents of Arttu, Kris Wadsworth, Jordan Peak, Johanna Knutsson, Minilogue, Huxley amongst many others, each one lending their adept hands at taking on his labels sound. If all this wasnt enough he is also the creative director of this imprint letting his artistic side loose where his love of outsider art, 1970s graffiti come up trumps and is so prevalent in his labels identity.

Lucas first foray into the world of releases came in the form of Berlinetta on Claude VonStrokes Dirtybird Records. Since then, he has gone on to release a host of unique and undeniable original EPs and remixes on Klasse Recordings as well as Trapez, Tsuba, Morris Audio and many more.

It’s evident Lucas’ work is deeply considered and he never forgets that music and nightlife are about having fun which is apparent in his music and in his vision. His label, under which a wealth of highly talented artists have found a home currently push what many have already penned as the Klasse sound and is steadily making waves in the underground. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears to the ground for this highly talented individual with a penchant for bicycles and big basslines.

By using the starting points of: Inspiration; Colour; Season and Setting as descriptive points for each of the albums tracks, the aim is to collate a tangible, cohesive description of an artist’s album.   Below he talks us through his debut about to drop within this framework … 

Intro – Learning to Walk

Colour: Mauve or Burgundy or Cherry (i’m resisting putting ‘Black’ for every single one of these tracks)

Season:  Autumn (I’m resisting putting ‘Winter’ for every single one of these tracks)

Setting:  It sounds like someone walking out in the countryside, I have fond memories of walking in the Pennines with my dad so I’m gonna go with that.

Inspiration: I like albums that have introductions and outro(ductions?!) and I think they help give an album a sense of commencing and concluding. The inspiration of this intro came from its sample…one which I refuse to divulge information on (wheres the fun in knowing everything there is to know?). The sub-title refers to life’s never ending learning curve and my curious inability to learn quicker than others. 

Chaki Zulu

Colour: Khaki (like some 90s flava combat pants)

Season: Spring..not sure why, it just doesnt feel like any other season.

Setting:  Shibuya, Midnight.

Inspiration: Chaki Zulu is one very dope dude from Tokyo, I made friends with him about 4 years ago whilst in Japan. I know he had had a crazy life and continues to live an even crazier one, this track is built from an obscure Japanese Jazz album and is a homage to him and his kind. I love Tokyo deeply and feel both connected and estranged from that megacity.

The Mask One

Colour: Yellow

Season: Autumn again

Setting:  In da club, floating in slow motion above a Hip Hop crowd in Brooklyn circa 1995.

Inspiration: The vocals sum up the inspiration for this track (and this album as a whole)…Things from my point of view started going more to what things look like opposed to what things sound like. When I made this album is was an aside to another project I was doing, the album provided some sort of rescue to the usual day-to-day. I was disillusioned with the scene I was part of and felt a need to get back to the roots of it all, try and discover what I REALLY liked and felt passionate about. Turns out its MF DOOM and melancholic organ chords…

Tombstone

Colour: Black with silver lightening bolts.

Season: Summer of Sam.

Setting:  Running down a dark Brixton alleyway at 3am in the morning, clotheslining innocent bystanders.

Inspiration: Drums!! I could listen to drum breaks all day if I had to. Imagine having created the legacy of the Amen break or something similar…completely unknowing of what crazy shit you had REALLY started. I kept this track really simple, allowing the drum loops to do what they do. This track makes me wanna punch stuff.

Lunch with Mr. Ho

Colour: Grey

Season: Winter..the synthline sounds likes it is on the chilly side.

Setting:  A restaurant in Beijing, me and Ho pow-wowing after having bought some bootleg Nike gear.

Inspiration: My man, my mellow, my sun, my moonface…the one like Mr. Ho. I have had a lot of lunches with Mr. Ho, all of them enjoyable. Ho-zone had actually laid down some nice vocals for this track as the original premise was that he would be talking to me over a Chilli Con Carne, something happened when I emptied my recycling bin and I forever lost them. I subsequently sync’d this track with a well-know TV show and received billions of dollars, Mr. Ho didnt see a penny….something which he reminds me EVERY TIME HE SEES ME.

The Mask Two

Colour: Purple maybe…or Green.

Season: Springtime, flowers opening and birds singing.

Setting:  Empty ice-rink just after a bloody and vicious game between the Edmonton Oilers and the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Inspiration: Again, check the vocals at the end. Masks, music biz, bullshit, taking a step back, hoping that good music stands out in amongst a tide of shitty rubbish. I wanted to make something that sounded like a thugged out Knife track, and again the strength comes from a sample..find it, name it and you win a grand prize (of which I’m yet to decide).

Need Nothing

Colour: Black (and white)

Season: Summer…although its raining, but still sunny. Maybe a rainbow here and there.

Setting:  Berlin. NYE. A dancefloor somewhere in the dark.

Inspiration: My wife, Josephine. She is the reason I’m still here and do what I do. The track was never intended as a love-song, it just kinda happened…’Need Nothing’ refers to exactly that, needing nothing else that the love of a fine woman. This whole album is dedicated to her and the endless time and love she gives me. I love her forever.

Sail On ft Amirali

Colour: Navy Blue

Season: Winter…duh.

Setting:  Whenever I listen to the track I see the video that was made for it. So it would be the alleyway scene with the tattoo’d bouncer guy looking tough (but tender) (but TOUGH).

Inspiration: This is the only track that features another artist on the album, it originally had sampled vocals on it but then my people spoke with his people and it turned out nicenice. I was very happy with the outcome, his vocals seemed to slip nicely into the track and the album without standing out too much (its important to have a cohesive flow right?). So in conclusion I’d say the inspiration of this track is collaboration and working together, two artists coming from different backgrounds and working together to make something new and original. Co-operation co-existing.

Layer Conveyer

Colour: Fluoro Pink

Season: Summer again…hot and sweaty.

Setting:  Fuckin’ Space. Robot dancing on Mars with an alien.

Inspiration: I don’t think I fully ‘let-go’ on this album, there are moments of extremes but I always kept it quite constricted somehow. I remember making this and feeling quite pent up, probably some bullshit I had to deal with earlier on the way to the studio. I also remember wanting to translate that feeling into a track…its almost there but could get even more hectic. I’ll save it for the breakcore sequel album I guess. The breakdown is some weird half time, trance, african chanty shit…at the time I wasnt sure if I should wrap it up as it was sounding really strange. I’m glad I did now….it doesn’t sound like anything else I heard before.

In This World But Not Of It

Colour: Something nice…lilac.

Season: Springtime! 

Setting:  Outdoor festival. Sweden (good looking people having fun)

Inspiration: This is easily the most clubby track on the album, I had my reservations about putting it on there as I thought it might stand out a bit too much from the others. But a lot of people had said how much they enjoyed it and it was their favourite and blah blah blah so on it went. I built the track around a Yamaha CS-80 sample…I liked the de-tuned quality to it, sounding happy and sad at the same time. I cant say theres too much inspiration behind this track, its meant as a piece of music that will also work in the club and make people want to have sex and fall in love.

Drunk

Colour: Jack Daniels

Season: Drunk knows no seasons.

Setting:  Back of the 68 bus on the way to South London. Drunk and hazy. 2pm.

Inspiration: Man..I love getting drunk. Whats not to like? An improved sense of self, an increased enjoyment of embarrassing music, finding more people more attractive more of the time. Everyone raise yo’ glasses and move yo’ asses.

The Son

Colour: Butter Pecan Rican

Season: Autumn again I suppose.

Inspiration: Fuck. Sadness. Being down and feeling like you wanna blow up the world and all the retards that inhabit it. Sadness is a strong emotion  but you can translate its energy into something positive. Theres comfort in being sad, a kind of resilience and toughness. I spend too much time being sad…depression aint no joke and I’m slowly learning how to deal with it in front of people. I don’t choose to be sad but I can maybe choose not to be (self-help book anyone?!). Biggie once said ‘Fuck the world, dont ask me for shit’…THATS the inspiration to this song, that exact line. Fuck.

Outro

Colour: Dirty Grey-Black. Like Coal.

Season: Winter

Setting:  My studio in Neukolln, having just sent off the final files to mastering.

Inspiration: If you really could go back, would you do it the same or would you do it differently? I never trust people who say they wouldnt change a thing..of course you’d change a bunch of shit! I’d avoid getting arrested, I’d spend more time drawing, I wouldnt have given all my records to a charity shop before I moved to Berlin. HOWEVER, I wouldnt change a thing on this album…it is what it is, imperfect and perfect at the same time. It is also the only thing I have ever done that I havent questioned, it is what it is and I’m happy with it. I hope you are too.

THE END!

More Info www.klasserecordings.de

Listen to the album in full below…