ARTIST FEATURE: LUCAS.
We sat down with LUCAS. and discussed 80's movies, piano teachers with scary dogs, and the inspiration behind the creation of his debut EP, PARACOSM+.
LUCAS. writes music for the human experience; blending technology, nostalgia, and emotion with computer music. At just 23 years old, LUCAS. has come a long way since his Little Tikes drum kit days, and his debut EP is slated for release on November 17th.
His upcoming EP, PARACOSM+, is a playful, dream-like ode to childhood. “A paracosm is an imaginary world that a child invents in their brain… I’ve always loved the idea of like, when you’re a kid, you don’t care how people perceive you.” PARACOSM+, written, produced, and recorded in LUCAS.’ bedroom, explores the idea of growing up, and captures childlike wonder and excitement wedged between whimsical melodies.
Growing up in San Francisco, California, LUCAS. always knew he wanted to do music. LUCAS. taught himself to mix by watching MARSHMELLO and Martin Garrix online. Eventually, he started releasing his own music on Soundcloud under R3TRO, and in his words, “they weren’t great songs, but they had a start and an end, and that is something.”
“COLOR,” the third track on PARACOSM+, was released on February 7th, 2023. Though the song remains the same, LUCAS. notes that he has changed since the song’s initial release. Artistically, LUCAS. has grappled with his sound, wondering if he will have one, while simultaneously learning and growing. “When ‘COLOR’ came out, I knew I wanted to come to a point where I had a cohesive body of work front to back, I never imagined myself getting to that point ever. [COLOR] was the first sort of inkling, about a year and a half ago, when I was like ‘okay, let’s go in this direction and figure out what I want to do.’”
“I’ve always struggled with feeling like I don’t have a sound, especially with electronic music. If you hear Adele singing, you’re going to know it is Adele, just because of the way her voice sounds.” LUCAS. felt drawn to electronic music due to the endless possibilities of expression, but couldn’t help but wonder if he was creating something unique and identifiable. “Anyone could have put these pieces together and called it a song, if they claimed that it was.”
One of LUCAS.’ main goals with his music is to connect with other people and to facilitate connections between people. “Nick [Case] is one of my favorite people I’ve met through TMR; I would show him ideas, and he was like ‘dude, I can’t say this sounds like someone else. These ideas are awesome, you should do something with these and not let them sit around.’” He explains how this push was what he needed to pull PARACOSM+ together.
The idea for track four, “LIFE (THE WORLD)”, started just over three years ago. He knew the idea was strong, but felt the production wasn’t. “Some ideas turned out awesome, and those are the songs you hear now, or I’d make something I thought was really good, and I’d listen back and be like, ‘no, this isn’t it.” A couple of months ago, he revisited the song and brought on Julie Hess for vocals. “It took a long time, but I let the creativity flow through me instead of forcing it. If you want the best ideas possible, you have to let them breathe.”
Some songs, like “STARS,” are just pure fun. Not everything has a deeper meaning—instead, PARACOSM+ aims to mean something, whether the music itself or a personal attachment created by the listener.
Earlier this year, LUCAS. was hospitalized: “It really changed my appreciation for the little things in life that people might miss, and makes me even more thankful I have music as a way to express myself.” Beyond this, LUCAS. has spent a lot of time reflecting, which allowed him to morph his ideas together and create PARACOSM+. “This is the first time I have put out a cohesive body of work where all the songs have a meaning on their own, and at least to me, they all mean something, whether it was taken from my life or inspired by something else, or the sake of having fun. I feel like up to this point, I haven’t expressed myself as accurately as I am, up until this project.”
When posed with the question “Is Lucas, LUCAS.?” LUCAS. laughed, “LUCAS. and Lucas are one and the same. I think it is so funny that people think my last name is Dot. The only reason why I have it spelled out in my handle is because the actual dot was taken.” On a more serious note, LUCAS. explains that he wanted the dot there because every good thing comes to an end. “That is what makes it so good, is that it doesn’t last forever. So, I wanted there to be an end to my name. There will be a day when I’m not doing music anymore, not because I want to, but because I’m not on Earth. Nothing good lasts forever, it all comes to an end eventually. But I want everything before it to mean something.”
A fan of all things timeless and nostalgic, LUCAS. explores the journey of growing up and living with his debut EP PARACOSM+, out on all platforms in November. In the meantime, you can stream “FALLING,” the first single from the EP, here.
- SH