Winter is coming! Decay sets in and the landscape transforms into a hue of red brown colors. The 33rd podcast by Lux is a mix to go along the seasonal mood. “I’m pretty sensitive about the environment where I’m playing – I try to consider the feeling of a certain place and adjust to that. And I’m keen to vary different styles and find a connecting line between them”.
Fall is the period of decay and fermentation. Everything needs to turn to black in order to become fertile for new things to grow. The flow of life within things is an important element in Lux her approach to mixing.
“Every time my intention is to make a mix that you can easily listen to at home. But then there is always a point where the mix turns clubby again. It’s jinxed. So I guess it’s the effect of music itself. It picks me up at my place, pops up a window and then the journey begins. It’s more about a mood that I’m in, which I try to connect with music. And that is actually the magic moment about making music and also mixing it – Not to think, but to devote yourself to this weird current that flows out of you and has its own dynamic life.”
Being raised in Eastern-Germany Lux has been imprinted by her surroundings. The old abandoned industrial buildings are often a source of inspiration related to electronic music. Although she grew up surrounded by them, it took a while before electronic music got a hold of her.
“Actually, I was listening to different kinds of analog music – like Folk, Grunge, Anti-Folk Indie. It went along with my hobbies, as I played different instruments since I was a child – guitar, bass, drums, and keyboard. I checked out different things. However the music that definitely inspired me the most has been Electronica and Ambient Music.”
Her mixes convey a broad interest in styles and a love for the deep and melancholic sounds. Regarding sources of inspiration Lux mentions albums of Boards of Canada and Autechre’s as pivotal in her musical development.
“Especially Geogaddi and Boc Maxima, and also Amber and Incunabula are probably the most imprinting musical experiences I ever had. They define what I love about electronic music: foggy moods, this certain sound aesthetic of synthesis that encapsulate a feeling of longing that strives to grasp. And this combined with broken, harsh rhythms, it’s timeless. Just beyond.”
When she started DJing House that came over from Berlin was an important influence and when she was invited to play at the Electric Island nights at Conne Island things took off.
“When I got into electronic music – or club music in particular – Leipzig did definitely socialise me a lot – especially the Electric Island nights at Conne Island. I had wonderful nights there, the very unpretentious and familiar feeling made the club evenings unique for me. At Conne Island I got the great opportunity to start DJing as well. I had my first ‘big’ gigs there and the Conne Island people supported me right from the beginning. Musically, I took different inspirations of artists like Delano Smith, Steffi, Aril Brikha, Drexciya, A Sagittariun, E.R.P., and basically all the output of Illian Tape. When I started to DJ the output of Giegling, Kann and DIAL were the most imprinting for me and their music is still a constant and important companion.”
Regarding visual inspiration sources Lux is hesitant as she has many points of inspiration although a lot of them are not connected to her musical interest. An important one that does connect, is her affinity for (older) Sci-Fi movies.
“Blade Runner of Ridley Scott or Stalker of Andrei Tarkowski. Stalker is a movie which I probably wouldn’t associate as a typical Sci-Fi-Movie, but who takes up Science-Fiction in a much more subtle way – it’s more about a vision based on the imagery of dreams, than on the imagery of technical developments, so the idea of a fiction of science is rather shown in the questioning of ontological beliefs, which I found a very a fascinating topic. For me it’s extremely interesting to see, how people in the past imagined the future we’re now living in or at least what kind of realities they could imagine based on the life they already knew”.
The accompanying image represents this statement perfectly. The image is taken from the fourth episode of the third season of the series Black Mirror. In this episode the main character is able to time travel in a virtual world. It tells the transhumanist story where people can upload our mind to the cloud and live in the past for eternity.