Lucid Kay is an independent artist coming from the underrated suburban corners of the City of Dreams – Mumbai, India, bringing soul through the style of Hip-hop/R&B.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Lucid Kay about the music, the challenges, the technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I’m from Kalyan which is a suburban city near Mumbai in Maharashtra. Currently, my style of music is taking shape as we speak. Every other song I put out, I try to do what I haven’t done before. If you ask from a bird’s eye view, my style is mostly the hip-hop from back in the days where lyrics did matter fused with the most prevalent musical aspect of today’s hip-hop music viz. Melody. I often sing on my records and that may include freestyle runs or harmonies if it fits the song. That’s what I’d like to call “my style” of music as I’m building an EP around it to establish the sound more firmly.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
Music was never something I thought I’d do, it just happened in my early teenage years where I got exposed to instruments that I only saw on television & never heard them play live. My encounter with music dates back to early college days where my friends formed a band and I would just hangout with them cuz I loved it. Eventually, I stumbled upon an album by Eminem called “Recovery” and instantly fell in love with it. Eminem was my introduction to hip-hop apart from the faded memories of my childhood where I evidently was more inclined towards rap music or rap parts of any song. To name a few, Temperature by Sean Paul, The Time is Now by Trademarc (John Cena theme).
What motivates me is the life I live right now, anything that hits me at a particular moment, I write a song out of it. It’s what keeps me inspired to make more honest music.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
What’s special about my latest release “Pressure Freestyle” is that it was my first attempt at sampling (sampling is something where you take a piece of music & bend, alter or flip it to make something totally different & loop it over drums).
I wanted to create that classic old school sound of hip-hop where the music heavily involved sampling. Some of the producers I look upto like DJ Premier & Kanye West have mastered this craft of sampling & have inspired a generation of producers/artists to pursue that sound.
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
When I think about challenges as an indie musician, one thing comes to mind which is marketing. To be honest as a musician, you just feel like creating the best piece of music that you can. However, you cannot let go of marketing in this over saturated industry where you have to make your own spot, so people can notice you & your music.
The biggest way technology has helped me is by teaching me what I needed to stay floating as a musician. As an indie musician, you have to take care of multiple facets of your career, from mixing/mastering your songs, distribution, social media and even the post release work. I’m still learning as I move forward but technology has played a huge role in helping me hone my skills & pointing me to the right resources that I can use apart from the actual music creation process.
What was the last song you listened to?
The last song I listened to was “Take My Breath” by The Weeknd. That song is stuck on my mind ever since it’s release.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer CDs/MP3s as I come from that era where I saw these evolve & also fade away.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
For streaming music, I’d prefer Spotify / Apple Music. As an artist, Bandcamp is a great platform to independently sell your music & even put it up for streaming, as they say the more the merrier.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
The best place to connect with me would be on Instagram, I’m just a DM away. One can discover my music on any major streaming platform or YouTube if you’re into visuals.
Anything else before we sign off?
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank y’all for this interview, it was really fun talking about music & everything else. Also, I’d like to announce that my debut EP “Let Me Know” is in works as we speak and would like all the readers to check out my music on streaming platforms/YouTube and join me on my journey if it resonates with you all.
Wishing you all good health & stay safe.
Here are some links that maybe helpful to know more about me & my music.
Streaming Links for all my music: https://tinyurl.com/lucidkaymusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lucidkay
Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/lucidkay
Twitter: @thisislucidkay • Facebook: @lucidkayofficial
