The internet is one of the best and worst creations of all time. For every scammer, for every catfish, there’s a near-miraculous story of someone who’s dreams come to fruition because of the internet. It’s completely taken away the divider from the amateur and the professionally trained, making the music world a saturated and lawless land of artists, producers and copycats, allowing any of the three to find success is 2018’s musical stratosphere. Thankfully, there’s a lot of great talent that works its way into the spotlight because of this, and that’s what’s happening with buzzing producer Alex Lustig.
I first found Lustig years ago when he was working with an artist by the name of Euroz that I had just found, and while Euroz is a monster on the mic, Lustig’s production grabbed my attention. He’s always had a unique style that has since led to tons of great records, though he’s been no stranger to ditching the rappers and singers and putting out an instrumental that’s as lively and thought-provoking as any verse a vocal artist could’ve rapped or sung, and one of his standout cuts recently snuck its way into a Youtube video from Jungkook, a member of Korean Pop group BTS.
Lustig’s buzz has gone from a single hive to a bee farm’s worth, and for good reason—it’s really fucking good.
Where are you from originally / where are you based now?
So I was born in Belgium, but my mom is French-Canadian, and my dad is Canadian-Israeli. So I’ve got a French and Canadian passport. I’m still based in Belgium, just traveling a lot to the states and Canada.
How did you first get introduced to music and when did it become a passion for you?
My mom had super randomly bought this piano when I was a kid, and I started taking some lessons–the rest was history. I think the second I started producing music on FL studio I just got obsessed with it and I knew I wanted to create music.
Your music is unlike most anyone I’ve ever heard; you really seem to create worlds with your sounds. Where do you draw inspiration from? How would you describe your music?
Inspiration of these sounds come from the time I was 17 and I was dealing with anxiety and a lot of panic attacks—I would often just walk out in the middle of the night listening to ambient music. It was a miracle cure for me. Since recovering from all that I’ve always had those ambient elements in a lot of my music. I would describe it as the color “blue”.
You collaborate with artists often, but also release a lot of records without vocals on them – do you go into projects differently depending on whether or not theres a vocalist involved? What are some of your favorite records you’ve worked on?
Its always a different process for me. I like to try different things. I get bored quickly on sounds, melodies as well as the workflow, so I try to find new ways of creating things, new ways of approaching sounds, melodies and so on. Favorite songs of mine would include, “Glow”, “Surreal (ft. Novaa)” and “Live Up To My Name” by Baka Not Nice (produced by me and Narcos).
Recently you gained a new spotlight overseas courtesy of BTS (K-Pop supergroup) member Jungkook when he used a record of yours in a Youtube video, how have things changed for you since then?
Some fans of BTS had discovered I did the beat and started tagging me on twitter and showing crazy support and love. Once it went viral on socials, my phone went crazy. Since the video had been released I’ve still been getting crazy support from a lot of new fans waiting on new music. It’s amazing. I’m grateful for Jungkook to have put the song up, didn’t expect any of it.
Have you been able to get in touch with BTS at all – any chance of a collaboration in the future?
We’re reaching out soon. So, we’ll see.
You’ve been unloading a plethora of genre-bending EPs through a series titled Wave, with the third installment having coming out not too long ago. Do you have plans to release the fourth chapter before 2018’s end, or is that a project you’re aiming to release in the new year? Are there any other projects you’ve been working on that you can talk about?
The 4th installment of the wave series will be coming in 2019, also planning a longer project to be released in 2019 with more stuff that I’ll announce when the time is near. Working on some really cool stuff that I’m very excited about, but unfortunately can’t talk about.
What do the next 5-10 years look like for Alex Lustig? What are some goals you’d like to achieve in that time?
I want to stay consistent with everything for the next 5 years. Definitely start touring. And keep building my artist project as well as my producing project.
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig noted that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (which are especially on display in the second […]
[…] un 2018 interview, Lustig a noté que ses paysages sonores ambiants éthérés (qui sont particulièrement exposés […]
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig noted that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (which are especially on display in the second […]
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig noted that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (which are especially on display in the second […]
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig famous that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (that are particularly on show within the […]
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig noted that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (which are especially on display in the second […]
[…] a 2018 interview, Lustig noted that his ethereal ambient soundscapes (which are especially on display in the second […]