The two gentlemen Lucas and Gary have been profound producers for a good chunk of the last decade. No doubt, throughout the years, their individual forces intertwined into a germafrican vision. Combining Luc’s love for a detailed arrangement and Gary’s exceptional sound design, their project “LADS” was born.
The German & South African duo has seen their first releases dropped in 2017. Now they drop a new release with five awesome tracks pressed on vinyl – being released on the label “Nie Wieder Schlafen“. Let’s talk to these dudes about their love for music, their collaboration and their future plans
How has 2020 started for you?
Despite the craziness with the Corona Virus, 2020 has been a very productive year for us so far. We obviously cannot perform any gigs at the moment but we’ve been hard at work in studio working on original EP’s and singles as well as working on remixes and collaborations with some of our favourite artists. Along with our forthcoming debut vinyl EP, we have music coming on labels we’ve admired for years and have collaborations with some extremely talented artists.
What inspires you guys and influences you most?
Our inspirations and influences vary from day to day and our tracks depend vary much on our mood and emotions at the time.
However, our influences and inspirations can be drawn from art, nature, relationships, nights out, movies and more.
What goals, hopes and dreams do you have for the rest of your career?
We have many dreams and goals for our careers. We would obviously love to play all the big festivals from Awakenings to Tomorrowland. We would also love to release on some of our favourite labels, one of which we have accomplished already with Lost & Found. We want to remain current and in the scene for many years to come and enjoy our time doing what we love. At the end of the day we want to live a simple and happy life that includes travelling the world playing the music that we love.
Tell us about the inspiration behind your latest release Bamboo released on “nie wieder schlafen”!
We wanted to create a tangible EP. An EP that will stand the test of time when we are no longer here – one that is something more than just mp3s on a hard disk. We aimed to create something unique and different with each track to showcase our versatility as producers and artists. Each track on the EP aims to tell a story and aims to place you within an environment from EDL’s “space” to Cedar’s “arab/african” world.
What are the good and bad bits about releasing tracks on vinyl these days?
The good part is that you’ve taken an idea and a sound that originates in your mind and you produce and print that idea onto a piece of plastic that is tangible and “real.” The bad part is the logistical effort to get it done – both in terms of quality and on time.
And how often do you look for new music and where?
We are fortunate enough now in our relatively short careers to be included on some really nice promo lists from some really good labels. We often find new music in our promo inboxes but we also have a lot of friends that send us mixes and tracks where we build our set lists from. Of course, there is Beatport, Soundcloud and Bandcamp, you just have to know where to look. Basically, finding new music is an everyday endeavour.
What would be your ideal party – location, set time, crowd size, day time?
We both love sunsets and that is our ideal time to play.
In terms of location, anything outdoors in nature, whether in a forest, or by the ocean, on a mountain, surrounded by good people on a good sound system with a 500-1000 crowd size is best. We love events that are honest and intimate. Cercle does some really great events.
What else can we expect from LADS this year?
LOTS of new music. During this quarantine period, we are hard at work in the studio working on new original material for EP’s and singles. We have releases coming up on labels such as Rebellion Der Traumer, Wayu, Proton, Sound Avenue, Poesie, One of a Kind and we’ll be working on collaborations with Pysh, Nhii, Elias Dore and more. We also have a super exciting live stream for Lost and Found on the 8th of May which will be broadcasted on Facebook. Once all this music is released and the world has recovered from this pandemic, we’ll build up our liveset and take it on tour.