With his second long player “Foma”, he proves his abilities to do electronica lullabies with a big hip hop and abstract beats influence. Lukid’s “Foma” is already one of the best albums of 2009. Also home to Distrupt, Actress and Zomby, Werk Discs continue broadening and transmitting their forward thinking electronic music spectrum, this time with Lukid’s melody and beat tank “Foma”. A twisted electronica journey full of jazz, ambient and funk crumbs.

What you will get from Lukid is most easily Prefuse 73 mixed with Hudson Mohawke or Dabyre. He has a real, enormous sound scape, full of creative moments and high end beat construction. Dub, dubstep, trip-hop, hip-hop and any other electronic music inspiring source maybe Lukid’s origin for a real ‘wonky’. He is a multidisciplinary beat constructivist, a high level talent. A true beatmaker. Next, he says will be a folk album. Who knows! What we know is he is doing a great music. Here is the interview we did with Luke Blair aka Lukid regarding his new album “Foma”.

How did you become a part of the Werk Discs community And how about your first LP then?
I sent them a demo a few years ago, and met up with Darren (the label manager) not long after. We stayed in contact, I kept sending him tunes, and he liked them enough to agree to put out an LP. That was "Onandon".
 
What about the second LP "Foma", how long did it take you to finish up and why is the name "Foma"?
All in all it was probably about a year. The word “Foma” is a reference to the book ‘Cat’s Cradle’ by Kurt Vonnegut. It basically means lies.

The album also has a good artwork and a poster inside which we are hungry to have these days. You keep the quality of your work not only on the music side but also on the printing and the packaging side. The Artwork is done by Davin Gormley and Paul Roberts. What is the idea behind it and how was the process?
Davin and Paul are both friends of mine, so I keep them in the loop when it comes to my music. As I was putting “Foma” together, I was sending them tracks, and I think they got a feel for the mood of the album, and started collaborating on the artwork for it. You’d have to ask them about how they went about getting their ideas together, I know that they are very talented designers and I know that whatever they do will look great, so I stay out of their processes.
I think artwork is extra important these days in a way, you need to give people that extra incentive to actually buy the physical product. Make it worth their while.

What about the sound of "Foma"? How do you define your sound in relation with the genres and trends? I would say you are doing a post-abstract-hip hop and beats thing. And you are very good combination of (you are in the middle of) Prefuse 73 and Hudson Mohawke.
I think Foma is a lot more varied than my 1st album, has more of a flow to it. I’d like to think that it explores many areas of electronic music. My favourite albums are ones that have variation in them, that tell a story. That’s what I was trying to achieve with “Foma”. I don’t know if I did or not though. You tell me.
 
Would you be mad at me If I say you are a strong opponent to what Hudson Mohawke is doing right now? What is your opinions about selling so much, getting known by lots of people. I guess this issue is not so much important for you or the Werk Discs crew. Could you please talk about it a little bit?
I’m not an opponent of Hudson Mohawke at all, I love his music. As for selling records, I think every artist wants to get their work out to as many people as possible, but I wouldn’t say it’s a big concern of mine. I think as long as you’re making good music, you will get a following.

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. " So please tell us something that you would like to talk about...
I’d like to talk about the steak sandwich I just made. It almost made me cry it was so good.

What about your name Lukid? Was it always the same?  My prediction would be, your name ‘Luke’ multi exposed with 'Kid'. Is it right?
Yeah, I guess that’s what it is. I just liked the sound of it to be honest, no real meaning behind it. I would’ve used my real name but my last name (Blair) will be forever associated with Tony now.

Do you have a favorite track in the EP? Or a track which has an interesting story behind?
The title track ‘Foma’ is the only one I can really listen to now. It was me trying to be Erik Satie and failing miserably, but I think it’s a nice track. Could work as a bedtime lullaby.

How did you started on doing productions? What were your inspirations at the beginning? Which labels and producers do you admire these days?
I started at school. I didn’t know what I was doing really. There was no particular scene I was following or anything, I just enjoyed making music. These days? I dunno, I love a lot of stuff. Loving that new Mount Kimble record on Hotflush, a few tracks on the new Animal Collective record are absolutely killing me, Pharell, Bullion, Zomby, Dabrye of course. Loads of good stuff around. As for labels, I may be biased but Werk have some serious heat at the moment.

What about playing live in Turkey/İstanbul at a Werk Discs party? Does it excite you? What do you know about Istanbul and Turkey?
Man, I would love to come to Turkey. I’ve heard a lot of great things about İstanbul, and apart from anything else I’m totally addicted to Turkish food. So many good, cheap Turkish food joints in London, but I’m sure it doesn’t compare to what you have over there. Bring on the Werk İstanbul invasion.
 
What about your future plans regarding your musical carrer?
I want to keep getting better, I want to make a folk record, I want to make a hip hop record, I want to make an ambient record, I want to have a number 1 song, I want to score a film, I want to produce a band, I want to produce another band, I want to learn the oboe. All that good stuff.

Is there anything you would like to add?
Yes. I have to say that I thought ‘Slumodog Millionaire’ was crap. Who’s with me?

Photography: Pere Masramon
Interview: Christopher Çolak
08 February 2009