Lucinee
DJ | Producer
The name Lucine traces back to the Armenian word for ‘moon’. In the case of Hamburg-based producer and DJ Lucinee, her sound comes from the darker side of the crescent and eclipses into a combination of industrial-strength techno, trance, EBM and a good dose of squelchy acid.
As resident DJ for one of Hamburg’s most celebrated clubs, PAL, Lucinee has built her sound and aesthetic after years of warming up and closing the dancefloor, expanding her sonic library and giving the crowd her undivided attention no matter what time of the night. Having shared previous bills with the likes of I Hate Models, Nur Jaber, Anastasia Kristensen and Remco Beekwilder and added individual bookings at Säule, Griessmühle, Corsica Studios, ://aboutblank and many more, Lucinee has been on the European club circuit since 2015 and has cut a promising path for herself in the densely populated world of techno.
Lucinee’s bio describes her approach as 'powerful, ruthless and no-fucks-given’ and streams for HÖR, BE-AT.TV and her online archive prove this point. With such a strong sound throughout her sets, Lucinee applies the same vision to NACKT where she and co-founder At.Avem encourage sexual freedom, body positivity, fetish, art and the best of hard techno supplied by local and established artists. Before the pandemic, Pornceptual’s Projekt Gestalten, Front Left Records’ Elad Magdasi, and GEGEN’s XIK headed up a handful of the nights but for now, the party is on hold.
Although club-based events have been squashed by Covid-19, Lucinee has used this time to work on production. After the release her debut EP Black Moon [Snork Enterprises] on vinyl last year, further releases on Voxnox Records, Ohne Kommerziellen Wert and more have kept her busy.
Going back to memory from Copenhagen last year, Lucinee recalls why this night left such a mark in her subconscious, and also shares how she has dealt with the last couple of months…
Photo: Cameron Pagett
Where was this photo taken and why did you choose it? What was the music vibe at the time?
The photo was taken one year ago at the Endurance x Mala Junta x Mess party in an old industrial hangar in Copenhagen. The organiser’s focus is on creating open and safe spaces for their guests and gathering an openminded and diverse crowd. I immediately fell in love with each of them and the vibe an atmosphere at the party enchanted me to stay there to the end. The trance-infused music mixed with old-school and acid, the amazing location and visuals inspired me a lot and even had a huge impact on me later on. We all became very good friends and I will never forget that night.
How have you been over the last few months and what's life currently like in Hamburg?
Since the pandemic, I have been going through different stages.
At the beginning, there was a lot of frustration because many great projects I worked so hard for, a decent amount of gigs and so much other stuff planned for the future were all taken away from me in the blink of an eye. As the situation got more and more intense, I came to realise that this could actually last months and even years. At this moment, I finally accepted that the shit was getting real. I would say uncertainty is the most painful part of it but I try to come to terms with it.
In Hamburg, the restriction policies in place don't really allow any kind of dance events, not even outdoor with a limited capacity under cautious hygienic conditions. Most of the clubs here don't have outdoor areas and no alternatives were offered from the city to support them, which is really sad to see.
Have you learned anything unexpected about yourself and/or the music scene since the pandemic arrived in March?
Producing music in my home studio, especially working towards several deadlines, kept me very busy throughout this pandemic period. I definitely made much more progress compared to the time when I had gigs at weekends as well as my part-time-job during the week. Concentrating on music, learning more about synthesis and my final mixdown, experimenting and buying some new equipment - all of these shaped my days during lockdown and even ‘til now. It kept me motivated and energised most of the time and - to my surprise - I did not even notice time passed so quickly.
Regarding the scene, I came across different experiences. There is still a lot of support and communication in the scene but in the meantime also a lot of frustration and misconception. The reality that every country or even city has different restriction policies can lead to jealousy and miscomprehension amongst party-goers, clubs, agencies and artists.
You have another alias as DJ Dripcore, tell us more about the sound behind this moniker and why you started it?
It's definitely one of the side projects that came to life because of the extra time I got to explore new ideas. I really love early EBM, industrial, darkwave and electro and always collected this kind of music too, but I never felt like changing the musical direction too much with my Lucinee project. Of course you can hear EBM and industrial influences in my techno sets, but more in a fast-paced way.
The idea of creating this second project occurred to me during a night out with my friends. I spontaneously agreed to play a radio show as DJ Dripcore, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I am actually planning to release some podcasts with this moniker once in a while and see how it goes. Except that, I didn't make any further plans.
At this moment in time, how do you feel about the future?
This is so hard to answer concerning the current bumpy COVID-19 situation. I am optimistic that we will eventually find a solution in the near future for the night industry, for example, a reliable vaccine or a quick infection test, but this will definitely take a lot more time to work out, which is really frustrating. I am just hoping that politicians can sooner or later realise that club culture plays an important role and has a social and cultural impact on our society. They should come up with plans and funds to support clubs so that they can at least survive this winter.
What has been a constant source of comfort for you during the year so far?
For sure spending time in my studio working on new music, connecting with my friends and making new ones - and the most importantly: never losing my sense of humour.
Besides that, from the very beginning of the pandemic, I always focused on what I could still do instead of what I could not do. This included recording podcasts, joining radio shows and livestreams, supporting projects to help clubs stay financially sustainable, or working on fundraisers for good causes. All of this gives me energy, positivity and productive vibe.
Listen to Lucinee’s latest mix for Monasterio Moscow here and follow her below: