In Conversation with electronic-indie outfit Lumen Craft

Three-piece electronic-indie outfit Lumen Craft hail from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and their music and prismatic performances are as warm and cosmopolitan as the city that birthed them.

Having recently shared their single ‘Stranger,’ Lumen Craft have piqued the interests of some big names, and have seen the spotlight of publications like 405 and CLASH Magazine. Their soulful sound is never overshadowed by their many musical inspirations, and below their glittering surface is a band that is truly discovering themselves.

We sat down and chatted to producer Ceah Pagotto, guitarist Noah Guper and singer John Evans about the musical journey they will traverse in 2019….

Set the tone for us. Why the arts?
The arts is a mode of survival. It comes as a choice in life where we do what we love and love what we do

Which comes first when you’re producing – the sound or the idea?
That’s a tricky one, the sound and the idea walk together most of the times. Interlaced, connected. But the idea is imperative, it leads the motion guiding the kind of sounds we’ll use for each track.

Does your material feature any collaborations?
We haven’t made any collabs as of yet. We really want to connect with other artists and find some grooves together. Any suggestions?

What’s on your current playlist?
We listen to all kinds of genres, drinking from different sources. There are a few artists that always have a slot in our playlists; such as SBTRKT, James Blake, Bonobo, Alt – J, Little Dragon. We are currently listening to other artists like Ben Khan, Romare, Anderson Paak, Jungle, Solange. There are so many brilliant artists around it is hard mentioning all of them.

Tell us about the chemistry you have with your fans on stage.
The engagement with our public is very special. We sometimes start off with more immersive tracks, once we get to the middle of our set we can feel the energy building up. People dancing, grooving about. It is very gratifying, the connection intensifying, getting stronger. Even so when we play to audiences that don’t know our sound.

What techniques do you experiment with to get your original sound? 
We play a lot with samples, record different sounds and start doodling around. Like kids in a playground. It is hard work to play around like that, we have to find a common ground where the three of us are happy with the sound. We love it, hate it, start it all over, do it again, do it better. The best thing is that when we are all in agreement, Lumen Craft’s persona comes to life, shedding some light through the cracks

Take us through a day in the recording studio. 
We don’t really have a defined routine but one of the scenarios is Ceah comes up with a beat and we construct above it. Lyrics, chords and harmony come across. With a basic beat, chords progression and guiding vocals we have a better sense of what the track needs. From that, we start building up.

Was there a specific moment in your life where you thought, “This is what I want to do?” 
This moment has happened with us a while back. We all have musical backgrounds and make music since our early days. Lumen Craft in some ways is a medium for us to exercise the need of making, producing and performing music

What do you keep close by while you’re playing a set? 
We always keep our love for music very close to the chest. It overflows leaving our prisma and reaching the audience.
Any emerging artists on your radar?

What gets your creative juices flowing?
Getting active with sports, going out to concerts, checking out Dj sets. Party out. Just keep the motion running, it always helps.

Take us through your collection of gear, tech or software that accompanies your creative expression. 
We primarily use Ableton Live to compose as it is very intuitive. We use many guitar pedals, vocal processors, synths, drum machines. The list would go on.

Any side projects you’re working on?
Ceah is currently working on a solo act called Carimboogie, where he mixes Brazilian roots sounds with electronic music. Noah is producing a few artists, and getting a jazz band together. John is composing some material in portuguese mixing Blues, Soul and electronic. We all keep active in the musical side of things, but Lumen Craft is our main focus. Getting this sound out there

How have you refined your craft since you entered the industry?
We took a while developing and identifying our characteristics and scope of our sound in the early days of the band. Since then we’ve evolved in many ways. With different instrumentations and sounds. The delivery and intent subtly changes together with this evolution. We change the creative process, how to gather samples, recording techniques. It all counts in the end result

Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you this year?
We are getting focused, concentrating energy to produce and deliver an album of new tracks that represent the moment we’re in. We really want to play abroad, as we are based in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This single “Stranger” might just be the door opening we need to do so.

Follow Lumen Craft:

Website – Facebook – Twitter – Soundcloud – YouTube – Instagram – Spotify