Terminal V Podcast 045 || Lukas Firtzer
Belgian artist Lukas Firtzer is a rising star in the techno sphere and it is by no luck or chance that he has been endorsed by both Charlotte De Witte and Amelie Lens. Not confined to one style Luka is more than capable of delivering pounding beats for the darkest of floors just as easily as crafting techy rollers for the after-hours. Having scored hits on the likes of Suara, Lee Ann Roberts’ NowNow imprint as well as the huge accolades already bestowed upon him from the two first ladies of nu skool techno…
If you like your techno hard and fast then you have come to the right place. From the off-Luka’s mix for our podcast series takes no prisoners and quickly sets about establishing a blistering pace that doesn’t let up until the last beat has fallen. Just the way we like it.
Welcome to our podcast series Lukas, how is life right now?
Thanks for having me! Last year I had a bit of a rough year in my personal life and lost track of my productions a bit. I’m all better now, back on top of my productions and some new music is getting finalized which also gives me a lot of energy and surely is a booster for my mindset.
Tell us about your beginnings, was techno always a part of your life?
When I was younger I played electric guitar in metalcore bands and I used to go to drum n bass/psytrance/acidcore raves. I only discovered techno back in 2014, it opened up a whole new world for me. And then in 2017 I started producing techno.
I guess growing up in Belgium it was never far away, what clubs and festivals were you going to before you became a DJ?
My favourite place to party was Petrol Club in Antwerp, but sadly they closed it down in 2015. I also liked to go to Café d’Anvers, Artcube, Kompass and Fuse. As for festivals, Dour was my favourite.
What sort of DJ’s were influencing your path to techno and are they still a leading light?
In the early beginnings, I was inspired a lot by Len Faki, early 90’s Sven Vath, Chris Liebing, Adam Beyer. But now last couple of years I draw a lot of inspiration listening to mixes by Dax J, Amelie Lens, I hate models, Kobosil, …
This time last year your track ‘Clausura’ was holding its own nicely in the techno top 10, is this sort of success something you measure all your records against?
Yeah, I was quite happy to see it did so well and of course it would be nice to get my next EP, where I’m currently working on, as high or even higher in the charts but it’s not the most important thing in the world.
What would a number one spot mean in these charts for you?
Number one in the charts is always nice I’m sure but for me it gives me a lot more satisfaction to see people enjoy my tracks when I drop them in clubs, gives me the shivers!
What sort of impact do you think it would have on your career?
I think being on number one and getting more bookings definitely goes hand in hand.
Tell us more about your upcoming productions as there is a fair bit of diversity in your sound?
I teased a bit in the previous Q already, but working on a new EP right now. I always just make stuff depending on how my mood is, so that’s why my sound is different every time. I enjoy anything between 135-150bpm. In general I want dark punchy kicks, nasty basslines and occasionally uplifting melodies. But for this EP I’ll keep the 4 tracks in the same vibe / bpm / style.
A few weeks ago, I also made a track for a VA to support Ukraine, all the money will go to a good cause to support them. It will be released in 1 week. I made it during the same week as the remix for Elmefti so they’re both really dark tracks, in fact this one is even darker because I got so angry looking at videos of all the war crimes Putin is committing.
Do you prefer the darker side of techno like your remix for ElMefti to a more ‘big room’ rolling sound?
I like both to be honest, big room sound I like to play between midnight and 3AM or so, and darker tracks like my remix are good for those lovely early mornings. This will come in handy if I ever do an allnighter, then I will have tracks for every hour.
With restrictions removed pretty much everywhere what are your plans for this summer?
Well it’s been a bit of a strange time with re-opening, closing and re-opening again. So, the reschedule – phase is still going on.Not all clear what happens this summer yet, but I’ve got a few international gigs coming out in the next weeks.
Interview by Stu Todd