One of the few notable trap producers hailing from Serbia, LOWKEY has just started to poke his head into the scene with a gripping arsenal of remixes, such as ‘No Cash’ by Toyzz. Experimenting with an unprecedented, stripped-down and tuned out style of trap, his sound borders upon spatial experience with the level of depth and attention to detail he illustrates in his tracks.
LOWKEY first really caught my attention with a riveting flip of Eptic’s ‘The End’, which competes steadily with the treasure trove of remixes of this iconic tune. We had the delightful opportunity to catch up with Lazar to feature that brilliant tune and simply had to extend the efforts into a full-fledged interview, including a burly 40-minute mix packed tight with LOWKEY originals, live-edits, and even a few unreleased goodies.
Be sure to show some love to LOWKEY and enjoy the mix and interview below!
How long have you been producing music? Do you have any formal educational background in music or otherwise?
I’ve been producing music since 2013. At that time I was using another stage name, but after a while, I decided the name ‘Lowkey’ fits better into my personality. My background is actually not in music, but in graphic design and illustration (which is my second passion). I still enjoy doing illustrations but I always knew that I wanted to make a career in music. As far as my formal education goes it has nothing to do with music since there are not many opportunities in my country. There are a few schools that you can go to, but they cost far more than my family could afford at that time, so I had to learn everything on my own.
I think that almost all producers who are popular in Serbia at this moment are not actually creative and that they are playing it safe by copying the ideas that are coming from the western countries.
Have you been living in Serbia for your entire life? How has Serbian pop-culture and music scene influenced your style of music, if at all?
I was born and raised in Serbia and I did not have many chances to travel and see other parts of the world, so I hope that music will give me an opportunity to do that. I think that almost all producers who are popular in Serbia at this moment are not actually creative and that they are playing it safe by copying the ideas that are coming from the western countries. Because of that we are lacking fresh ideas and as a result we are always late compared to the rest of the world. So, I am not actually influenced by Serbian pop-culture and I am trying to make a new movement in which creative, young artists will not be afraid to do what they love and not just follow the trends. I’m not saying that we don’t have creative people, I just think that they can’t get their spotlight at this moment.
Which artists in the trap genre do you pull the most motivation and inspiration from currently?
I’m really open-minded and not limiting myself only to one genre. That is great because inspiration can come from literally any artist/song. But, since you asked about trap some of my favorites are QUIX, rickyxsan, Baauer, TYNAN, eugeиe, NXSTY, Krischvn, Boombox Cartel, Toyzz, X&G, josh pan, HYDRAULIX, UZ, montell2099, Wayvee, Šuma, BRO SAFARI, Atik 👻, Stööki Sound, Pep, Dabow
Aside from music, how do you like to spend your free time?
The same as other people who are my age, I like to go to the parties, festivals, to hang out with people. My friends and I have noticed that there are not many events where you can listen to our favorite music (trap, dubstep, dnb, bass house), so we decided to make them. A year ago, we created a movement called Bass Force and since then, we have been throwing some dope parties. Our mission is to inspire people to enjoy music and everyone is welcome to join us. We are always trying to come up with new stuff to present to people, so I spent a lot of my free time brainstorming with the people from the organization (who are actually my best friends) and while we are doing it, we are also having lots of fun. We are celebrating our first birthday in November and it’s going to be great!
What do you have in store for the coming year that fans can look forward to?
I’m planning to release my new track hopefully soon. The track will be minimalistic and deep with some heavy 808s and basses. I’m planning to do a collab with my friend Toyzz, also there should be two more collabs, one with Thorns and the other one is with Ape Drums.
I have to admit that I’m not really a plan maker. I’m usually taking it step by step. My head is always full of new ideas and I have to put all the pieces of the puzzle together, which sometimes takes a lot of time and sometimes happens really quick, so I never know what is next. Fans should expect the unexpected!
For me, every remix is a kind of imaginary collab and the good ones are those in which the original sounds and new ones combine into one totally new piece.
Your remixes pack quite a bit of heat, and do a superb job of preserving bits and pieces from the original, while consistently taking the track in a fresh, unique direction. How do you typically approach a remix to achieve this combination of sounds?
First of all, thank you for the kind words! The process of selecting a track that I’m going to remix is not random at all. I feel like I first need to make some kind of connection with a track (I don’t know if this sounds silly). When I listen to music I’m also paying attention to the motions and details of the original track. That’s when the ideas kick in. During the process of making a remix, I often change directions and sometimes the final version of the project sounds completely different from the original idea (the same is with my original tracks).
I deeply respect producers whose tracks I’m remixing so I try to leave pieces from the original. For me, every remix is a kind of imaginary collab and the good ones are those in which the original sounds and new ones combine into one totally new piece.
You’ve got a side account dedicated to a couple of beat tracks, what are your hopes with this project? Do you eventually hope to use that platform as an opportunity to collaborate with other genres such as hip-hop, while LOWKEY will remain your creative outlet for trap production?
I could not explain it better myself! I already mentioned that I’m not limiting myself only to one genre and I spent a lot of time listening to hip-hop (and producing it). But LOWKEY is a character that was created in trap and will always stay in trap! #thatlowkeylife!
You recently played your first festival in Serbia, what was the experience like for you being able to play your original music and live edits to a crowd of that size?
My goal is to reach as many people as possible with my music. I got a chance to play my music live for the first time at VIBE Festival this summer. I did not expect the audience to be that wild. Those people were full of energy and were dancing, jumping, twerking and headbanging all night long! I think the crowd really enjoyed what I prepared for them and symbolically (as the name of the festival suggests), I got some positive vibes back. I can not imagine the better reward for all the hard work I did recently. The music that I play is not popular here, so I was surprised when I got a call from organizers to take part in Vibe festival after party. I’m looking forward to it. I will have the honor to close the festival, so I hope everyone will come prepared because it is going to be lit!
basically, I wanted to show you how I roll, what people can expect from me when they come to hear me live. So I hope people are going to love what they hear in this mix!
What was your goal with this 40-minute mix? Walk us through the vibe and experience you aimed to create in the set.
I wanted to walk you through some shady valleys of deep and hard trap (hybrid trap). Also to show you some of my favorite tracks and my own edits and mashups. As the mix goes, the energy and vibe build from deep to faster and more energetic rhythms. Basically, I wanted to show you how I roll, what people can expect from me when they come to hear me live. So I hope people are going to love what they hear in this mix!
Wow, I just finished my first interview ever! I would like to say thank you FUXWITHIT for inviting me and giving me the opportunity to participate in this guest mix. I was really pleased to answer all of your questions, I had fun doing it and I also hope that people will get to know me better, check out my music and come and join me ! ! ! #thatlowkeylife!
Tracklist:
EUGENE – HEADSPACE
ATLiens – Witch Doctor (G-Rex & Peekaboo Remix)
Childish Gambino – This is America (Tapecut Remix)
Chynna – The Conversation (CharlestheFirst Remix)
KRANE & B. Lewis – PCP feat. Nick Row (Rickyxsan Remix) w/ Skrillex & Habstrakt – Chicken Soup (Part Native Remix) [LOWKEY Live Edit]
Boombox Cartel – Dem Fraid (TYNAN & Khaos Flip)
Graves & KRANE – Spells (feat. Blake Skowron) (Tripzy Leary Remix)
QUIX & Vincent – Hero (feat. David Shane)
THA BOOGIE BANDIT – STOKED & BROKE (FEAT. HITTY)
Kill The Noise & Dillon Francis – Dolphin on Wheels (Rickyxsan Remix)
Travis Scott – Goosebumps (Tisoki Flip)
RL Grime – Core (Dead Robot Bootleg)
X&G – DAMN
Drake – Both w/ yojas – mine (LOWKEY Edit)
YOOKiE – Bassquake (feat. Jeff Kush)
QUIX – STORM (NYRVUS Flip)
Boombox Cartel & QUIX – Supernatural (Barrera Remix)
Boombox Cartel & QUIX – Widdit w/ ZHU – Faded (LOWKEY Edit)
QUIX & Matroda – Lambo
Boombox Cartel & QUIX – Widdit w/ ZHU – Faded (LOWKEY Edit)
Flosstradamus – Mosh Pit w/ KRANE & SLUMBERJACK – Hollow
Dabow – Play
Future – Fuck Up Some Commas (LOWKEY Remix)
