

Lapalux (AKA: Stuart Howard) is a UK beat producer who just released his debut album Nostalchic in March on Brainfeeder Records. His tour brought him to Austin where he found time to chat with us about life, music, and dirty dancing.

[DJ Hanry]

Thanks for doing this interview with us.

[Lapalux]

No problem, always a pleasure.

[H]

So how was the show last night? How do you like playing in Austin?

[L]

The show was great. Sold out crowd and great energy. Austin’s great, and I love playing live and just having that interaction with the fans.

[H]

Lets start from the beginning. You’re a producer from Essex, and when I was in the UK I never heard anything about the Essex beat scene. How was it getting your start coming out of Essex.

[L]

Well thats just it, there really isn’t a beat or music scene in Essex. That’s kind of why I make music like I do. I just messed around and experimented instead of adapting to a set “scene”. But now I live in London and as you know the scenes really developed so I get to play and listen to a lot more music.

[H]

You mention London, how is the beat scene there? How has it influenced you?

[L]

Well I used to play in London, in fact I still do. That was how I got started in the whole beat circuit, playing at clubs like Corsica and others.

[H]

Well you’ve certainly gotten a lot bigger these last few years, and you just released your first full length album, Nostalchic. What has this process been like? How do you feel about your debut album getting such great reviews?

[L]

Well it’s great, best thing I could hope for really. I really just write music that I enjoy, and it’s really cool that other people vibe with my stuff.

[H]

Your new album also had some amazing vocalists like Kerry Leatham and Jenna Andrews, what is another singer that you would like to get on your work.

[L]

Definitely Bjork. I love that shit.

[H]

“Without You” seems to be the crowd favorite off of Nostalchic, but I was wondering what was your personal favorite track?

[L]

Walking Words probably. Just as a song I feel it really works.

[H]

Listening to your album, I feel that you are one of the most diverse sounding artists out there. Are you going to still continue on this path, or are you leaning toward a set style now?

[L]

Well currently right now I’m working on a few new tracks that… I don’t know how to say it… have a more dancey vibe, house and techno sort of feel. But yeah I’m kind of experimenting with new ideas at the moment. Mostly, I’m trying to perform it live, and I’m thinking about that aspect of it. A lot of my stuff is chill…

Nostalchic, Laplux’ debut album was released in March on Brainfeeder records

[H]

Don’t worry about it. I can still get down and dirty to Without You.

Nostalchic, was also release under the Brainfeeder label. I know a lot of people have asked you about Brainfeeder in the past, but how exactly did you get signed to it? Why did you accept the offer?

[L]

Well I’ve always been into Fly-Lo [Flying Lotus] and the whole Brainfeeder crew. So I really just sent them an email basically, and I received an email a week later from Fly-Lo. Then we spoke about a release and I snatched up the chance, you don’t get that every day.

[H]

So basically what you’re telling me is all I have to do is send an email to Brainfeeder and I can be on the label?

[L]

[laughs] I dont know about that. You can try by all means.

[H]

I heard that the brainfeeder label is pretty tight with each other. Do you guys hang out and produce together?

[L]

When I’m in London its kind of hard, but we definitely catch up now and again. The rest of the crew are coming off of a Japanese tour, but I see them quite a bit actually.

[H]

Brainfeeder is a LA based label, while you’re obviously from the UK. Is there a difference in the beat scene between the two?

[L]

Yeah definitely I grew up listening to a lot of stuff coming out of LA and the east coast as well. I take a lot of influence from the whole 90’s hip-hop beat movement, especially Fly-Lo’s pioneering work. But it’s also my sort of thing, I take ideas from there and put it in a sort of Londony-UK mix. You can’t really quantify it, its just a unique blend I guess.

[H]

So lets talk about the future. Are you looking to do any cross-genre type collaborations?

[L]

Yeah I’m working with some Hip-Hop groups right now. I obviously can’t mention it or spoil the surprise, but definitely look for some new collaborations in the future.

[H]

And what are your plans for the rest of the year? Are you planning on an extended tour or is it back to the studio for you?

[L]

After the American tour, I have one in the UK, but then I’m going back to the studio again. So when I get back in October its on to the new album.

[Hanry]

Thank you again for taking time to give us this interview. Best wishes on the tour and the new album!

[Lapalux]

Take care, Cheers!

Author: Henry Lu

You can hear DJ Hanry Thursday mornings at 1 a.m. on KVRX 91.7 FM in Austin TX or at http://www.kvrx.org

Special Thanks to Daniel Bajwa and KVRX