It's been a big year for the ex-Perth producer and his various projects, but his 2020 is going to be bigger..
It's hard not to list ex-Perth producer Luude amongst the year's big electronic success stories. Now based in the Gold Coast, his solo project - which has been at the forefront of Australia's heavier, trap-influenced scene for the latter half of this decade - has continued to thrive, putting out only a single track, the Great News-assisted Hurricane, but using the momentum built over the years to solidify his status on the live circuit, including US headline tours and festival shows including Listen Out and Sydney institution Field Day.
He's also one-half of Choomba, a new side project formed with his cousin Tim Benson that we introduced back at the start of this year, and in the since, has exploded into a movement riding the house-tech tsunami we've experienced in the last twelve months. On their own accord, Choomba have put out a whole introductory debut EP Choomdooskins - and another new single since, Wantchu - while finding themselves amongst triple j Unearthed's most-played musicians - not bad, for a dance act making some pretty straight-up heavy dance music in their first year.
In 2020, however, Luude is refocusing on the project that initially gave him the platform he has today, kicking off his year a few weeks early with the release of Lava Lamp next Monday. Premiering on Pilerats today a few days early, Lava Lamp is a moment of experimentalism for the constantly-creative musician who always seems to be one step ahead of the curve. It begins with a touch of cinematics, before quickly bouncing into something almost-house-y; thick synths stabs pulsing amongst a flurry of percussion which takes it into a quite genre-defying sound hard to put your finger on, but most definitely outside of Luude's past discography.
It was made with his live show in mind, as Luude explains, as well as an opportunity to showcase the experimentalism that's defined his sound thus far: "I’ve always experimented with new sounds and genres with Luude and I finally feel like I’ve now found a framework to bring all those styles in," he says. "It feels super cohesive and ties into the live show - I’m excited for everyone to see the pieces come together."
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The latter part seems particularly noteworthy, considering that the single release also comes with a stack of tour dates that'll take him into the new year and beyond. There's a bunch of shows in there, mostly in the east coast and New Zealand, but there's also the promise of more to come very soon, which makes us think there's a few surprises for Perth and the rest of the gang up his sleeve. Dive into the track below, and find the tour dates underneath:
Tour Dates:
December 13th - Townsville - Otherwise
December 20th - Canberra - Fiction
December 21st - Brisbane - The Met
January 31st - Lorne - Falls Festival
January 4th - Maitland - Lunar Electric Music Festival
January 11th - Winkxx - Coffs Harbour
January 26th - Sydney - Courtyard Party
February 22nd - Sydney - Lost City (U18)
February 29th - Brisbane - Lost City (U18)
March 28th - Auckland - We Mouve / Studio
+ More dates TBA
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