This week we sat down with LouCii to chat about his latest single and his upcoming plans. Read on for the complete interview!
EDMTunes: Can you talk a bit about your history with industry O.G.’s, Deep Dish?
LouCii: I met Deep Dish while at Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland, back I the late-80’s/early-90’s. We used to DJ in the radio station, broadcasting in and around the student cafeteria. At the same time, I started DJing the international students’ night in college as I was the one DJ who would play all kinds of music in different genres. My songs were in different languages so as to appeal to the international students and their friends who were not American-born. My name became big with the international community in the Washington D.C. area…and I met another international DJ who went by the name, DJ Bassam. We started working together and in a few years became two of the most sought-after DJs in the region.
EDMTunes: Where were you playing?
LouCii: There were two major clubs in the city at the time, Fifth Column and Zei Club. I played at both and later became the resident DJ at Zei. At that time, the Deep Dish boys were being kicked-out from club as the music they played was too underground for the mainstream clubs in the area. They’d come to Zei Club and hangout in the VIP to watch me play or go to Fifth Column and watch Bassam, sometimes bringing their music to test on the club’s soundsystem. As you may have guessed, they met the right people and caught fire as they became dance music legends.
EDMTunes: In what countries have you performed as a DJ, over the years? What were some of your favorite cities and countries to play in?
LouCii: I’ve played in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Egypt, France, allover the U.S. and Canada, Australia, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, on international waters on cruise ships. I enjoyed every played I played! Having spent most of my career in the D.C. region, I still have the best memories while a resident at Zei Club.
EDMTunes: Do you think it’s important, as a music-maker, to be as well-traveled as possible and have a multi-cultural worldview? There are lots of local DJs who never travel…
LouCii: I think it’s very important to have a multi-cultural worldview and to be a multi-genre music producer. If you look at me, after 35 years from the first time my first original song was played on the radio to now, I’m still standing. As for being well-traveled, it was important back in-the-day and before the Internet or no one would know you. I don’t think it’s as important, today.
EDMTunes: Tell us about your latest release, “Future Rave on Mars.”
LouCii: That was one of my favorite tracks to work on, both the song and the music video. Last year, I noticed that David Guetta was starting to push the future-rave sound, so I wanted to do my part in spreading the sound with my own touch. I’ve gotten tons of feedback from the industry and fans, and it’s been extremely positive. The YouTube video of the song got over 200,000-views in the first week of its release. I’m planning more of this style, soon.
EDMTunes: Melody seems important to you. Do you have a set way of working, when you’re making a new track?
LouCii: A song without melody is like a body with no soul, dead. Sometimes I start a new song with the melody, sometimes it’s the last piece I add. I sometimes try five, six or more melodies before I decide to use one. It’s a process of trying things out to see what works best.
EDMTunes: You’ve had eight releases hit Beatport’s “Top 10.” With so many different sources for DJs and fans to get music, how important are charts to you anymore?
LouCii: I wanted to show everyone that one man can run a label with the right music and marketing and compete with the biggest of them. I released a few of my older tracks as I wanted to make a little noise before the main show. I was able to get to the “Top 10” many times, and I was ahead on the charts of labels like Spinnin’, Revealed and many others. My next project is the Billboard charts.
EDMTunes: What do you have up next for music lovers?
LouCii: I personally don’t believe in anything but being the ultimate best. So, for the first time in the history of music, I’ll be releasing not one, not two, but three albums at the same time, spanning more than 10 genres in music in three languages (English, Spanish and Arabic). The three albums will be: 1) Back2BassX, an album of house, deep house, tech house and melodic house; 2) Dark Like Kryptonite, an album of future rave, big room, progressive house, future house, dance/electro pop, chillout; 3) LouCii Presents Global Vibes, an album of pop, reggaeton, world music, Latin pop, Arabic traditional and Arabic remix.
Follow LouCii online!
Official: www.LouCii.com
Instagram: @iamloucii
Twitter: @iamloucii
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/73gzMHDw96YKOzD8OfwxaE?si=jZZW_NdsRS2efuGgtOzOBg
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEzpu1WHtqiCT4wlMA9DcFg
