What's planned for Lex Deluxe's Australian Summer?

I remember seeing you play at Mixmag’s Miller Amplified last year before Willaris. K and your track selections were incredible, where/how do you find your tunes?


I spend the better part of every week looking for songs. I go through my favourite artists’ Soundcloud mixes and sit there with Shazam working overtime. From there I go through each song’s history, with the album it came from, other albums by the same artist, artists who have collaborated with said artist, and mixes from them… and repeat the cycle until I go crazy!  I tend to steer clear of Youtube and Spotify as they tend to recommend the same songs. Another valuable resource is Discogs, as they tend to have a lot of music not available on Spotify. That’s where the hidden gems can be found.


We know your skills behind the wheels of steel; but how are you going in the studio and what inspires you?


As soon as I get in my studio, I plug my computer in and bang out my ‘Reference Songs’ playlist while I set up. The playlist contains around 100 songs that inspire me, songs that I wish I had already made. This playlist includes a very varied collection of songs, from the FJAAK’s turbo rave remix of ‘Onslaught’, to funky jazz synthy house from Telephones and Shinichiro Yokota. I am still in the early stages of producing and I haven’t settled on where I want to take my sound, so each day my inspiration dips into different pools of dance music.


You recently did a slew of dates in the UK & Europe, was that your first run of overseas dates and how did it go?


It was a very interesting trip! Every show was memorable, and I am very lucky that I was able to meet some of the most interesting and fun people all over Europe. My favourite show would have been the livestream radio set on Amsterdam's Red Light Radio. The people behind it are incredibly generous and kind, and I had a lot of fun with that set.  There was a lot of independency that I wasn’t used to. Travelling by yourself is a very tricky journey to do, and throwing in business doesn’t make it any easier, however it made the entire trip all the more rewarding.

Back in September this year I had the opportunity to play on Amsterdam's finest Red Light Radio! Hope you enjoy :~)

What advice do you have for artists that are ready to test themselves abroad?


If you have the ability to get yourself about of Australia, absolutely go for it. The world isn’t as scary, people are generous and kind, and if you put yourself out there, you’ll be rewarded in many different ways. Prepare yourself early, start sending emails to promoters, artists, venues, and booking agents as soon as possible.

I think it’s very important to get out of your own circle. Whether that’s inner Sydney, NSW or Australia, you can’t grow without ruffling your feathers a bit.  That being said, I am very lucky to be in the position where I was able to set out, and explore and I understand not everyone is able to do so. You can still virtually immerse yourself in different cultures through mixes on Soundcloud, music forums, interviews, live streams etc.. 


Now that you’re back in Oz, what’s your plans for summer?
This summer is already gearing up to be busy. I have been keeping my head down and working on as much as I can. There is always music to be found, music making techniques to be learnt, synths to buy, and shows to dance to! I’m looking to go away again next year, so for now it’s all about putting music as the priority in my life.  Catch me at Output Super Club in Sydney and Wollongong this weekend 😉

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