Almost exactly a year after the unveiling of Lucille Croft‘s wildly popular debut Patient X EP, The Valentine Effect emerges as the newest conceptual work from the Australian artist, described as “a psychological experience that listeners can interpret in their own way.” Featuring a new theme and character, Croft’s latest EP encourages listeners to embrace the unknown.. to challenge their very way of thinking. The project is yet another stunning combination of music, role-play, and fashion elements from Croft, tied into one cohesive narrative and showcasing Croft’s wide range of stylistic influences ranging from industrial techno to rock to bass music and more.
Lucille:
“TVE” is essentially a conceptual body of work based on a psychological experience that I came up with, it’s never defined in the EP, so the listener can interpret it in their own way. This is a follow up to my debut EP ‘Patient X’, and I wanted this EP to really get you thinking – about life and death, and everything in-between. The most important thing to me as an artist is to continue to evolve, and continuously step out of my comfort zone. The production and songwriting in these songs really challenged me, and I loved every second of it. I hope this EP shows that I’m always evolving, and to not pigeon-hole me into a certain style or genre.”
INTERVIEW
Hi Lucille, thanks for making the time to speak with us and congratulations on the new music. So you just made your Ultra Music Festival. How was it?
It’s my pleasure. I wasn’t sure what to expect, I’d never been to Miami before. I was told multiple times I’d leave without my soul. I remember going to the ‘artist area’ – which for Ultra, was a giant yacht, sitting in there looking out at the ocean (extremely jetlagged), thinking to myself “well isn’t this just insane”. Ultra Miami was definitely always a bucket list show, and I was sitting there, with my name on the door, about to play it.
The Worldwide Stage had these enormous screens above me – playing my visuals of me dancing around with a sword. I loved it!
Do you prepare for festival sets and club sets differently? Or are you more of a “on the fly” type of performer?
For festivals I LOVE to curate my sets to create as surreal an experience as I can. The weather, time of day, culture of the city etc, I look at all of these things, and love to build the whole experience from them. When I was 19 I went to my first ever electronic music festival, before that I’d only attended rock and metal shows. I lost my friends and ended up at Aphex Twin, and that was my introduction to this whole new world of beautiful, bizarre, electronic music. It changed my whole perception on music, sound, and what was possible. I hope that I can give someone else that experience at my shows.
For club shows, I love unplanned chaos. You never really know what the energy of the club will be until you get there, so I like to walk in, and start playing whatever I’m feeling. I love looking at the crowds in clubs – seeing them wondering what I’m going to play next. Will it be techno? Drum and bass? Break beats? Who knows, I certainly don’t. There’s just something so special about immersing yourself in a set, with nothing planned.
So your new EP is something else and we can’t get enough of it. In your own words, what exactly is The Valentine Effect?
TVE follows up from Patient X, it’s a conceptual body of work, with a character and a fantasy. When I was writing this, I was thinking a lot about life and death. Are you alive, or just breathing? Are you dying to live, or living to die?
“Some call it permanent madness, some call it ‘life’. TVE is a psychological disorder that I made up, that IS life itself. Humans obsess over death to the point that some of us forget to really LIVE, to experience the chaos and excitement of not knowing what comes next, or when it all ends.
Are we alive? Is this a simulation? What comes after death? Is anything real? – questions I like to think about all the time. I see life itself as a video game, with levels, challenges, and bosses. I’m not entirely sure what the ‘end game’ boss itself is, but I do picture it being a different version of yourself. The ‘character’ in this EP is that dark voice you hear in your head sometimes, telling you to stop playing it safe. She’s the chaos inside you, that we all have, and often don’t listen to enough.
Which is your personal favorite from the project and why?
My favourite song from the EP? Bury Me in Leather. I had a near-death experience a few years ago, which got me thinking for the first time in my life about what I’d want to happen to my body when I die. I was thinking about my funeral – and how I’d want it to play out. ‘Bury me in leather, let me rest in pleasure’ is about me wanting to be ‘buried’ in character of who I was. I’d want to be buried in leather and spikes (and probably with one of my swords too), not in a gray, dreary suit and flowers. I’d want people to celebrate me having lived, instead of mourning my loss and it being a day of tragedy. I’d want to be buried surrounded by, and wearing, things that brought me pleasure in life.
We’re fascinated by the worlds you create. Where do you find the most creative inspiration?
I am a lover of all things fantasy – gaming and anime are big parts of my life. I wanted my music to be more than just music that you listen to. To me, music is a form of escapism. I wanted to create worlds around the releases, stories, characters – like a game or movie, that you can completely immerse yourselves in. When you’re listening to the music or attending a show, I want you to feel what I feel, and to leave your reality and enter mine.
We’re assuming there’s a common storyline or theme being developed in the projects you’ve been releasing. What can you share about the next one, if anything at all?
I’m building out my own world, with characters and different personalities of mine. Patient X was the first one, ‘Valentine’ was the second. It’s very fun and thrilling for me to be able to have a character with a story to go with my music, that I can act out and bring to life in the songs. I see the project as an experimental role-playing music x fashion experience.
Patient X is the protagonist – she is my outlet for fighting back against the music industry, the sexism and everything I’d endured as a woman in music.
The Valentine Effect is an antagonist, that dark voice inside your head, flirting with you to embrace your chaos and go do things you perhaps or perhaps shouldn’t.
The next one will be something new! I’ve
Tell us about the photoshoots surrounding The Valentine Effect. Do you come up with the costumes and design on your own?
For The Valentine Effect shoots, I didn’t design the pieces. I am actually a fashion designer though, I have my own lingerie label (This Is Bad Wolf), but I don’t really have the time to make my outfits usually. I do however style, produce and creatively direct all my shoots and videos. Being an independent artist, I self-fund everything, which means a lot of DIY for the shoots. I learnt a lot about dyeing wigs on the morning of the shoot, hah.
What does creative freedom mean to you?
Creative freedom to me means indulgence, and power. I get to indulge myself with all my creative fantasies, and have the power and freedom to bring my vision to life. It’s so important to me to be able to direct my artworks, videos, concepts, all creative involved with my brand. I’d been restricted before, which is why I became an independent artist, and now my vision is coming to life.
You don’t quite make “edm”. How would you describe your music to those who aren’t familiar with your work?
I think of my music as industrial electronic music, but I’ve recently had it called ‘sex dungeon music’ and ‘blood rave’ music (you know that iconic opening scene in Blade?). I really love both of those descriptions.
If you could give any piece of advice to aspiring female producers, what would it be?
Don’t stop. Dress how you want, make the music that you want to make, play the music that you want to play, do whatever you want, however you want, and f*ck anyone who tells you otherwise.
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If you love this music artist then show them some love, this is just a glimpse of the amazing stuff they create musically – head over to their links below to check out more from this badass music artist and support their creativity and your daily inspiration by following them!
Check out more of Lucille Croft and their music here: INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE / TWITTER
EXCLUSIVE EDITORIAL BY – THE OX PROJECT
