Lucid Steps

I was absolutely honored to interview Kareful a few nights ago, one of my favourite names on the scene at the moment, an incredibly talented producer and also a really friendly and down-to-earth guy. He had some really interesting and insightful things to say about the movement, and about himself as a producer and DJ. Anybody who's interested in the sound should definitely check it out! Below is a transcript of the conversation. *** Before we start, I just want to say that I’m a huge fan of yours, you’re one of my favourite producers on the scene right now so thanks so much for doing this interview with me! Oh no worries man, it’s nice to have the chance to talk to somebody about this! Because it’s been my full time occupation for so long I’ve really researched the scene and know a lot about it so I’ve just been waiting for someone to rack my brains! I feel like people don’t know enough about it. Yeah, I definitely agree with you on that! ...

Earlier this year, an exciting and creative movement of music caught my attention and has had me hooked ever since. The wave of electronic music I’m referring to cannot be easily categorized, save to say it takes influences from trap, grime and many other sounds whilst operating mainly around the 140bpm mark. Generally the sound is ambient, but with incredible emotional depth and heavy bass. The scene for this sound exists mainly on Soundcloud at the moment and so is very easily accessible, with much of the music available for free download. In fact there is a strong sense of independence and autonomy about the music – it is free from definitive genre, free from music labels and often free or very cheap for the listener to download. The artists also seem to be based all around the globe, from London to New York to Tokyo. The genre seems to truly be the product of the internet and the social media age; it belongs to everyone. My personal journey into obsession with this sound cam...