Lunice’s first gig in Ireland at the Twisted Pepper was the right in the middle of a tour that would wear out even the most seasoned producers. Kicking off his European tour in Fabric, the 23 year old Canadian had his laptop stolen from the London club’s greenroom, losing both his set and a pretty expensive piece of equipment.
‘Can I just start by saying fuck Sean from Fabric?’ Lunice wasted no time in expressing his frustration with how the situation had been dealt with. ‘Like seriously, just pay for my shit you know? Honestly #fucksean.’ This dissatisfaction was echoed by his label, LuckyMe, who tweeted angrily ‘Why haven’t Fabric paid for Lunice laptop yet? He didn’t bring anyone backstage. Fabric didn’t secure the greenroom. Be responsible.’ Lunice obviously could’ve spent half an hour ranting about how this ‘Sean’ character had mishandled the situation but there’s no doubt at how it affected his show. Having to cancel the following night’s concert in The Hague and rebuild his set from scratch. However this has given him the opportunity to create something that gives back to the fans; requesting that people send him ideas for songs to reshape his show, sometimes with surprising results: ‘Somebody sent me Aaliyah’s “More Than a Woman” and I was like shit! Now I play it in every single show I put on.’
More than just creating a new vibe for the show, Lunice’s work ethic appears to have doubled in the face of this setback. His overall ethos for the tour is that he wants every show to be as energetic and crazy as the last: ‘I want somebody in London to talk to somebody in Australia and say that they saw the same crazy shit I was doing in each show. I’m not lazy about performing, it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been going I still give everything at each show.’ You can’t even really appreciate how much effort he is talking about until you see the show yourself. He gets on the stage and just exudes energy: dancing on stage, jumping into the crowd, getting into dance battles with people on stage and generally involving himself hugely in the atmosphere he creates. The set is consistently high-energy and just when you think it might wind down for a minute Lunice sets it back on an upward trajectory.
He used the Dublin show to debut some of his newest work with Hudson Mohawke and the collaboration shows great promise. While they are both associated with the same LuckyMe collective, it wasn’t until they had both recorded their newest EP’s that their sounds became more defined with Lunice’s One Hunned and Hudson Mohawke’s Satin Panthers showing some similar influences. It was this ‘cleaner sound’ as Lunice puts it that led them to working together and the results threw the room into a frenzy at the Twisted Pepper stage.
Lunice has been tipped over and over again as ‘one to watch’ and with the evolution of his sound that One Hunned has brought, as well as producing with big names such as Diplo have shown his ability to grow in both confidence and quality. If he could go into the studio with anyone living or dead though? ‘Oh man Aaliyah for sure….and I think….probably Lady B. Hold up, is Lady B dead? I mean I think she is, but if not that’s pretty awkward…’
Lady B is still broadcasting on New York radio according to Wikipedia so it turns out he might be in with a chance.
Words Emily Carson
