Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: 40 yrs old, husband, dad. Regular life but with a music bug that can’t leave me. Making music at my age and lifestyle probably doesn’t make much sense, but I still got to do it. I’ve had a pretty normal childhood but one of my earliest memories is listening music super loud on headphones on my dad’s hi-fi. I was probably 4. I’d just turn on the thing and listen to whatever my parents had around. Fortunately my parents had a good music taste: blues, classic rock. Czeslaw Niemen was the first artist I heard about. My uncle and my cousin played guitar at family get togethers. I was so impressed by that, felt like magic to me. I wanted to do the same. My sister had a acoustic guitar and I would sneak in, and pluck the thick E string to make this hunting sound of an open E because I was fascinated by how it’d make me feel. That note, that vibration was something palpable for me. I never stopped thinking about learning guitar. I really have to thank my parents for buying me my very first guitars.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Luciferin in three words?
A: Dreamy, calming, and deep.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: Free lunch for my first fan 🙂
Q: You have just released your new album, ‘Travel Light’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Travel light is about a mindset that allows you to live without fear, regret and self-doubt. You don’t have to believe in karma to experience something like that working in your life here on earth—thinking too much about your past makes you live in your past, more than your present, and the present moment is the only one that counts, the only one where you can act, change things. Travel Light is sort of a musical tattoo for myself to travel light through live, and never wander off that road.
Q: What is your favorite track from the album and why?
A: Luciferin. It has to be “Luciferin”. Working on that track was the first time I truly felt like I had found my own unique sound. It was a deeply moving and intimate moment for me. I had been playing for years before that, but nothing else had ever made me feel quite that way.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the album, “Travel Light”?
A: It involves a lot of jamming. For me, everything starts with riffs. Sometimes they are just pure flow state improvisation, sometimes they’re more like meditation on a word symbolizes a song idea. From there, the music goes through different stages. Some riffs naturally fit together, and new ideas come to light as I start adding layers like the core concept, lyrics, vocals, and other instruments.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Luciferin so far?
A: I’ve actually never played these songs live for anyone yet. My favorite “performances” right now are when my wife comes home from her commute and tells me she discovered something new in one of the tracks. Her favorite used to be “Luciferin,” but the other songs really grew on her. Now she loves “Ultimate Love” and keeps telling me to pitch it to Hollywood because she thinks it would make the perfect movie soundtrack.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: There’s something special about all of them, but I really like how “Devil I Know” turned out. I also feel like I had to push myself to a whole new musical level to figure out the vocal melody for “The Story So Far”—it was something I just didn’t know how to do before. And “Travel Light” surprised me the most; it’s a song so meaningful to me that I would get it tattooed.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Luciferin’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: My approach is mostly intuitive, sometimes it reminds me of music meditation. However, when I need to stitch all those raw ideas together into a finished song, it definitely helps to know a thing or two about music theory and notes.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: I would feel incredibly lucky just to be able to keep creating music. Life gets incredibly busy, and eventually, it can feel like you’re drowning in responsibilities with very little room left to grow. I’m actually working on my second album right now. It’s going to be a sort of musical diary of my life, and I hope that someday it can bring comfort and advice to my children.
To anyone reading this, I just want to say: never give up on your dreams. Recording this album was a huge dream of mine. It took me four years, but I would have felt like a complete loser if I hadn’t pushed through and made it. Make time to do what makes you feel accomplished.
