It’s been a year since Melbourne’s LUCIANBLOMKAMP dropped his album Post Nature so needless to say the news of an album on the way and the drop of a single sent us soaring with excitement.
Help Me Out put LUCIANBLOMKAMP on our radar as somebody to watch and this newest offering, From Afar has cemented his place as one of Australia’s most exciting and refreshing producers. The atmospheric single teeters along the edge of a perfect dream and the sadness of waking up. There is an ominous ambience, grit and a whole lot of heart all smashed into a four minute wall of electronic sound. With the track on repeat (ALL DAY) we just had to pick the brain of the young producer.
https://soundcloud.com/lucianblomkamp/from-afar-2
From Afar has a beautiful melancholy to it. The hook insinuates that you’re longing after something/someone. Care to share?
From Afar is essentially about a feeling of disconnection. Although the hook is simply a general statement rather than a cry for help. The song isn’t directed at a person, group of people or anything like that…Which I suppose goes hand-in-hand with disconnection itself.
Is the single a good look into what we can expect from the album?
Yeah, I would definitely say so. I think Bad Faith has a far more cohesive sound compared to Post-Nature. Even though there are quite large style/mood jumps, I think everything on the new album has a somewhat similar tone.
As a classically trained musician, how heavily do well written melodies rank for you VS sound design? Have you found a happy medium?
It’s hard to say because for me it heavily depends on the song, and I think that’s what always keeps things fresh. There’s no correct way of doing things. The process of writing a track is different almost every time. I usually try to follow a single thought, which may be a particular melody, chord progression, synth, rhythm or even just an ambient texture that then becomes the foundation of the song.
What is the best environment for our readers to experience your song in for the first time?
Probably just something simple, like being alone in your bedroom. Not that you need full concentration on it or anything like that. I just feel it generally goes well with a quiet setting.
The single artwork is stunning, any significance behind it in relation to the track?
I’ve been really lucky with all of my album and single artwork. Samuel Johnson also did the art for Post-Nature, and it’s been great to have him back doing the art for Bad Faith. While there is no significant connection between the artwork and the music, I feel like they couldn’t work better together. The visual element really adds another dimension to the songs.
Lastly, when can our readers catch you dropping From Afar live next?
There’s actually not much to say right now except for that there’ll be a tour later in the year, along with some special shows and festival appearances that will start to pop up over the next few weeks.
