Lokier Debuts on Lenske Records with ‘Back To Life’ EP

Mexican DJ and Producer Lokier released her new EP Back To Life in November on Lenske Records – a record label founded by fellow DJ/Producer Amelie Lens. A familiar figure in the underground music scene, Lokier has played in some of the most renowned clubs and festivals such as Berghain, Tresor, Reaktor, Contact, Dimensions, CTM, Nuits Sonores to name a few.

Reflecting on the time leading up to the release, she speaks of the difficulties she experienced in the last couple of years, finding power through her inner voice and rediscovering her sound, resulting in 3 new energetic tracks that are a fuse of industrial, rave, techno and trance. Just as the EP title suggests, Back To Life marks Lokier’s debut with Lenske Records and signifies a new phase for the Berlin-based artist.

You released your new EP Back To Life with Lenske, a record label founded under DJ and Producer Amelie Lens – it’s great to see collaborations between female artists. How has your experience of the music industry been so far? Especially, in the last couple of years since the pandemic?

It hasn’t been easy, and there’s been a lot of ups and downs but fortunately mostly positive. I feel like some of the negative experiences I’ve had shaped me into what I am today and made me stronger in a way so I often try to remind myself of everything I’ve achieved to get motivated and keep going. Especially the last couple of years has been very intense in both a negative and positive way. I was very stressed and that affected my health a lot, but in a way, it kind of forced me to take a break and take more care of myself. Just when everything was being cancelled is when I started talking to Amelie so working on that EP was a big motivation!

What inspires you to produce? What does your process look like?

I usually start listening to a lot of music one or two days before to kind of set myself in the mood. I have some food first because I hate interrupting my working sessions to get some food, I spend hours working so I try to not have distractions. I make myself comfortable and I just start playing something. I like recording the main melody first then a few drum sounds and then later working on the details and structure. To be honest I’m very slow working sometimes so that’s something I’m trying to improve.

In our brief chat prior to our interview, you mentioned the “inner voice” – how has this inner voice influenced you as an artist and particularly, on Back To Life?

I realised that a lot of the music I was making before was made to “fit” a certain style, like for a label for example. So during quarantine, I decided to work a lot more for myself. When I started talking to Amelie she told me that I shouldn’t feel forced to change or fit a certain sound. She pushed me to be myself, so I thought was perfect because that’s exactly what I was looking for. That’s when “Back To Life” came to life so to speak.

Back To Life has a very different vibe from your previous releases. It’s more energetic and intense – I guess, how you would expect someone to be when they come “back to life”. It comes in full force, particularly, your track Dimension.

When I started working on the EP I had some health problems. I developed tinnitus so I had to stop working on music for three, four months. I was able to finish the EP after I recovered so when I finished the EP I really felt like I was coming back to life. The tracks are more energetic because I was feeling that way, I was very happy I could finally finish it!

What was the main drive in the release of your new EP?

I’m always changing my sound, with the way I produce and the music I DJ. I’ve never been able to stick to one style because I get bored after a while. I need the motivation to work and for me to keep feeling excited about something I need changes. Although more like changes I see it as evolution because we are constantly learning too.

Sometimes I find more joy (and power) in darker, heavier sounds – it feels more “real,” perhaps, in the sense that it’s stripped down and not pretending to be anything else – is this something you can relate to?

I’ve also always been attracted to more dark/weird music and I think it’s because to me it feels more interesting. But now that you mention it “real” could be too. It’s very important to me to feel something with the tracks, I can get chills and sometimes even cry with some sounds or high frequencies. I think that’s also why I’ve always liked more melodic tracks.

Going into winter, it seems like the clubs may close again. How do you stay inspired in the scene through the unpredictable periods? Where do you find your power?

The quarantine forced me to be alone for months, and to be honest I love it now. I love spending time at home, cooking, working out, basically just taking care of myself. If I’m happy and comfortable with myself then the inspiration comes easily. I’m sad that I don’t get to play but I also want to use this time to keep learning, improving my sound and basically feel and become a better person and artist.

Listen to Lokier – Back To Life EP.