Made known for the incredible collaboration with Mathame, Lyke has been on a roll lately with his first solo single AROSE, and now, his first solo EP Stay With Me.
Lyke is one of those artists that has worked behind the scene building and finalizing his sound; he’s a polyhedric artist, able to compose and produce music in the studio as well as singing on his own tune.
We took the opportunity thanks to the release of his EP, Stay With Me, to have a chat with Lyke about his story as an artist, his sound, and everything that surrounds his world. Here it is what he said:
Hi Lyke, it’s a pleasure to have you on our Let’s Talk About series. Could you introduce yourself? Where you from and how you first approached the music and production world?
I come from Bergamo, Northern Italy near Milan. I started studying piano at the age of 4, mainly I studied classical and jazz music accompanied by studies of harmony and composition.
Around the age of 15, I discovered the world of computer production with Fl Studio. In the beginning, I wrote something on the piano and then reworked it on the computer. Then gradually I began to produce inbox interrant taking advantage of all the technical options that provide today’s Daw.
From EDM to Trap, I never really limited myself to producing something specific, I always liked to elaborate on different things, always integrating certain respect for the melodic and harmonic parts within my productions.
Your first release (at least on Spotify) has been ‘Nothing Around Us’ with Mathame, a track that has been a global success. Could you tell us more about the tune, how it’s born, how you end up working with Mathame etc? Do you have only written the lyrics and sung it or have you actively worked on the track?
The Mathame brothers and I both live in the same city, so we had the opportunity to work on a project together in the past. We then produced ‘Nothing Around Us’ and from there we started our collaboration together.
The track was born very spontaneously, in that period the brothers helped me to sing at best integrating many aspects that I did not consider before in the vocal performance. Then on one morning, we recorded the verse of ‘Nothing Around Us’ in just a few minutes, and after that worked synchronously on the chords and the melodies.
We immediately realized that we had achieved something different and new, we were very excited that day, I remember with great happiness 😊.
Fast forward a year later, your first single on Afterlife came out. A full instrumental track, pretty different from ‘Nothing Around Us’. Why moving toward a deeper and “darker” in a way sound?
I never limited myself to producing something specific. At that time I was working on the synth of ‘Lem’ and its suspended chords, the sounds in minor and darker as Afterlife that I always liked. But I also think ‘Lem’ has its side with more light, not as much as ‘Nothing Around Us’ of course, which I agree to be much more solar.
Your sounds have always spaced from melodic, techno, and ethereal vibes. How it’s born and have you always wanted or produced these kinds of genres or, do you space in the studio on totally different sounds too?
I have always listened to a lot of music since I was little. My father took me to the theater, then at home, he often put on CDs of various kinds. From rock to blues; he made me listen to everything.
That’s why I always wanted to try new sounds and experiment with different styles. Thanks to my ear that helps me a lot in writing melodies and feel the harmonies I feel.
Do you have a “standard” process in the studio let’s say, first the baseline, then the melody, etc, or when you have an idea on something you start from there and see how it goes?
I always start with the melodic part, from the piano or directly from the synths. Then I build a theme and finally the drum. Obviously, the creative process is more complex but at the moment I’d say the idea is that the melody will light the fire.
Do you prefer and/or use analog or digital gear while producing?
I often produce inbox also for a convenience factor, I love to move and live in different places for inspiration and different vibrations. Once in the studio, I love to get my hands on analog machines, they fascinate me a lot.
Last year you released an only-piano version of ‘Nothing Around Us’ (which is simply amazing). Have you ever thought of release piano or orchestral versions of your previous (or future) releases?
Thank you, I am glad you liked it! The piano version of ‘Nothing Around Us’ was released at a particular time but in the future, I will definitely continue to present that kind of content. I think they emphasize certain aspects of the track sometimes in the background overall.
Your brand new EP, Stay With Me is on its way on Armada Music. It seems you have fused that techno sounds we were used to hear on Afterlife with something more chill and relaxing as your latest single AROSE. Is it right or your idea on producing it was different at the beginning? Could you tell us how the idea of a Lyke-only EP born?
For some time now I wanted to release my first EP. I wanted to propose a new sound that included my voice. The three tracks I present are the three productions I have worked on the most in recent years where melodies and voice are in the foreground. The 3 tracks all have different sounds, tell 3 different moments, which are also explained through the lyrics and vocals.
Among the three, which are all absolutely incredible, I would say the most-awaited one is ‘Falling Alone’. I remember the first time it was played by Mathame everyone called it ‘Look In the Sky’. How the idea come up?
The first versions of the song were actually very different from the final one. ‘Falling Alone’ is the fall and then the awakening in the final mainly of the chords, element that I worked a lot integrating synths and violins.
Then there is the voice that tells those moments, with a less brilliant and more heartfelt tone.
When I played the first demos to Amedeo and Matteo, who are always very critical, they liked it a lot and decided to play it on tour. The responses were great and I wanted to work on it a lot to make it even more perfect, I think it’s the first track I produced of the EP.
You are a singer, a producer, I would say a musician but, it seems you’re not a DJ, or at least, you haven’t really played gigs in the past. Have you ever thought of live exhibitions with a crowd, considering also you could sing in live your songs
In the past I played records in various venues in the city, in one of them I met Amedeo, I was still too small to undertake evenings outside my region, I focused more on studio production.
But now yes, I want to recreate a set by integrating instruments and voice in live performance, which I will now focus on to do live.
Let’s talk a bit about the current situation in the world. Has the pandemic impacted your creative workflow and how have you faced it?
Yes, the pandemic has completely changed my life. Unfortunately, my family has had losses and the current world situation certainly does not help to keep my mind free. Being unable to move and all and the repercussions that have been and are going on have certainly conditioned my life and my music. I believe it did on all of us.
You and Mathame seem to have a really good connection when it comes to music. Can we expect something in the future?
Yes, I have a very good relationship with Mathame, they are my mentors. I learned a lot thanks to them and we have experienced a lot together so I think we will certainly release something in the future.
What’re your plans in the terms of new music as well as sounds and genres in the future? Do you think you’ll stick on these more melodic, cinematic, and deep notes or you’ll come back to the raw and techno sounds, or a mix of the two?
I want to keep both sounds maybe even mixing them as I did in ‘Stay With Me’. Certainly, both are sounds that I feel and I will definitely want to improve.
We want to thank from the bottom of our heart Lyke for the interview. Don’t forget to follow him on all social media, including Spotify, to not miss anything.
