Lucas TC Becomes Citizen of the World
If you’re a House fan and have hit MP3.com’s Top 10 page anytime since the summer of 1999, you’ve seen and perhaps heard tracks like “Need for Speed,” “Red Shadow,” “Santorini,” “Millennium” and/or “Eclipse Da Felicidade” by LUCAS TC.
The fact is all six tracks were created by one Lucas Tirigall Casté, a multimedia artist from Buenos Aires, who’s using the Internet to reach an audience far beyond Argentina’s borders. “I’m an independent artist in a global world,” he says. “A new media is being born. My music here is new and fresh, and I like that. But I consider myself a citizen of the world.” Some of the tracks are from Lucas TC’s Assembled album, a collection of “Freestyle House” released on the Clubasic Records label, but now sold out and available only through MP3.com.
How did Lucas get hooked on electronica and dance? “I started listening to House in 1988, at age 13. Before that, it was all kinds of electronic music and soundtracks from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg films. As far as what inspired me to become an artist, I’d have to say it’s the collective consciousness of the New Millennium.”
That consciousness underlies his latest project. “NeoGen is a very deep House album that’s all about the New Millennium feeling and the genesis of new ideas. One version will be available online, and another as a standard CD in music stores.”
Along with creating music and videos, Lucas is developing other ways to spread his sounds. In addition to MP3.com, he makes his music available on other music stores. “I receive e-mails weekly asking for permission to sell my music on other sites,” he says. He grants the OK “…as long as the site is 100 percent legal, DRM-free, asks permission and respects my copyrights.” Lucas also notes that 80 percent of his own site’s traffic comes from music sites.
Lucas’ own productions have all made a huge impact, with his last six singles hitting the Top 10 on MP3.com. His desire to showcase more of the great music he hears, along with the number of people sending him tracks, led to the obvious step of starting his own label in 2001, and getting involved in the music industry.
Although Lucas started as a music producer, he finally became a live performer himself, playing in some of the best clubs and venues around the world.
Lucas has even more ambitious plans: “I’m trying to make a label here linked to a net of other independent labels worldwide. One goal is to make hybrid multimedia and promos of other artists and labels, and encode each piece with a serial number providing access to online remixes and promo tracks. I’m actually starting to speak with labels in the United States and Europe to do that.”
Longer-term, Lucas wants to “…keep making music and videos, someday games and movies, and — why not — an entertainment park!” But for now, he’s focusing on completing his new album, then putting together a good, live show too. “Maybe even play a gig in the United States.,” he adds. “I get a lot of e-mails from people there asking me to come play in their cities!”