Who….
Hello, my name is Lucas Hunter and I live by the river.
I was born in London in 1980 and spent the first 11 years of my life growing up in south east London. My father and stepmother shared a house with another family in New Cross. It had a ‘commune’ feel to it without being too hippy. I spent my time between this house and a flat in Elephant & Castle where I stayed with my mother and stepfather.
In 1991 my dad decided he had had enough of having his car broken into, and weirdly, everyone decided to move to a city called Sheffield in the north of England. My mother started an MA at York University at the same time so we all managed to be near each other.
Moving to Sheffield at such an ‘impressionable’ age was strange and alienating at first, my first memory of my new junior school was someone correcting the way I said ‘Barsketball’. In London my friends were called Aaron and Rossman and they wrote my name in graffiti on walls, while in Sheffield my friends were call Dan and Tim and devoted their time to listening to Queen and drawing comics.
I made it through adolescence the same way everyone did – was in a band, had long hair, had short hair, had bleached hair. I spent most of it on a skateboard. I got heavily into Graffiti and the lifestyle it came with and consequently didn’t get a ‘proper’ job until I was 21.
I moved to Cornwall in 1999 to study photography at Falmouth College of Arts. Cornwall was a culture shock, hippies and surfer dudes everywhere. As a response I immersed myself in Hip Hop and ran with a bunch of dudes that saw no further than the five elements (deejaying, MCing, graffiti, breakdancing and Nike trainers). I got locked into a relationship as soon as I set foot in the door of the dorm and spent the rest of the three years trying to convince myself that we were made to be. After college our relationship was off and on for a few months. To make it work I agreed to move to London and, to cut a long story short, I found myself in the capital without a job or an apartment.
I found myself in Brixton, searching for a job and a house. I found both on the same day within minutes of each other. To make some extra money (and to stroke my ego) I arranged for a DJ residency at a local bar. I deejayed there once a month, made some friends, developed a few habits and met my lady, Josephine Braithwaite-Rambausek.
After four or so years I grew tired and became unenthusiastic about living in London. I was dividing my time between deejaying and working various jobs, none of which were particularly shitty but all seemed unnecessary and surplus to how I wanted to live my life. Jo and I made the decision to move to Berlin following some amazing times spent visiting friends. Late 2008 we moved into a small apartment in Prenzlauer Berg and one year later we upped sticks again to a bigger, brighter and lighter place in the south of Berlin. It’s been just over one year that we made the move and not once have I regretted it. Berlin is like a playground for grown ups and it’s broken nature makes for some amazing possibilities. It is the only place in my 29 years that has ever really felt like home.
For love and money….
At the moment I am deejaying and making music as one half of Zombie Disco Squad, comprised of myself and my friend Nat Self. We started in 2005 and have enjoyed relative success, deejayed all over the world, met some nice people, met some not so nice people, listened to and made a lot of music. My weeks are taken up with making music and sending files back and forth. On the weekends we meet up somewhere, get drunk and play music. Free time is rare, and when it comes I most enjoy sitting on my sofa with my girl, watching movies and drinking huge bottles of beer. Aside from that I really enjoy riding my bicycle fast through traffic, and no, I cannot do a track stand, and yes, I do have a brake. I also draw from time to time and would like to make more time for this in the future.
Skills acquisition….
I started deejaying in college, after putting on some terrible 80s parties I found I had a knack for knowing what people wanted to hear and when. Playing in the bar in south London also informed me a lot on the art of deejaying. The crowd was one half young, excited, wannabe trendy ‘kids’ and the other half drug dealing, weed smoking ‘man dem from Bromley’. Every month I had to somehow please both of them. I had to try and present new music to the audience while keeping it in a context they understood. Towards the end of the residency the parties had really grown into something amazing, friends from Sheffield would come down and play and I was proud of what I had created.
Working with music involves more than just ‘music’, the other half of presenting something decent is spending a great deal of time and consideration on things like marketing, identity and visual appeal. We started just as the Myspace boom was in full effect and a large part of our success is down to having a nice looking homepage. My experiences with graffiti taught me that nothing is ever good enough and I take it with me in most avenues of my life. I am always wanting to better what I have done and am rarely satisfied with my output.
Now and then….
Changing my surroundings and moving constantly made me very restless, I found it hard to concentrate on things for a long period of time (I still do) and regularly took up new ‘projects’ only to dash them after a few days to look for something new. School life wasn’t particularly bad, I had no time for studying and less time for exams although I didn’t do too badly. The mantra I heard most from my tutors was ‘has potential but too lazy’ or something to that effect. I smoked weed at lunch times and got drunk on wine from time to time but generally stayed within the lines and on the straight and narrow (and I guess I still do).
Why he thought he could….
Seeing a crowd go crazy for your choice of music is a great thing. I had glimpses of it when I first started deejaying and it became an obsession of sorts, always wanting to recreate that ‘special feeling’. I was surrounded with music as a child – my father loves music, plays the guitar, banjo and other odd instruments. I think I have a musical ear and know how certain music can affect people. Plus, Nat and I have a good connection when it comes to music – when we play together we can read each other and the crowd very well.
Projects….
At the moment we are making a lot of remixes, the last one we made was for Groove Armada. With ZDS, there is a constant stream, we are always making music, making remixes, making mixtapes, updating, downloading, cutting, pasting. Aside from that I am making my own music and concentrating on a few things for the future.
Pros and cons….
I love having the freedom to do what I want when I want. I have never been able to work for other people as I am too much of a control freak. Working within a creative field and getting paid for it is a dream. Meeting new people and seeing the world is a bonus.
I dislike the traveling and the anonymity of hotel life. Being away most weekends makes it hard to enjoy a ‘normal’ life and I miss doing simple things like having a drink in a bar or going to a club without worrying about having to catch a plane the next day. I am a homeboy and enjoy reading newspapers in bed and having nice, slow breakfasts with my girlfriend.
Encouragement….
I never received any strong encouragement but at the same time I never experienced any discouragement from them. My mother would stand by anything I do and my father has taken some convincing but I think he is proud of the decisions I have made.
Familia….
My family are all free spirited, lefty types without being hippies. My mother teaches Yoga, my father is a woodcarver and my step mother is a homeopath, I also have a half brother and half sister. I have never experienced a ‘normal’ 2.4 child family set up where the father works in a bank and the mother is simply a housewife. As I grew up I yearned for this kind of security and would be jealous of other friends and their pretty houses and two car garages but looking back I am thankful for how I was raised. A lot of my friends have no horizons when it comes to doing other things, content with staying in the same place they grew up in. I am glad I have this desire to explore and create as it has given me some very cool rewards and allowed me to see different places and meet different people.
Best advice….
I was going through a tough ‘what i am doing with my life’ stage a few years ago and my father asked me to write down my goals. Physically seeing them in front of me made them somehow more tangible and attainable.
Collections….
I used to collect photographs of graffiti but then the internet killed the culture. At the moment, I am collecting bouncy balls, simply for the way they look.
A few of his favourite things….
Josephine. Berlin. My bicycle. Vans Shoes. Depeche Mode. Panorama Bar. House Music. Techno Music. Wallpaper magazine. Touch Grind. My sofa. Cy Twombly. Pica Pica. King Kong. Stimming. Devo. Clint176.
Websites….
Apart from the obvious (FB/MS/GM, etc, etc) I visit Prolly is not Probably regularly and soak up all my cliché hipster bicycle news. It’s run by a guy in New York who’s an architect, has a french bulldog and knows a lot about bikes.
Pica Pica is run by my friends in Leige, Belgium. They are probably the most creative people I have ever met. I am insanely jealous of what they do and would love to be like them when I grow up.
wiki/music provides me with free music. I am terrible when it comes to buying music, my record shopping days ended years ago. Nowadays I lazily procure the web for freebies. It is not uncommon for me to illegally download my own music.
VSTclub is a site for producers to download synths, music and sample libraries. It’s amazing how much material is available on the internet. I keep telling myself I should buy certain products but cannot find the motivation to do so.
Resident Advisor is like the Eastenders of Dance music. There is so much gossip going on on that site. I regularly check it to stay up to date with who said what and what thingy did.
Relaxation….
Drawing and painting resets my brain after I get worked up about things. When I draw I find myself being able to think more clearly about my life. Although I am in love with the idea of being an ‘artist’ I don’t consider what I do art when I do it. And I do not conceptualize the things that come out. I also ride my bike when I feel stuck creatively. The endorphins usually kick in and help out where they can. And embarrassingly enough, cleaning helps me relax. I have a slight OCD complex when it comes to my workspace being just right and can usually concentrate better after a bit of hoovering and dusting.
Back in time….
I don’t think it would be wise to do anything differently as you have no idea how it could affect the future. I have done most things I have set out to do and more importantly I am happy in the life I have.
Inspiring people….
My father inspires me with his determination and his stubbornness. He taught me a lot about being strong and standing for what you do. My girlfriend inspires me with her positive energy and strength. I often complain of the late nights and crazy travel schedule but then look at what she is doing and what she has done and it all pails in comparison. She is one of the hardest working people I have ever met.
Plans….
To streamline everything in my life and make moves to secure things for the future, get rid of the things I don’t want in my life and keep hold of things I do. Next year I am starting a record label with my agent here in Berlin and plan to put time and energy into that. I want to keep on traveling (maybe just a little less) and keep on trying to do what we do as well as we can do it. Buy a new frame for my bike and maybe make some lunch.
Dream life….
My dream life started when I met Jo. I still to this day do not know what I did to deserve her and am constantly amazed at how in love I am with her. Add a baby, a small dog and a successful record label to the mix and you pretty much have everything right there.
Advice…
Write down your goals!