The Berlin-based DJ, producer and vocalist LSDXOXO reflects on how clubbing has contributed to his own personal development
I’ve got Philly-born musician LSDXOXO’s new album DGTL ANML playing through a tab on my computer, and feel like I’ve just taken a tab of acid. As four-on-the-floor techno bass thumps reach an almost palpating pitch, and dirty thoughts are whispered directly into my ear (“I’m a freaky sleaze, jack my body to the beat”), I swear I can smell the warm air of a windowless nightclub, and practically see the red-tinted smoke rising out of my laptop. DGTL ANML is a club night in WAV form, and it’s certainly not the kind that ends at midnight.
“The title of this mixtape speaks to both sides of the LSDXOXO coin,” the 33-year-old tells Dazed. “There’s a part of my artistic persona that is very URL in essence, and would be happy pretty much living in the studio – a techie and a bit of an introvert.”
That’s the ‘digital’ aspect, but LSDXOXO is without doubt a party animal throughout the project, finding an almost spiritual purpose in clubbing. “My gravitation towards dance music came pretty early on, [it’s] the perfect canvas for queer expression,” he explains of his early years producing dance edits from his bedroom in Philadelphia. “In my early teens, I had this pure and childlike fascination with taking pieces of music that sparked my interest and using them as a tool to express myself in a way that I hadn’t been able to verbally at the time.”
In the years following, LSDXOXO honed in on this fascination with the freedom that dance music gave him. He moved to New York and, later, Berlin, connecting with likeminded producers across the dance universe and discovering the sex-positive club environments of Europe. It was during this journey that the self-proclaimed ‘introvert’ gradually gained the confidence to move away from sampling and insert his own lyrics into his compositions.
“[Before], I’d generally have features or samples of other artists’ voices in pretty much everything I released,” LSDXOXO recalls. “I made the decision to work differently for some time, focusing more on my own vocals and songwriting, as well as incorporating my own original synthesis and natural instrumentation.”
DGTL ANML is the culmination of these developments, transitioning from a producer to a musician outright, and paying homage to the collaborators who helped him along the way. The project assembles a team of nightlife Avengers throughout its seven tracks, including features from British DJ-vocalist SHYGIRL, Berlin club legend Boys Noize, Swedish singer-slash-dominatrix COBRAH, and more.
“This period of my career feels like the product of my applying what I’ve learned in that shift to where I began sonically,” reflects LSDXOXO. “DGTL ANML is basically a snapshot of who I am right now as an artist alongside some of the people I became close with in that journey.”
Below, LSDXOXO unpacks the new era that upcoming album, DGTL ANML, releasing June 13, marks in his career.
Hey LSDXOXO! Where’d your name come from?
LSDXOXO: It came from when I first began experimenting with production in my early teens, I didn’t have the intention to build an artistic persona that would carry me into adulthood, and eventually a career. I just had this pure and childlike fascination with taking pieces of music that sparked my interest and using them as a tool to express myself in a way that I hadn’t been able to verbally at the time.
At that age, the concept and aesthetic of psychedelia seemed to pique my interest. I think it was the idea that in being experienced it could have the effect of altering or even heightening your perception of reality. I had the desire to make music that could perhaps do the same.
Seems like you’ve assembled the clubbing Avengers with this project, what was the thought process here?
LSDXOXO: My process used to be quite different in my earlier work. I’d generally have features or samples of other artists’ voices in pretty much everything I released. I made the decision to work differently for some time, focusing more on my own vocals and songwriting, as well as incorporating my own original synthesis and natural instrumentation.
This period of my career feels like the product of my applying what I’ve learned in that shift to where I began sonically. DGTL ANML is basically a snapshot of who I am right now as an artist alongside some of the people I became close with in that journey.
From the bed springs sounds on ‘RED’, to your steamy lyrics (‘I believe in having sex’), this project is pretty sexual, right?
LSDXOXO: This project is certainly one of my most explicit to date. Honestly, it’s a bit of a reaction to how I’m perceived artistically. My most popular music is the dirtiest stuff in my catalogue, so I think that part of my aura tends to resonate with the people that listen to my music. The connection I’ve got with them is like an exchange from my viewpoint, so I’m just pouring that energy back into what I create. Sex has always been a taboo subject pretty much globally, and it tickles me because we simply wouldn’t exist without it.
People often turn to partying more in times like these, mostly as a form of escapism. The community I’ve found since I began clubbing is uplifting in those moments when society isn’t
How did clubbing in Berlin compare to in the States?
LSDXOXO: Europe and the States really do offer such different clubbing experiences. There’s a level of production value and attention paid to the technicalities of sound in Berlin that I’ve perhaps only seen in cities like New York. Berlin also has a different level of sexual liberation that often shows itself in its clubbing experiences. Sex positivity in nightlife seems to be more of a new thing in [the US], whereas it’s been a pretty crucial part of Germany’s for quite some time. I’ve got a few memories that illustrate this quite vividly, but perhaps I should keep those to myself!
Being back in the US now, has the recent political situation strengthened or threatened your will to party?
LSDXOXO: People often turn to partying more in times like these, mostly as a form of escapism. The community I’ve found since I began clubbing is uplifting in those moments when society isn’t. For that reason, it’s crucial to protect night life. There’s sort of an unspoken takedown of nightlife spaces happening globally over these past few years that can be quite disheartening. Effectively protecting these spaces can be quite a hard battle to fight considering the general lack of resources there are in clubbing communities.
DGTL ANML releases June 13.