Jimi Lucid's Infinite Lush
Who is Jimi Lucid, and how did that name come about?
As a kid I always had much more fun in dreaming than anything else. I had a very intense and powerful connection to lucid dreaming when sick, I was bedridden for 7 months as a child because of this illness. Sometimes I would spend all day excited to go sleep and have adventures in sleep.
How long have you been making music?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, but started producing and making music about 5 years ago.
Were you in the process of creating an album this year already or did the current times evoke the necessity of putting the tracks down?
I started Infinite Lush in late 2018 and I always felt this yearning to find a place where I could be accepted fully, a place free from others' preconceived notions of me, and the historical weight of being Black in America. I wanted to think about complete liberation as an experience, what does it sound like to be completely free from the things that limit us? How would I want the world to be? How could we create a world that worked for all people? I think being able to envision that world is the first step of bringing it into reality. The uprisings gave the album some urgency and led me deeper into these concepts. At base these feelings are universal and deeply tied to all my music.
Where did you record this album? What did it look like? I want to picture you in your element and I feel like your element is totally groovy.
I recorded the whole album from my apartment and a lot was made in isolation, but also a lot of collaboration with friends remotely. I love experimenting sonically, I like to jump from just making something weird and psychedelic to adding a bunch of structure then breaking it down again. Later in the album I started a consistent meditation regiment which was a pivotal moment for me.
Given this consistent meditation regiment, what was the overall essence of this creation for you?
I found my flow through this album, I really tried to create a ritual of making music everyday. I think it can be hard if you have an off day, but focusing on doing what you can in the moment even if it's small eventually adds up and leads to those epiphany moments. I was slowly building all these ideas and once I was quarantined I lasered in and filled everything out. This project gave me purpose.
Where does ‘Infinite Lush’ come from?
I wanted to describe the feeling of complete annihilation and limitless freedom in the present moment. The name sounded like a drug or a great name for a sci-fi film.
What in general does the process of creating an album look like for you?
For me, my albums usually start as a feeling that I carry with me and that slowly grows into sonic experiments or glimpses of visual ideas. I tend to flesh out what I am feeling with research and immersion in art, movies, architecture, and music. I need to be completely overloaded with new information. It can be very hedonic, I get very addicted to the stream of images, sounds, ideas. Then I cut everyone off and work, and I become very selective about the things I take in. I think of music like storytelling or a movie, I imagine the locations, the character arcs, the conflict, the climax and the ending. I think the details are important, even the ones that only exist for me in the music. To me an album is a world that I get to build.
What were all the roles you took on in the creation of this album?
I wrote and produced on every track of the album and played guitar on a little over half of the album. On 5 tracks, I collaborated with a good friend of mine, Tobais, who was amazing to watch work and really opened my eyes to the power of collaboration when things really click. Also my engineer Ezra OST played a huge role in helping me develop the album sonically. This album was about experimenting for me.
You mention the nature of uprisings taking place currently. In your eyes what does that look/feel like to you?
The movement now is deeply connected to those who fought for freedom before us. A lot of these people have been doing this work for their whole lives. It's all interconnected. Being Black in America is a shared experience based in a tenacity, an ingenuity, and a furver to strive for a better existence on this planet, to finally be liberated. Black people have the amazing ability to dream and fight to push the boundaries of what our society deems possible, I see this realized in my generation once again. I think we are the growing branches of the tree that have been growing towards Black liberation. We are collectively dreaming of the blossoming of the flowers.
Ah, I love that. With that being said, who and what are some things that are giving you inspiration right now? Are you on the guitar?
I started playing guitar seriously during quarantine, it was amazing to have as an outlet during such a difficult time. No matter what, I would wake up and play for a few hours everyday. It really kept me focused and away from constantly getting sucked into the news or worrying about so much outside of my control. I was really inspired by the collective learning and growth I felt from people in my community. So many free resources, book clubs, information being shared. To be honest this album is the kind of work I have been trying to make for so long so I was very inspired by the work itself. The music kept me going.
Who has given you (in the music lane) the momentary freedom you hope to bestow on to others?
So many people. Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, My Bloody Valentine, Hendrix, Tears for Fears, Kid Cudi, Sun Ra, Arthur Russel, Coctea Twins, and more... I could list hundreds. I think the music I listened to as a kid really opened that experience to me, those moments when you feel the world so intensely and you hear music wash over you and makes you feel understood and safe. Nothing else matters but the music and the intensity of what you're feeling in those moments. I really want to replicate that feeling but to the extreme, when you are so raw in the moment almost like an ego death.
After this album is out, what do you hope to feel?
I hope I can feel happy… I also hope to feel space from it and hope it finds a home with other people.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I see myself living in a cabin making furniture, sculpture, and crazier music.
Similar to the, "Where do you see yourself in 5 years" question, I am curious. What would a younger version of yourself feel when hearing this particular album?
I thought about this a lot while making the album, I think growing up I heard a lot of uneducated people say alternative music, rock, electronic were white genres. Through this album I wanted to reclaim these genres which are historically black and reimagine what they would sound like in the future. I think my younger self/selves would be really excited to hear this, I feel like its music I could get lost in and really sounds like me.
What advice do you have for the creatives that read this interview?
I would tell them to trust their intuition. If you have an idea you love, cherish it and let it grow. Always stay open to change and do not limit yourself or allow others to shut down your light. What we deem possible can radically change the world. I also think it’s great to be honest about feelings, depression, and struggles in music but it is important to talk about the role of capitalism and systematic injustice in these feelings being so widespread.
Favorite song of yours on the album and why?
“Shreds” is my favorite song because it flowed out of me in a 3 hour burst. I started playing the chords on guitar and immediately a vocal melody slipped out of me and once I added the drums I freestyled to it and it felt so aligned with the sentiment I was trying to capture with Infinite Lush. To me it was one of the most non-judgemental and present moments I had working on the project.
