Robert Baltosky and Neil Berry are just two normal dudes. They get starstruck, they play videogames, they talk about water bottle brands, they spend most months of the year making ravers melt away to their signature flavors of bass music… oh wait, maybe that’s not so normal. Known as BUKU and LUZCID, both artists are icons in the underground world of headbangers and all night parties. Presented by Badass Raves – East Coast connoisseurs of bass music backed bills and festivals – The Broadberry was packed with bass music fans from all around. From Luzcid’s psychedelic journey through the realms of all-encompassing dub to Buku’s taste for expertly curated and endlessly energetic trap and bass music, the dance floor remained packed as the evening flowed forward. After the show, we sat down with Rob and Neil to learn more about their fall tour and get a glimpse into the head of these two masters of the underground.
RaverRafting: “Were you friends before you started touring together or how does the process work?”
Buku: “We definitely knew each other but this is the first time having prolonged, like real time to chill which is cool.”
Luzcid: “It had been us kind of running into each other from time to time in a green room or through mutual homies and we would always say what’s up or talk about bullshit, but this is the first time we’ve really spent a whole lot of time together.”
RR: How does the process work for pairing up artists for a tour? Do you have a say or is it just your management?
Buku: “Well, I knew I was doing the fall tour and we were running through some ideas and Luzcids name came up and I was like absolutely.”
Luzcid: “Likewise, my manager just asked who I wanted to go on the road with this fall and as soon as Ron’s name came up I was stoked.”
RR: Coming off of festival season, what is the difference between playing large festival crowds and then coming back in the fall and playing small clubs and local venues?
Buku: “I’m still kind of in festival mode so I’ve been playing a fairly similar set that i’ve been playing at festivals. But it definitely depends on the place, so for some of these SFX (LiveStyle) festivals I’ve been trying to basically go as hard as I possibly can. But I think the club shows you have a little more freedom to kind of ebb and flow and go into bouncier or deeper sections too.”
Luzcid: “It also comes down to looking at your audience and when you have a festival it covers generally an entire region or an entire country or it’s an international crowd so you have to really look at that and be like “how can I please such a wide, broad audience?” Whereas with shows like tonight we both have a lot of touring experience in the area so we’re like “alright we’re doing Richmond, I know what fucking Richmond likes,” compared to playing Imagine Festival or something where it’s like ok what does the whole South East like?”
Buku: “When you start to get familiar with that stuff there’s definitive answers to questions like that. You eventually figure out what people like.
Luzcid: “It’s really cool because it also becomes like a personalized thing where you’re going back to cities and you make friends and you know what they want to hear”
RR: So what were your thoughts for getting your set ready for the Richmond crowd?
Luzcid: “Richmond goes fucking hard”
Buku: “Yeah they definitely like some smashers”
RR: So preparing for your shows, do you plan your sets together at all or do you just go for it?
Buku: “Yeah honestly we probably should have but we haven’t talked about it until just now… we were in the car for 5 hours yesterday talking about different types of water companies. We definitely weren’t talking about sets.”
Luzcid: “But yeah it’s been really cool that we have a lot of similar influences I feel like but not direct crossover that we’re like jumping into each other’s song.”
Buku: “Yeah there’s enough of a departure between us, I mean we share very similar vibes but I didn’t particularly think it would be an issue.”
RR: Neil, earlier you said that you were fortunate that you have a bunch of friends who hook you up with unreleased stuff – anyone you would like to give a shout out to?
Luzcid: “Oh yeah 100%, just for a few examples: Craz, DirtMonkey, DMVU, PROKO, Sayer, Liquid Stranger, Space Jesus.. I feel like an ass if I’m missing anyone but all of those guys have been blessing me with their latest and greatest. So if the set was great I can’t even take full credit for that because honestly it’s thanks to those guys that it is where it is.”
Buku: “Oh also Champagne Drip. We fucking love you Sam.”
RR: So you recently announced that your track “Ready 4” is being featured on the latest Madden, what does that feel like for you to know that your music is making its way out of the electronic scene and into the “real world?”
Buku: “So they don’t even tell the artist about the release until it happens but i’ve been completely elated over the last few days and since I’ve been able to announce it, and I’ve had plenty of time to think about it and the fact that my music is now immortalized in that game and how people are going to play that game for years and years, and so it’s just such a huge honor, i’m super super stoked about it.”
RR: Are you a video game player yourself?
Buku: “I am”
Luzcid: “It’s so awesome to think about original Nintendo 64 Tony Hawk – how fucking epic was that original soundtrack?”
Buku: “It seriously shaped my childhood”
Luzcid: “Exactly like the music that I make now was literally shaped by these games and it’s so cool to think that the music someone makes in 5 years may be because of the song they’re hearing on Madden.”
RR: So which one had the best soundtrack, Tony Hawk 1, 2, or 3?
Buku: “Oooh was it 2? Was that the one with the airplane hangar?”
Luzcid: “2 is most definitely the one”
RR: If you could link up with one artist from those early days, who would it be?
Buku: “So I’ve been asked this question before and I always have a hard time with it because I find that music is so timeless and I honestly don’t even know if I could stand next to an individual like that that’s made music that stands the test of time. It’s just so untouchable to me.”
Catch Buku and Luzcid on their fall tour:
Sep 02 Sun City Music Festival El Paso, TX
Sep 15 The Rex Theatre Pittsburgh, PA
Sep 15 Rex Theatre Pittsburgh, PA T
Sep 16 Studio @ Waiting Room Buffalo, NY
Sep 22 Imagine Music Festival Hampton, GA
Sep 29 Lost Lands Festival Thornville, OH
Sep 30 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, IL
Oct 26 Suwannee Hulaween Pre-Party Live Oak, FL
Oct 28 Something Wicked Music Festival Houston, TX
Nov 09 The Black Box Denver, CO
Connect with Buku:
https://www.facebook.com/bukubass
https://twitter.com/bukudatdude
https://soundcloud.com/buku
https://www.instagram.com/bukudatdude
Connect with Luzcid:
https://www.facebook.com/LUZCIDMUSIC
https://twitter.com/LuzcidMusic
https://soundcloud.com/luzcid
https://www.instagram.com/luzcid
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