We all know how rock music is supposed to make you feel, especially after decades of examples that saturate the picture. The melodies should soar. The drums should come crashing in. The heart should fill, almost involuntarily, with naturally inspired vitality. But Lucas Tadini's, "The Arsonist" is somehow different. Its arrangement is controlled and vast, with rounded drums tuned for maximal character and maximum propulsion. Sensuous steel-string guitars tickle at your curiosity as this subtle but effective detour dissolves into an immersive landscape blistering with an addictive electric guitar. Then the vocals grab hold of the wheel, modulating between harmonies and doubles of an imploring tonality that screams modern rock. The entire thing is a festival of distinguishing tones and textures, right down to the unexpected bridge that ducks into a sort of trap-adjacent side door of modulating filters and sustaining drums. The closest thing to bombast comes from this short breakdown, played into the low end of what sounds like a modulating filter. This gesture would register as a trivial event in a conventional rock production but presents enormous importance here. With extensive exposure to the west coast rock scene, Tadini emplores an aggressive hold over the panorama of all things implicative of the '70s golden era, while still introducing a newer coat of stimulating frequencies along with all the bells and whistles.
Listen to "The Arsonist" here.
Hey there, Tadini! Welcome to BuzzMusic! We're totally excited to be featuring your newest single "The Arsonist"! What were some crucial motivations you had to tap into for this song?
It all started right after I graduated from Berklee College of Music and decided to move to Los Angeles in 2018. It was around that time that I started to write the album, and The Arsonist was the first song I came up with. The song is about burning your “old-self” in order to start fresh, which talks about all of the changes I went through during that period of time, and it also symbolizes the beginning of my solo project.
Did you encounter any challenged when formulating the final design of this track?
The thing about the album is that I was involved in every step of the project. I wrote, produced, arranged, engineered, sang and played keys on all of the tracks. I have done all of these things before many times, but it was the first time doing it all at once. It is extremely challenging to put a record together on your own, but also an extremely rewarding learning experience. It is funny because now I don’t really see myself doing it any differently from now on.
When did you know you wanted to blend all your musical experiences together and translate it into what you are releasing today? Was it gradual, or was there a defining moment?
There was never a defining moment, it all just happened naturally. My music is just the consequence of all my musical and personal experiences
How have you grown as an artist and songwriter since you first started making music and how heavily influenced do you feel you are from your roots in Brazil?
I think I’m constantly growing as an artist and adding different things to my repertoire. I first started as a pianist but now I feel like I could never call myself that again. Or a songwriter. Or a singer. I just think of myself as a musician who’s always trying to learn something new. Among the things that are part of my constant growth is, of course, the music from my native Brazil. Brazilian music is probably what I listen to the most and that has played a very important part in who I am as a person and as a musician.
It was awesome featuring you here with us! What's next for you this year? What should we be keeping an eye out for this year with regards to your releases?
After The Arsonist, I still have two more singles coming up, which is then going to lead to the release of my debut LP, Collective Delusion. It is set to be released during the summer, but I won’t announce the date just yet. All I can say is that this is going to be the first of many.