Luci Ferrum is a Russian born multi-media artist who now resides in the Dominican Republic. Emerging from 2021 she set a goal for herself: create raw, emotive soundscapes all under the industrial banner. Her integrity speaks for herself; self-taught, digital instruments, and nothing but passion and sweat. The result is her current incantation and something you’ll learn about in this edition of INTRODUCING.
Give us a brief about your band. Who are you and what do you do?
Hi, I’m Luci Ferrum. I am a solo artist, originally from Russia but living in Dominican Republic for many years. My music is made of fragments of electro, darkwave, industrial and even some elements from trip hop, which makes it kind of fluid in between the genres. I love the freedom to create an almost theatrical experience through my music and bleeding, intense lyrics.
When did you first launch the project and how has it come along since?
I started too late in music. In 2021 I was 31 when I dared to try and poke around in Ableton. Since then, I have come a long way with great mentors and friends all around the world that helped me evolve and grow as a musician. My music evolution is fueled by very long personal journey, my demons and my psycho level of a workaholism. 2024 is the year where I consider my project to be officially launched. I released a few singles, switch to a new mix and master engineer, released an EP that was featured in On The Edge and had my international live performance debut in Bogota. I took a pause in releases, because I focused for a second to produce events in Dominican Republic in order to tap into and grow a goth/dark community here.
What bands and artists influenced you the most and why?
Not to sound too cliché but as a teenager I was impacted the most by Nine Inch Nails, Skinny Puppy, Rammstein, Portishead, Massive Attack and Einstürzende Neubauten. Particularly I pay a lot of attention to Reznor, both the way he composes music and the lyrics. For me it’s not about how harsh the vocals or sounds are, it is the poetry and tiny details that kick you in the guts.
If you could pick a single song from your discography to explain your music, which song would you pick and why?
It is rather difficult to explain my music. I am right in between being too soft for industrial and too raw for normies. In my music you can hear clear industrial drums, but then you hear piano or cellos, and in another one I will add a drum and base pattern or mix in some time signature that turns everything into a “Tool meets Portishead” tribute. But then, you can take absolutely any of my songs and it will have raw, intense and witty lyrics where I pour out pain and fears I hide inside of me.
What is your most recent release and what is it about?
Seed of Hope is another deep-dive into oneself. It sounds hopeless, although it speaks about hope that you should hold on to it even if it’s not hope but a seed, a possibility of hope. The vocal performance is intentionally contained and sounds fragile yet it expresses exactly what I wanted: sometimes being too tired to fight. It is about accepting that the life will have you sideways sometimes and that you need to leave behind quite a few things along the way.
Take us through your creative process. How do you compose a song from start to finish? Where do the ideas come from?
Well I got 35 years of stored trauma and bad decisions, which gives me an immense amount of fuel for my lyrics. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with feelings and start writing poetry to let it all bleed. For example my EP EXGF that was entirely fueled by my hate to my narcissistic ex husband, it was written during one of the periods where he was trying to mess my life again. So instead of crushing his skull I wrote some dope songs. Which is very therapeutic. And also very legal. Sometimes, on the contrary, when I open Ableton, I start off with a single sound and build around it to see where it takes me. This is very interesting process, because you flow with the music and both the lyrics and the performance are born naturally. It is almost a spiritual experience. But always, my subconsciousness throws some very raw feeling I have stored somewhere deep within.
What’s your current favorite song, band, or album within your scene? And vice versa, what do you enjoy the most that’s completely opposite of what you make?
As I am currently working with event producing both in Dominican Republic and Colombia, I have tapped into an incredible amount of emerging and more established bands and artists. I absolutely enjoy the vastness of the dark scene and I am very happy that it is growing and flourishing. To name a few: Noromakina, Noble Savage, Machina Dei, Owldisco, Parallel Visions, Lio Fuzz. Last two by the way are from Dominican Republic.
What is on the horizon for your project? Upcoming gigs, tours, merch, videos, etc. Name it, link it, show it off.
This year I am working on a few events in Dominican Republic and want to perform again in Colombia. I also absolutely need to make a first music video, we are currently working on budget, scenario and all the details to start shooting it in December. I also am working on growing a platform to help and push forward some other small projects that do amazing music. I believe a lot in community and I want our dark community in the Caribbean to grow and flourish.
