With passion for bass and a thirst for blood, Drop the Lime (DTL) weaves a baroque nighttime fantasy, riding the range from the ashes of rave into the dark heart of rock & roll for his new album due out this July on Ultra Music, Enter The Night. Combining the gun-slinging swagger of Ennio Morricone, the techno grandeur of Underworld, and the storytelling prowess of Johnny Cash, his music (like his life) is an epic adventure of mystery, heartbreak and magic. Read More...
The world knows Luca Venezia as a globetrotting DJ/producer and the founder of Brooklyn, New York’s Trouble & Bass label. As Drop the Lime, he’s been fearlessly casting spells over clubs and festivals around the world for years, as well as remixing the likes of Major Lazer, Robyn and Moby and producing for artists like, T. Mills, Spankrock and Bosco Del Rey. Venezia’s name is synonymous with dance music in New York – born and bred in Manhattan, the glittering, grimy pulse of the city is the main inspiration behind DTL’s now-infamous heavy bass sound.
Our protagonist is no stranger to clubland, but his new album Enter the Night reveals an obsession with rockabilly that’s been burning in Venezia’s heart since the age of seven. As influenced by Richie Valens as Richie Hawtin, the record finds Venezia marrying his blues guitar licks and unmistakably sultry croon to the sheer dance music wizardry that has become his trademark.
Enter the Night is an invitation to join him on a haunting and beautiful midnight ride, influenced by secret after-hours and underground speakeasies, by the back alleys of Bangkok and the absinthe-soaked voodoo dens of New Orleans. Although he hails from New York City, Venezia found his muse for Enter The Night in the city of New Orleans. “Darkness,” one of the main singles off the album, is fully dedicated to the Louisiana town. The vintage southern soul of the town shrouded in mysterious darkness and age-old voodoo had the musician captivated and inspired throughout the writing process.
“I visited New Orleans, because I’ve always heard things about it. I’d only been there once, to DJ, but I wanted to get away from the club world, get away from the discothèques,” says the minstrel. “I didn’t want any of that. I wanted to hear real music – real authentic jazz, authentic blues. When I went down there, I just immersed myself into all sorts of music.”
Guitar in hand, Venezia finished three cuts for the album while exploring the depths of The Big Easy. “What I’m really trying to say on the track is that this is an amazing, inspiring city – but I’m not the only one who is drawn by the dark and mysterious energy in the air. Other artists will go there and feel it. Whether they’re photographers, musicians or painters, everybody seems to have a certain magnetism there, which is really unusual and rare.”
Although Venezia’s hometown was out of sight during his Louisiana sojourn, it was never fully out of mind for the artist. Deviously offering, “I sold my soul and kept the receipt.” “Bandit Blues” happened because of New York City. “Being born there and having so much love for the city means I wear it on my sleeve,” says Venezia of Enter The Night’s first single. “It’s an incredible inspiration for me, but right now, it feels like there’s a lot of struggle going on with the economy and the people. The economy being a mess, politics being a mess – everything is a mess. The only way to really enjoy it is through music.”
Following the release of the album, Drop the Lime will traverse the world with his live show, a combination of dirty dive bar blues and hands-in-the-air club atmosphere that’s wowed audiences from SXSW to the Australian festival circuit. Black wingtips pointed due north, gold tooth glinting, Drop the Lime invites you to Enter the Night. Are you ready?
