Swiss-Colombian producer Luca Durán has been releasing music for over 10 years, previously under the alias Look Like on labels such as Clone’s Royal Oak and Mistress Recordings. In 2019, he ditched the moniker to start releasing music under his own name with the first release ‘Circunvalar’ – a personal tribute to the analogue innovation and body music of the 1980s. Since then, he has continued the output on his own label Akoya Circles as well as an EP on Colombian label TraTraTrax where he explores more diasporic soundscapes, leaning into slow, chugging dembow rhythms.
The release was followed up last year with Luca’s debut album ‘Libertas’ which he started working on in 2019 during a family visit to Colombia where there was an eruption of protests against police brutality. Then we were in lockdown and Luca, back in his studio in Amsterdam, started exploring themes of liberty and autonomy, leading to an album of magical realism, somewhere between the echoes of club culture and the influence of Latin American writers such as Octavio Paz and Gabriel García Márquez. There’s a sense of vulnerability in his work, transparent as you listen through ‘Libertas’ where the energy builds over the course of the record and explodes in the title track.
Where on the album Luca focuses on more exaggerated, moody vibes, for his contribution to our mix series he describes the selection as ‘a smoothie of riddims, tempos and sound colours’. The hour long session shows a new bright light to Luca’s orbit, stepping away from the intensity of his productions as he pieces together tracks from the likes of Huerco S., Kouslin, Ido Plumes, Mata Disk, Rhyw and more.
‘Libertas’ by Luca Durán is out now via Akoya Circles – buy here.
Tracklist:
Huerco S. – Plonk
10Xades – Zins (Thoden Remix)
Spidernest – Lastlaff
Kouslin – Racket
Low Jack – Virgin Traff 22
INVT – Rompe Caderas
Asa-Chang & Junray – Hana
M.E.S.H – Imperial Sewers
LWS – Corrupt
Rhyw – Bee Stings
Mata Disk – Rez
Klahrk – NuNegative (Ehua Remix)
Ido Plumes – Albeit
Poly Chain – Cloud Animal