RemixTheVideo Interviews LightsoverLA

by Adam Noffsinger on July 7, 2010

I recently had a chance to interview LightsoverLA, an up-and-coming electronic artist who transcends genre in a great new way. Twenty-four year old Stormy Logan does all the work himself, and he does it damn well too. Lately LOLA has been at the top of the Hype Machine charts; spitting out new remixes frequently (and ohhh there is more in the works). Be sure to check out LightsoverLA’s website, as well the page for his new label At Dawn We Rage, and his twitter!

Full interview + Downloads after the jump…

First of all, the OFFICIAL way to write out the name is LightsoverLA everyone! I know you have explained it before but for those who haven’t heard it yet, what is the meaning behind your name?

Basically I was driving down the road just thinking of random ideas for a name and Lights over Phoenix came into mind. If you do some research you’ll find out that we had some sketchy UFO stuff that happened over Phoenix a few years back. I didn’t really want to sound like a weird conspiracy dude or have too much in common with all that so I went with one of my favorite cities, LA. The spelling is just kind of my way of being different and unique.

Could you give us a little history lesson on the way LightsoverLA has evolved? You have alluded to others being involved and coming and going… it’s just you now, right?

I had the idea for [LightsoverLA for] a while, it was basically my way of dealing with a really bad situation in my life. Along the way I have had a few people collaborate with me on some ideas but none of them worked out as far as being full members. In the last six months I really took it to another level and started releasing a bunch of remixes and basically it just worked out better that I continue to do it myself.

Where did you get that great picture of the flaming car? Please tell me you did that yourself.

Dude…I wish I was that badass haha. I found that picture lurking around the nets somewhere and If I could remember where, I would give credit. So if your reading this person who set their car on fire and took a sick picture… please email me cause I want you to do pictures for me!

Your various tracks definitely play with a lot of different genres. I know some people seem to be having a fit about it; I think it’s great. I’m not going to assign your songs to different genres, but I would say you play with what would be conventionally referred to as house, trance, and dub-step at times. Your work embodies the current industry trend of music really becoming more of a genre mix bag, is that intentional on your part?

I love so many different styles of electronic music I wouldn’t feel content just doing one style. On a daily basis I listen to everything from house to dubstep to drum and bass along with some Paramore even, so I want that to show in my music. I think that artists like Diplo are pushing the genre barriers to the extreme and I want to be a part of that. In the end its 2010 and to stand out in music these days you gotta be doing something special and not be releasing the same record over and over again ya know?

You have alluded to starting a label with the mysterious “Travis”. How is that coming along? What can we expect with the new partnership? What is he going to bring to the plate that we can look forward to?

The label is actually going really well! We just got distro through Beatport and Juno along with iTunes and all that. The label is going to be called “at dawn we rage” and basically we want to bring more to it then just a “label”. We have plans for a blog, merch line, shows, as well as releasing tracks under ADWR [some of which are posted at the end of this interview]. And Travis is my dude, we have been working on stuff together for a while now and have big plans for ADWR. Basically, the label is a place for me and my friends to release the stuff we love and have a good time. I have enough knowledge of the music business to do this right so I figure why not do some work and make it happen?

You say you have some deep metal/rock roots, will we ever see that surface more in your work?

Actually when I get the time I want to start recording more metal/hardcore stuff again. The main reason I stopped playing in bands was cause I could never find four other dudes on the same page as me, but with computers and all that I can record a whole record myself. I just need the time to do it though.

So, you have two Myspace pages… which one should we be directing our viewers to? I’m going to assume it’s the one with 37,000 pageviews!

The main reason I did that was because in the beginning I had so many people trying to find me with different names so I got a myspace under lightsoverlosangeles as well. I did the same with the .com as well just in case.

Have you considered consolidating all your remixes into a mixtape and distributing that?

Actually working on that right now, it will feature some new stuff I’m working on along with some ideas I have that aren’t quite finished yet.

There’s been some whispers about an EP in the making, have you started work on it? Is it going to be similar to the style we have seen, or is there something new in the works?

Ok… I have been saying for a while that there is an EP in the works and yes I have tons of tracks that I want to release. I am a huge critic of myself and a perfectionist when it comes to my originals, so it is taking me a bit to put stuff out. I just need to stop being lame and put the damn thing out. So yes it’s in the works and it will feature a broad range of styles!

Out of all your tracks which one would you choose to be your poster child if you had to pick?

I think every remix I have done in the last 4 months has really kind of been a good idea of what I want to do. My personal favorite is probably the Deadmau5-Some Chords remix just cause I am a huge Deadmau5 fan (don’t make fun haha).

Name 3 dope DJ’s our viewers should check out that they probably haven’t listened to yet.

Pance Party is killing it right now. They are a part of the booking agency I am currently working with.

The latest Skrillex EP is totally ridiculous and it is free you can download it off his website.

And Netsky’s latest record is beyond amazing. One of the best records of the year and he upped the dnb game on so many levels.

When can we expect your next drop and how excited should we be?

I got a few official remixes in the works that should be out in the coming weeks on top of a mixtape featuring some things I am working on. I also have a few shows in the works in California and working on more tour dates. SO if you’re a promoter please drop me an email!

You have made it well known that you use Ableton, what made you choose to use that software? Do you think it gives you an edge in some areas?

I chose Ableton because every producer I looked up to was using it. I used to sit on youtube/forums for hours reading tutorials and everyone said great things about Ableton. And I think Ableton gives me an edge live because I can do a lot more with effects and what not…and I don’t have to worry about beat matching

Thanks again to LightsoverLA for the interview! Here are a few of my fav tracks, plus a new one from At Dawn We Rage!