Modern Morals: Conversation with Luca Cazal
Hello, could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us how your journey in music began?
My name is Luca Cazal. I’m a musician, DJ, producer and writer . I’ve been making music professionally for over two decades, but my journey started when I was a kid, playing piano and guitar. I began playing in bands and buying records around the age of 14, released my first record at 17, and started touring internationally in the early 2000s with my band Cazals.
Around 2006, we signed to the Parisian label Kitsuné, and that’s also when I started DJing professionally. From there, the move into electronic music around 2008 felt like a very natural progression from what I was already doing.
What was the creative process behind Modern Morals? Were there any defining moments or influences during its development?
The creative process around the Modern Morals EP started at the beginning of last year. I had been releasing music as LVCA for the previous four years, more on an Italo, electro, synth-pop tip, and I got a bit tired of that sound. I felt like going back to my roots in house music.
So I started jamming quite quickly, using the MPC2000 as the brain, working with samples and sequencing some of my 80s synths. Everything came together pretty fast. When I’m inspired, I tend to work like that, very instinctively, without overthinking.
The title track, Different Morals, is actually a remake of one of my first house tracks from 2010. I reworked it for a live gig I had at Output in Barcelona, mostly just for fun, without thinking too much about it. Then I played it to Maxime at Airfunk, and that’s really how the idea of an EP came together.
I hadn’t made house music in a few years, so there was a fresh energy in those sessions. The whole EP was done in about a week, maybe a little more.
I think the defining moment was the first time I played the new version of Different Morals at Output in Barcelona. I was playing before Jamie Jones in front of around 2,000 people, and I opened with it.
It’s a 15-year-old track, and the crowd was quite young, so I didn’t expect people to really know it.
But as soon as the vocal came in and the bass dropped, the place went off. Afterwards, I got a lot of messages from people saying they were surprised to hear it again.
That was definitely the moment that made me feel like it was the right time to bring it back and introduce it to a new audience.
Are there any records or artists you consistently return to for inspiration or comfort?
For comfort, definitely The Smiths.
I find a lot of comfort in the melancholy, but also in the excellent songwriting and the guitar playing.
Depeche Mode is a very close second. Again, incredible songwriting, and I really love the darker tone of those late ’80s, early ’90s records.
On the production side, one of the artists I’ve referenced a lot over the years is Morgan Geist, also Spencer Kincy for the more housey stuff.
But there are many, and it really depends on the moment.
For this record in particular, I wouldn’t say there was a specific producer I was consciously referencing. It was more about a feeling, I was listening to a lot of late ’90s, early 2000s house, especially US records with heavy percussion, congas, that kind of groove. That definitely fed into the sound of the EP.
If you had to describe your sound in three words, which would you choose and why?
Emotive, instinctive, and tactile
Thanks a lot!
PRESS RELEASE
A1. Different Morals (Luca Cazal's Re-Shape)
One of the standout tracks of the early 2010s, and a breakthrough moment for luca cazal (as Luca C & Brigante), ‘Different Morals’ gets a 2020s makeover.
Echoes of the now-classic original reverberate through Luca’s remake, with punchy beats and a tougher exterior bringing it into the present moment. Ali Love’s heartfelt vocals remain a key component, keeping the emotive element alive and well.
A nod to the past for those who were there at the time and a fresh new take for those who weren’t. Over a decade after it was first released, this new version demonstrates that ‘Different Morals’ is still a dancefloor essential.
A2. Make You Move
Make You Move’ brims with vibrancy. The catchy vocal is supported by a range of high-vibe layers, perfect for energising the dance floor.
B1. Let the Beat
Traces of Italo house are present throughout ‘Let The Beat’, where a retro feel merges with contemporary aesthetics.
B2. Ritmo del Aire
And, lastly, ‘El Ritmo Del Aire’ takes things a touch deeper with a heady rollout. Its enchanting melodies and subtle progression keep you locked all the way to the end…
