With our focus being on dance music, we’ve found that there are few better to glean inspiration from than artists and professionals as well. This week, we open our doors to burgeoning Australian producer, Luke Alessi.
Living in a time of global transition and uncertainty, mental and physical health take utmost precedence. It’s why we’ve been putting in extra hours to provide our industry readers with resources for doing so, while taking up new routines ourselves to keep sane and active.
Luke Alessi’s journey is just taking off; coming from a background in melodic house and techno, he’s already caught the attention of esteemed imprints like RADIANT., Ugenius, and RÜFÜS DU SOL’s imprint Rose Avenue, where he signed a remix.
He’s just made his foray to US shores as well, bringing driving brilliance to Desert Hearts Black with his brand new EP Hearing Noises, which you can find HERE.
Luke has always been into keeping in tip-top health, and enjoys helping others become better versions of themselves whenever possible. Keeping this in mind, we reached out to him to dole out some wisdom on what he’s been doing to keep clarity during the COVID-19 lockdown, and how others can do the same. Is your morning complete? Read on for Luke’s advice and find out!
REGULAR ROUTINE
I don’t really have a strict routine for my days, but I do think that having some structure – especially during these times – is really important. I like to wake up at roughly the same time each morning (about 7:30am) and have a cold shower (trust me, it’s a game-changer). Then I take my dog for a walk in the parklands near my house. The fresh air and movement is the best kick start my body needs and clears my mind. Then I’ll jump in the studio. Something I’ve recently introduced to boost productivity is putting my phone in another room and setting aside the first 4 hours of my workday for music production.
I heard somewhere recently that the average human mind has about 4 hours of effective ‘will power’ before it starts to fatigue. So to ensure I get the most out of myself I’ve had to prioritise what’s most important: making music. So that’s no emails, no Facebook, no calls until after that’s done… they can all wait. Of course, I’m not a machine. I also make sure I give myself down-time to be away from my computer screen and take breaks every now and then by going outside or making myself a cup of tea.
For me, taking care of my mind and body go hand in hand. I like to start my day with meditation or breathing exercises when I can. This helps to clear my mind, let go of anything I was holding onto from the previous day and visualise any problems I may encounter throughout the new day so that all the ‘mind junk’ is dealt with and I can be as present as possible for as long as possible (not always easy).
I’m super fortunate to have a small home gym with a bench press, treadmill and some weights which is fantastic, but with being inside all day due to lockdown I try my best to get outside and incorporate some yoga and stretching into my routine. I’ve recently also been getting really into bike riding as a way of exercise with no access to local gyms!
Luke Alessi
I try to make sure I have a balanced diet to keep my energy and immunity up. I’m lucky to come from an Italian family so we always have delicious home-cooked meals. As well as that, I have a few superfoods and protein supplements from Activated Nutrients that I take daily. I don’t eat meat so having a plant-based protein powder, probiotics and other nutrient-dense powders really help in keeping me feeling on top of my diet.
These are really strange times that we’re living in. Not being able to get out to venues, listen to music with friends and just vibe out has been challenging for my inspiration and motivation at times. Creativity is definitely not something that you can force. However, if I ever do feel stuck or uninspired, aside from some of the mind and body stuff I’ve mentioned, I try and mix it up in the studio. By that I mean, not having an end goal in mind. Jam out with some of my hardware synths, play with new styles, genres, watch some tutorial videos on plugins that I have and try to learn something new.
All these little things just help take the pressure off and help clear up some space for creativity to start flowing again.
With us being cooped up inside all the time right now, the importance of having a clean working space is essential for me. A clean space just helps you think clearly and if it’s not too cold, I prefer to work with my blinds and windows open to get as much light and fresh air as possible in during the day. All these things definitely help set up the perfect environment for creating music.
Luke Alessi’s Hearing Noises EP on Desert Hearts Black is available HERE
Connect with Luke Alessi: Facebook | Instagram | SoundCloud
