DJ Lukey Talks Being Part Of Stookie Sound, The Trap Music Phenomenon, & New Mixtape (INTERVIEW)

Young Trap Lords!

Stooki Sound is a London-based production and DJ duo on the come-up. On the verge of making a splash on this side of the pond when it comes to Trap Music, once you hear the dope sound that’s endemic to Stooki Sound – just check out their Soundcloud – you’ll become part of the mix that is their ever-growing eclectic fanbase.

GlobalGrind linked up with DJ Lukey of Stooki Sound to discuss the Stooki brand, their love for producers, new mixtape, and more.

Check out the exclusive interview below!

GlobalGrind: Where does the name “Stooki Sound” come from?

DJ Lukey: Basically, I started an art collective with two of my friends about two years ago called Stooki. And we started off making jewelry and apparel, as well as art installations. But I’ve always produced music and deejayed. Stooki is like a 360 degree brand, movement. I met Jelacee, and we teamed up together to become a production/DJ duo under the Stooki Sound name. Stooki Sound is one part of the Stooki movement.

Stooki Sound does Trap music, EDM/Hip-Hop…how does Trap Music in the UK differ from Trap Music in the U.S.?

The clubs definitely play all the U.S. Trap. But as producers, we try to mix in U.K. genres like grime, dubstep, and U.K. bass. The sound has a bit more of a grimier, darker sound to it. We mix those sounds with traditional sort of trap.

Do you think Trap music incorporating hip-hop with electronic is something that’s here to stay or do you think it’s a passing fad?

I think hip-hop is always evolving. It has its core sound, and it’s timeless. It’s always going to be a classic. The good thing about EDM/Trap is you can play in like a club environment, or places in Europe that are more like a festival atmosphere, and still has an impact in that way. It’s cool when genres combine, because you can appeal to a bigger audience.

When I was listening to the Stooki Sound tracks, you guys had artists like Kendrick Lamar in the mix. Do you have a favorite American artist? 

We definitely listen to Kendrick Lamar a lot for his lyricism, and the way he can jump on unpredictable beats. We listen to a lot of U.S. artists. We collaborated with Rome Fortune on a track. Heroes and Villains as well, on production. Yeah, definitely something we want to do is work with more U.S. artists.

That being said, do you guys have a favorite U.K. artist?

With the U.K., we’re more fans of producers. The rap scene isn’t that big…there’s a lot of good producers in the U.K. that make kind of experimental type of music: James Blake, dubstep producers like Skream and Benga who really pushed that sound from the underground…In England, you’re more fans of producers.

When it comes to Stooki Sound, what is it that you want fans to take away?

Our sound links with the visuals of Stooki the brand, and what we do…in our music, there’s a minimal sound, but it still has that hard impact. So it stands out in its own way. We always want fans to link the sound with the visuals.

What’s something about Stooki Sound that people know nothing about? Like a secret?

Some people don’t know we’re from the U.K. or that we’re a duo. That might be the second. A secret…maybe the secret’s so deep, I can’t even think of it. Well, the first time I met Jelacee, we met through his cousin’s birthday party. We started talking, and being that we both deejayed and produced, from there we made one collaboration track and it worked well. We decided to keep producing together, and deejaying.

So the chemistry was there initially?

Pretty much, and that was like September of last year. So it’s been a short span of time.

I know you guys are a movement, so as far as inspiration, what do you guys take inspiration from?

On the music side of things, I think Stooki as a whole, for inspiration we look at art collectives. There’s something called “The Creators Project,” which Vice and Intel do. It’s all about mixing music, art, and fashion into one output. That’s kind of like our inspiration, as well as youth culture. Stooki Sound’s music is made for a demographic that’s our age.

Let’s say you were stuck on a deserted island, and you had to have only three albums, what three albums would they be?

Dizzie Rascal’s Boy in da Corner, DJ Bonobo’s Black Sands, and for the third one, Missy Elliot’s Da Real World. From a production standpoint, when I heard Timbaland producing on that, it was a big inspiration to me.

So as a big fan of producers, is there a producer that you’re really into?

“TNGHT” which is Hudson Mohawke and Lunice combined. Hudson has done a lot with Kanye West, and G.O.O.D Music recently. They’re kind of like producers that we like because they’re experimental. 

Is Stooki Sound going to be experimental sometime in the future? You guys have a dope sound, but are you thinking about doing something different?

Yeah, definitely. We’re kind of known for making Trap music, but before that – separately – we were making lots of different genres. As we progress, we’ll show our spectrum of different sounds that we produce.

You have Turnt Up Vol. 1 & 2. Are there any other projects or anything upcoming fans can expect?

We have the new Geddit! mixtape coming out in the beginning of July. That’ll be available on ClubTapes.com. Then after that, we might release an EP. But right now, it’s the new Geddit! mixtape.

What can we expect from the Geddit! mixtape?

The mixtape is definitely influenced by the shows we’ve played in Europe. About three months ago, we played in Europe. Belgium’s really popular for bringing over Trap artists, Amsterdam, and Hamburg as well. There’s kind of like a party mixtape sound to it. But there’s different things in there: hip-hop and also U.K. based stuff. It’s a varied release.

Lastly, what is your favorite city you’ve been to?

Personally, New York is my favorite. It reminds me of London. It’s bigger. It’s more amplified. There’s similarities…definitely it’s my favorite.

Follow Stookie Sound on Twitter: @stookisound