Lucien Nicolet (born 24 February 1978 in

Montcherand, Switzerland Montcherand is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Jura-North Vaudois District, Jura-Nord Vaudois in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. History Montcherand is first mentioned in 1324 as ''Montc ...

), known mononymously as Luciano, is a Swiss and Chilean DJ and producer. He is a five-time

DJ Awards DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide. Held annually in Ibiza at the end of the summer season, DJ Awards has retained the same et ...

winner and ten-time nominee. He helped promote the underground electronic music scene in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. His DJ sets are strongly influenced by Latin American music. Luciano's initial style of

minimal techno Minimal techno is a subgenre of techno music. It is characterized by a stripped-down aesthetic that exploits the use of repetition and understated development. Minimal techno is thought to have been originally developed in the early 1990s by Detro ...

has evolved into a blend of

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

and

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

Personal life

Luciano was born in Montcherand, Switzerland to a Swiss father and Chilean mother. His father was a

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

repairman with a large record collection that was played at home. While part of his childhood was spent in Switzerland, musically it would not be as influential as the Chilean and Latin American sounds he would experience upon moving to

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...

at the age of eleven. His mother along with his sister relocated there after his parents' divorce. When he was twelve years old, his mother bought him a guitar, which was when Luciano's involvement with music began. He was the guitar player in a punk rock band at school until the age of sixteen. Not long after, he learned that electronic instruments such as sequencers and drum machines were replacing analog ones. After finding a French band called

Bérurier Noir Bérurier noir is a French punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk ro ...

that used drum machines in place of a drum set, his passion and interest in electronic music commenced. Luciano and his wife have 3 sons and a daughter. In 2007, Luciano moved from Berlin to a Swiss village near Geneva to spend more time with them. Luciano enjoys gardening, nature and being surrounded by it. At the beginning of his career, his

handlebar moustache A handlebar moustache is a moustache with particularly lengthy and upwardly curved extremities. These moustache styles are named for their resemblance to the handlebars of a bicycle. It is also known as a spaghetti moustache, because of its ste ...

was his signature image. In recent years, he has sported a hot pink streak in his hair.

Career

Influenced by the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

fathers of techno such as

Juan Atkins Juan Atkins (born September 12, 1962), also known as Model 500 and Infiniti, is an American record producer and DJ from Detroit, Michigan. ''Mixmag'' has described him as "the original pioneer of Detroit techno." He has been a member of The Belle ...

and Derrick May, Luciano took his dedication to electronic music to the clubs of Santiago, Chile. His friendship with Dandy Jack and his younger brother Adrian Schopf influenced his decision to DJ. At the time, Luciano DJed at clubs that he was too young to attend, sometimes even being hidden backstage during police raids. Although Luciano began DJing at the age of sixteen, he did not begin producing until the age of nineteen, in 1997. Throughout his youth, Luciano performed construction and other odd jobs in addition to his gigs to support himself. Starting from the ground up, he became involved in the small and still fledgling minimal techno scene by promoting and playing parties. In a city that was heavily grounded in

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, Luciano faced many problems carving the path for the electronic music events at local clubs. The owner at the club La Batuta, a popular rock venue where people would put out their cigarettes on the decks, gave Luciano the break he needed. Although his music was at first met with resistance, a year and a half later many of the club's patrons found themselves converted to techno. In his days of nurturing the electronic music scene in the Chilean club circuit, he would make ties with various prominent figures such as Dandy Jack (Martin Schopf), Adrian Schopf, and most famously,

Ricardo Villalobos Ricardo Villalobos (born 6 August 1970) is a Chilean-born German electronic music producer and DJ. He is well known for his work in the minimal techno and microhouse genres, and is one of the most significant figures in today's minimal techno sc ...

. Villalobos was a German resident of Chilean descent who would visit Chile often with Dandy Jack. Together they would play at the parties that Luciano threw, one of which was named "Encuentros con la Technocultura." When Villalobos remained in Santiago for six months, the two of them developed their friendship and became close. Together they would work on their musical project, "Sense Club," which Luciano described as "rhythmic electronic music." Luciano would later visit Villalobos in Ibiza for the first time for a month and a half. It is then when his intrigue with the island began, as he found that it not only exceeded all of his expectations, but served as a sanctuary for music as well. When Luciano returned, he continued to promote parties until 1999 when he would ultimately play Santiago's own

Love Parade The Love Parade (german: Loveparade) was a popular electronic dance music festival and technoparade that originated in 1989 in West Berlin, Germany. It was held annually in Berlin from 1989 to 2003 and in 2006, then from 2007 to 2010 in the Ru ...

, right before he left for Europe. In 2000, Luciano moved back to Switzerland to attend studies to become a sound engineer. Opportunities as a musician were running out for Luciano in Chile due to its geography and also in part to his unfinished education. He established a residency at Weetamix club in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

and released productions on Oliver Ducret's label Mental Groove Records. A year later, in 2001, Luciano would join the Cocoon team in Ibiza to play at the famous Monday night at

Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

. He was a core part of the Cocoon Ibiza party until 2006, when he began his residency at DC10, a club in Ibiza known for its after hours and

Circoloco Circoloco is a dance party that is held at the DC10 nightclub in Ibiza, Spain, as well as other various locations globally. Circoloco features musical artists from the genre of electronic music, house music, and techno, such as The Martinez Bro ...

party. Despite the fact that Luciano left to pursue his own parties, he still returns to Amnesia to play a few Cocoon parties each season. Luciano DJ2

Cadenza

Luciano often collaborated on music with his friend, Swiss DJ/producer Philippe Quenum. In 2002, they had two tracks, which they wanted to release. His sister Amélie, who was studying to be a graphic designer in Chile, designed the album cover for the tracks. Along with the cover, she designed the logo for their label name "Cadenza," which signifies cadence in Spanish. At the beginning Cadenza was supposed to be a short endeavor, a platform for releasing only a few tracks. Because of the huge success of their first EP with the track "Orange Mistake," Luciano and Quenum decided to carry on running the label. Currently there are approximately ten people working the day-to-day operations in conjunction with Luciano. His sister continues to do all the graphics for the label. Cadenza Lab records was created as the label's digital offshoot.

Æther Live

The Narod Niki project - which involved few DJs such as Dandy Jack,

Richie Hawtin Richard "Richie" Hawtin (born June 4, 1970) is a British-Canadian electronic musician and DJ. He became involved with Detroit techno's second wave in the early 1990s, and has been a leading exponent of minimal techno since the mid-1990s. He becam ...

Carl Craig Carl Craig (born May 22, 1969) is an American electronic music producer, DJ, and founder of the record label Planet E Communications. He is known as a leading figure and pioneer in the second wave of Detroit techno artists during the late 1980s ...

, Zip, Maurizio, Basic Channel, and Luciano himself - was a live laptop jam session. Narod Niki played infrequently over the years 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 and its performances usually had an assigned theme to them. In 2009, after taking four years to complete, Luciano decided to escalate a multi-sensory experience of his own called Æther Live. The project involved label mates - Reboot, Mirko Loco, Lee Van Dowski, and Digitaline - who each would play sounds using

Ableton Ableton AG is a German music software company that produces and distributes the production and performance program Ableton Live and a collection of related instruments and sample libraries, as well as their own hardware controller Ableton Push. ...

Live. Luciano would stand likewise to a conductor with his back to the audience, selecting which sounds would be ultimately heard by the audience. The musical symphony of five DJs and a percussionist was coupled with a visual aspect, where each sound had a denominated color synchronized. Luciano as well as Todd Graft and Loki of Micro Chunk controlled the visuals throughout the performance. Æther Live had eleven tour dates, with stops in Europe, Asia, and North America.

Ibiza

Luciano had always been partial to day parties and the vibe they entail, so in the 2009 summer season when DC10 went on a hiatus, throwing a free daytime party from 4pm to midnight on Wednesdays at a beach club owned by Yann Pissenem was the obvious move. Before Ushuaïa the hotel and club was built, Luciano had already known and worked with Yann, the owner, for quite some time. It was at first skeptical whether Ushuaia would succeed due to the Ibiza's regulations on daytime music parties. However, Ushuaïa proved a serious competitor for the clubs on the island, and Luciano would continue to hold his party "Luciano & Friends" on Thursdays. The free beach party turned into a successful venture featuring a new hotel and a pool party that sold 4-5,000 tickets each week with Luciano's help. In the summer season of 2013, the party was moved to Tuesdays. The party concept of "Vagabundos," which signifies vagabonds in Spanish, was created in 2010 by Luciano to showcase the artists on Cadenza's booking roster at Ibiza's famous club, Pacha. Samuel Guetta, former manager of Luciano and Cadenza, was the one who came up with the concept and appropriated it for Pacha. Its aesthetic was based on a traveling band of

gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

and performers, which was clearly communicated in their advertisement campaigns and party decor. The idea originated after a tour in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, where the Brazilians would call Luciano and his label mates "vagabundos sin futuros" or "vagabonds without futures" due to their lifestyle of partying late and constantly traveling. Luciano felt the name and notion was appropriate for bohemian air of his party. The following year, the company returned as Vagabundos 2.0, with a slightly different look. The party was successfully hosted at Pacha for three years and toured around the world. In 2013, the party was moved from Pacha to Booom! Ibiza for unknown reasons. Since the year of its inception, a compilation CD has been released each year after the season. Luciano mixed the first two; Argy and Andrea Olivia mixed 2013's Vagabundos CD.

Recent years

In February 2013, Luciano joined

and

Skrillex Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ and music producer. Growing up in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he joined the post-hardcore band From First to Last as the lead sing ...

participating in the program "Bridges for Music" in South Africa. Valentino Barrioseta, who is a long time friend of Luciano's, runs the non-profit organization that helps reach out to underprivileged communities via music. Luciano participated in the workshop put together in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, as a chance to show that music can be accessible even in remote areas. In May, Luciano, alongside his wife and sister, created the charity "One Coin For Life." His family's visit to the

Arhuaco The Arhuaco are an indigenous people of Colombia. They are Chibchan-speaking people and descendants of the Tairona culture, concentrated in northern Colombia in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Name The Arhuaco are also known as the Aruaco, Bi ...

tribe in Colombia, South America in April 2012, inspired the desire to do good. "One Coin For Life" supports smaller charities that help struggling communities receive the proper health and nutrition programs they need. It is empowered by the voice, awareness, and donations from the electronic music community. Later that year, in October, Luciano moved his family and label from Switzerland to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain. The move accomplished bringing work and family closer to Ibiza and allowed for the launch of his artist management company called Aether Artists. The agency is affiliated with Cadenza and boasts eighteen new and established artists, including Luciano himself.

Production

Luciano has had various projects and aliases throughout his production career. Besides working with Villalobos on Sense Club, Luciano also worked with Argenix Brito and

Pier Bucci Pier Bucci is a Chilean electronic music producer . He is known for his solo work and for his role in the groups Mambotur, Skipsapiens, Monne Automne and Bucci (with his brother Andrés ...

under the moniker "Monne Automne." The Lucien-n-Luciano alias is the softer side of his works, under which his first full-length album "Blind Behaviour" was released on

Peacefrog Records Peacefrog Records is a British independent record label based in London, England. The label produces releases in many different styles of electronic music, as well as branching out into folk and indie artists such as José González, Nouvelle ...

t in 2004. Martin Schopf (Dandy Jack) had always been a major influence on Luciano, and the two spent many weekends playing and making music together, resulting in the project Carabina 30/30. Under his main alias, Luciano has released on labels

Perlon Perlon is an electronic music record label founded in 1997 in Frankfurt, Germany, now based in Berlin, and run by Thomas Franzmann aka Zip and Markus Nikolai. It is a minimal techno and tech house label which has been characterised as one of t ...

and Mental Groove Records. His last album, "Tribute to the Sun," was released on Cadenza in 2009. Although Luciano was not in the habit and not a fan of creating mix CD compilations, he was approached by

SOMA Quality Recordings Soma Quality Recordings (or simply Soma Records) is an independent record label based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was co-founded in 1991 by the electronic music duo Slam, Dave Clarke and Glenn Gibbons. The label is known for releasing early works o ...

to mix Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi Volume Two. While at first he resisted the proposition, he finally conceded. In 2012, Luciano tried his hand at something new by collaborating with pop rock artist

Lenny Kravitz Leonard Albert Kravitz (born May 26, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter. His style incorporates elements of rock, blues, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, pop and folk. Kravitz won the Grammy Award for Best Male Roc ...

. The two performed together at the Ibiza 123 Rocktronic festival.

Discography

Albums

*2004: Blind Behaviour (Peacefrog Records) *2007: No Model No Tool (Cadenza) *2009: Tribute To The Sun (Cadenza)

Singles & EPs

*2000: Lucie, Tom et Clementine (Mental Groove Records) *2001: 1/2 (Mental Groove Records) *2001: 2/2 (Mental Groove Records) *2002: Amelie on Ice (Mental Groove Records) *2002: Capricciosa (Bruchstuecke) *2002: Future Senses (Klang Elektronik) *2002: Cadenza (Single), Where Is Here - A Mental Groove Compilation (Mental Groove Records) *2003: Alpine Rocket - with Mathew Jonson (Perlon) *2003: Orange Mistake/Funky Daddy - with Quenum (Cadenza 1) *2003: La Limonada de Pepe Bombilla (Mental Groove Records) *2003: Membrillo - Cabo San Roque vs. Luciano (Bruchstuecke) *2004: Funk Excursion - Luciano & Serafin (Cadenza 4) *2005: Bomberos/Octogonal (Cadenza 6) *2006: In the Spirit - with Thomas Melchor (Cadenza 11) *2006: Yamoré Remix (Cadenza 9) *2006: Stone Age -

Luciano, Lucien (Cadenza 2) *2006: Clara Ghavani Extended - with NSI (Cadenza 5.5) *2006: Silverbird Casino - with EAT (Diamonds & Pearls) *2007: Etudes Electronique (Cadenza 21) *2007: Fourges Et Sabres (Perlon) *2008: Family - with Mirko Loco (Desolat) *2009: Versus - with Guy Gerber / Lee Van Dowski & Glimpse (Cadenza 36) *2010: 10diez10 (Cadenza Lab) *2010: Introducing Light & Sounds (under Monne Automne) (Lofi Stereo) *2012: Rise of Angel (Cadenza 82) *2013: Cachai/Dance Unity (Cadenza 84) *2014: Into The Aether Part One (Cadenza 93) *2015: Luciano, Francesco Tristano - Amnesie (Original Mix) (Get Physical Music) *2015: Luciano feat. Jaw - 7direction(s) (Cadenza 105)

Remixes

*2003: Chica & The Folder - A Certain Track Schatulle EP (Monika Enterprise) *2004: Tim Wright - Thirst (Luciano's Dancehall Remix), The Ride EP (novamute) *2005: Memo - Silverspoons (Luciano Silverspooner Remix), KITCHENTOOLS EP (Lan Muzic) *2005: Argy - Love Dose (Luciano Remix), Love Dose (Pokerflat Recordings) *2006: Robag Wruhme - Wortkabular (Luciano Remix), Wortkabular (Remixes) (Musik Krause) *2008: Dave Aju - Crazy Place (Luciano Remix), Crazy Place (Circus Company) *2009: Kevin Saunderson - Good Love (Luciano's Good Love Remix), History Elevate Remixed (KMS Records) *2009: Minilogue - Animals (Luciano Remix), Animals (Cocoon Recordings) *2009: Loco Dice- Pimp Jackson Is Talkin' Now!!! (Luci Gets Loco Remix), 7 Dunham Place Remixed Part 1 (Desolat) *2010: Reboot - Uruana (Luciano Remix), Rambon EP (Cadenza 50) *2011: Ernesto Ferreryra - Los Domingos Vuelo A La Casa (Luciano Remix), El Paraiso De Las Tortugas Remixes (Cadenza 58) *2011: Recloose & Dwele - Can't Take It (Luciano Remix), Can't Take It (Remixes) (Planet E) *2011: Subflow - You Come And Go (Luciano Remix), You Come And Go (Technical Enemy) *2012: Mirko Loko - Gipsy-Q (Luciano Remix), Gipsy-Q (Memento, a record label founded by Idriss D) *2013: Rebelski - The Rift Valley (Luciano Remix) (Cadenza 88) *2014: Lopazz - Migracion (Luciano's Camaleon Remix) (Get Physical Music) *2014:

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

Für Elise Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor (WoO59, Bia515) for solo piano, commonly known as "Für Elise" (, ), is one of Ludwig van Beethoven's most popular compositions. It was not published during his lifetime, only being discovered (by Ludwig Nohl) 40 year ...

(DJ Luciano Club Remix) (LoudDjs) *2015: Popof - Words Gone (Luciano Remix) (Hot Creations) *2015: Jerome Sydenham & Rune RK - Can't Stop Not (Luciano Remix) (Ibadan Records) *2015: Basement Jaxx - Love Is At Your Side (Luciano Remix - Edit) (Atlantic Jaxx) *2015: Popof Feat. Arno Joey - Words Gone (Luciano Remix) (Hot Creations)

Mix Compilations

*2002: Live @ Weetamix (Max Ernst) *2003: Party News - Electro-House (DJ Beat Records) *2006: Sci.Fi.Hi.Fi. Volume 2 (SOMA Quality Recordings) *2007: Cadenza Contemporary 01 & Cadenza Classics (Cadenza) *2008: Fabric 41 (Fabric (London)) *2012: Vagabundos 2012 (Cadenza) *2012: Vagabundos (Cadenza Lab)

DJ Awards

Luciano has won the ''Best Tech House DJ Award'' 5 times and received a total of 10 nominations at the

. , - ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, Luciano , Best Breakthrough DJ , , - , 2008 , Luciano , Best Tech House/Progressive DJ , , - ,

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , - ,

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Luciano , Best International DJ , , - , 2011 , Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , - , 2013 , Luciano , Best International DJ , , - ,

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , - ,

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, Luciano , Best Tech House DJ , , -

References

External links

Official websiteResident Advisor page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luciano People from Jura-North Vaudois District Swiss emigrants to Chile Chilean DJs Swiss DJs 1978 births Living people Techno musicians Swiss people of Chilean descent Electronic dance music DJs