Lucy

Lucy is the nom de techno of Italian-born and Berlin-based Luca Mortellaro, one of the genre’s most exciting and ambitious DJ/producers. Since 2009, Mortellaro has focused his work through his own Stroboscopic Artefacts label, building an imprint and personal discography that has established itself as one of techno’s finest. Since the label’s debut, Lucy has found a home in Europe’s premiere nightclubs with regular gigs at Berghain and Corsica Studios, and been invited to tour the United States, Australia and Japan. In addition, he’s become a mainstay at internationally respected festivals like Sonar, ADE, Time Warp and Club2Club, where he has showcased his uniquely deep yet dancefloor-driven sound. Those who haven’t been able to see Lucy in person likely have seen him on Boiler Room or downloaded one of his mixes: He’s a regular guest on the CLR podcast, and has also put together immersive listening sessions for Resident Advisor, Electronic Explorations and mnml ssgs. Studio-wise, Lucy will release his second solo album in 2014 for Stroboscopic, following his critically acclaimed 2011 debut Wordplay for Working Bees. In 2013 he released a collaborative album with Speedy J via the imprint under the name Zeitgeber. He’s also had solo releases on Chris Liebing’s CLR and Luke Slater’s Mote-Evolver – two labels that have been a home for collaborative 12-inches between him and Xhin (CLR) and Silent Servant (Mote-Evolver) in the past as well. Both Bleep and The Wire, meanwhile, have asked him to contribute tracks for compilations, tastemakers clearly eager to hear more of the sound that he has become known for: a bewitching hybrid of analogue love and digital know-how. These dual interests are the core of Lucy. While he has one eye aimed at making people dance, the other often goes deeper and more abstract than his peers. In 2012, he was asked to perform at the Rossini Opera Festival – an honor bestowed on one electronic artist per year – where he remixed the celebrated composer live. (That performance can be found through the gallery, which released the results in a limited edition soon afterward as Rossini Recomposed.) In short, he’s a refreshing anomaly in a genre of singularly focused DJ and producers: A true artist. Words: Todd L. Burns