an eclectic journey into downtempo and GROOVE-slathered slow jams.

Respected Sydney DJ and vinyl aficionado Daniel Lupica steps up for Lazydaze.39 with an encyclopedic excursion into feel-good rhythms.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Can you tell us a bit about your journey into music, record collecting and DJing? What’s your earliest musical memory? My musical roots definitely didn’t come from my parents or what they listened to. I was influenced at one point by my older brother who was into hip-hop and I followed suit in my early teens and started getting into electronic music by around age sixteen as he was going more alternative. My first introduction to house music was when I was eighteen, then a few years after that was when I took the plunge and bought my first records back when Surry Hills and Darlinghurst had a record shop on every corner. My earliest musical memory from when I was a kid isn’t of any interest, but my earliest profound musical memory that has stuck with me was the first CD I bought in the mid 90s, which was The Score by The Fugees.

You have quite an impressive record collection. What are two of your most treasured pieces of vinyl? That’s a tough one! I treasure quite a few for so many different reasons, but if I had to choose only two they would be…

1. The Dynamic Upsetters - Tricky Chic

2. Dreamscape - Can You Dance / Living Dream

Both quite rare and very interesting/special pieces of music!

Your lazydaze mix is wonderfully eclectic. How did you decide to approach it? Was there a concept? No concept, I just tend to pull my recent purchases together and when I come to make mix I just pick and choose from there. So the eclecticism comes from how I buy my music and then I just try make it flow all together. I did try to keep the mix to be mainly cheap and easy to find records - most of them can be found on Discogs for a fiver or less.

Are there any particularly special tracks or moments in there for you? My favourite moment is probably the tune that comes in around 45 mins (coming to my Youtube channel soon) which then segues into Dr Alban’s ‘No Coke’. Both are on the downtempo tip but have hard hitting bass lines with a slightly cosmic feel.

What’s on the cards for you DJ wise in the near future? I'm excited to be back at Tokyo Sing Song this Friday for the first indoor dance since re-opening (brought to you by Picnic of course). Some casual rotations at Alberto’s Lounge, Café Freda’s and Picnic Social over the summer. And a set for UNDR Ctrl at Club 77 in January. I’m currently trying to get a venue in the mix to be able to host some regular parties with myself and Mike Who to play some B2B all-nighters. 

It’s Sunday afternoon at home. What album are you putting on? For something like this I’d go for an LP that is great start to finish, so probably Lonnie Liston Smith’s Love Is The Answer.