LLusion Shares His Creative Processes, Inspirations, and How He Rose To Fame On TikTok
Samantha Colleran, April 2022
LLusion is an Orange County born and raised artist making waves in the lofi world and in the world of remixes. Completely open about his creative processes and an artist who isn’t afraid to take on a musical challenge, LLusion recently sat down to talk with º1824 about upcoming projects, what it’s like to grow successful through TikTok, and how keeping an open mind allowed him to expand his musical horizons.
Although he gained popularity in the lofi community and by making remixes of popular tracks on TikTok, LLusion describes his sound as “universal”; he doesn’t want to be boxed into one specific sound. Growing up, LLusion’s dad shared a wide range of music with him, from 80s new wave to 90s East coast rap like A Tribe Called Quest and Wu Tang Clan. As LLusion grew older he was drawn to indie artists and more experimental music like Japanese producer Nujabes. It was Nujabes who changed LLusion’s musical perspective and taught him that instrumental music can be consumed the same way music with lyrics is listened to. This sparked LLusion’s interest in instrumental music; he learned all he could about the music style, and when he learned as much as he could, he decided to start making his own music by sampling instrumental pieces from old records he had in his collection.
Many know LLusion as the lofi guy, but he has experience playing other instruments from a younger age. He received a drum kit as a gift from a family member when he was younger, and he has experience playing saxophone in elementary school. LLusion stated that learning these instruments led him to taking the musical path he’s on currently. LLusion also stated that his roots in Orange County, CA, will always subliminally play a role in his music. He may not wear the OC badge on his sleeve and talk about his hometown constantly, but there are certain elements of his music that show his appreciation for California. On the second track of his album BUFFET titled “feel the WAV”, you can gain a true understanding of what it was like for LLusion to live so close to the beaches of California.
In a world where social media is more important to growing any creative’s career, LLusion explained to conference attendees how thankful he is for social media for bringing him closer to his dedicated listeners. Considering himself a later user on TikTok, LLusion has never shied away from being transparent about his creative processes, something that draws so many people to his music. LLusion wants his music to be lighthearted and not too serious, and showing his creative processes allows his music to be more accessible for listeners while removing the mysterious elements behind what makes his music so unique.
So, what is LLusion’s general process for creating TikTok remixes and collaborating with other artists for his lofi remixes? In terms of remixes, there isn’t much to his process; his wife, Six, shares trending songs with him that she thinks he could turn into a cool remix, LLusion finds the vocals and acapella tracks and begins working in the key of the song to find a beat that sounds good with the lyrics.
In terms of lofi remixes, LLusion believes any song has the ability to turn into something completely new on a lofi remix. Some of the songs he turns into lofi mixes are for shock value. Some of LLusion’s remixes are of well known rap and metal songs, and softening those tracks and turning them into something completely different makes people interested in his art. In terms of directly collaborating with artists on these songs, LLusion says that working with artists allows him to get out of his head and work with a clean slate. LLusion also stated that working directly with artists and bouncing ideas off of one another allows their vocal abilities to shine through, which helps LLusion’s approach to creating a complimentary backing beat.
With an artist as diverse as LLusion, you may be wondering what his next endeavor may entail. As someone who never takes his foot off the gas and is always striving for more, LLusion has a lot to look forward to for the remainder of the year. He informed listeners that he has new music coming out closer to summertime, which he says will be almost 100% instrumental tracks with features from well known producers. Apart from music, LLusion excitedly shared that he and Six are releasing a podcast which is coming out ‘very soon’ that highlights creatives on TikTok and musical artists.
Be sure to follow LLusion on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter to stay up to date on his upcoming releases! While we excitedly await the arrival of new music, you can stream everything LLusion has released so far on Spotify, Apple Music, or any other streaming service you may use! Let me know your thoughts on LLusion in the comments!