If you’re looking for a new artist to check out, then you’ve come to the right place: in this first edition of MendoWerks Magazine‘s ‘Artist Spotlight’ column, we are highlighting LYFFE, an up-and-comer in Chicago’s underground electronic music scene.
Something we really appreciate about LYFFE is that he creates music that actually gets people dancing–even if, like me, they aren’t the sort of folks who often dance. Throughout his discography, you will find nothing but high energy tunes that are going to inspire movement in one way or another. At the same time, despite the energy, some of his tracks retain that particular kind of moodiness generally found in the slower, softer OG wave music that’s best saved for a deep listening session rather than the dance floor.
As LYFFE has released quite a bit of music so far this year, a good starting point for new listeners would be his most recent single, a ‘drum-and-wave’ style track called “Wait For U.” This song is one of the several collaborations that LYFFE has done with ZDO, another up-and-coming hardwave artist. The two work very well together; their collabs are always quite engaging.
However, one of our absolute favorite LYFFE tunes is actually a 2023 release called “Letting Go.” This song truly is a ride, with lots of interesting peaks and lulls. It’s also got highly contagious energy– if you need a new hype song, then this is definitely it. Great for working out, highway driving, and any other time where you might need a little extra oomph. If you’re a fan of deadcrow’s more chaotic offerings, then you’ll probably like this song, too.
Introducing… LYFFE! [Q&A]
Ambur Masen, MendoWerks Magazine: Hi! Thank you so much for connecting with us. Would you please take a moment to introduce yourself to our MendoWerks readers?
LYFFE: Hello! Thank you so much for having me. My name is LYFFE (pronounced “life’), and I’m a hardwave / hardstyle artist from Chicago trying to push the boundaries of hardwave music.
AM: How would you describe the kind of music that you make?
L: A trance-inspired melody, Reese bass, and a hardstyle kick are the building blocks of 90% of the music I write. I live at 150bpm, so the energy is high with most of the tracks I write. I try to create a perfect combination of hardwave and hardstyle in most of the tracks I write.
AM: Tell us a bit about your journey as an artist so far – how did you end up making music as ‘LYFFE’?
L: I discovered artists like Skeler, Deadcrow, and Juche on SoundCloud back in 2018, which introduced me to wave music. Growing up in the 2000s with parents who loved hardstyle and trance also shaped my musical tastes. During this time, I connected with Deadcrow, feeling a strong resonance with his music taste and style. He became a significant inspiration for what I aspire to achieve in my own music.
The encouragement from friends both in-person and online helped me get the ball rolling earlier this year, allowing me to share my name and my music with a wider audience.
Since then, I’ve received support from bigger artists like lvst, SAGE, Aekae, WaterSpirt, and Dead X, to name a few.
AM: Give us some exciting news—what is something coming up that you’re looking forward to?
L: I have a collab with ZDO [that came out on May 31st] called “Wait For U”. It’s our take on a drum and bass style track with a lot of unique wave elements incorporated into it.
If you love wave, drum and bass, or ZDO and I, then this track will be more than you expect!
Keep up with LYFFE:
Instagram | Twitter | SoundCloud | Bandcamp
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Looking for more wave songs? Check out all issues of “Breaking Waves,” our efforts to document all things wave music, here.
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