With the rising popularity of heavy trap, a slew of young producers are taking the EDM scene by storm, one of them being 23 year-old Lookas. The Miami native has steadily made his imprint on various parts of the industry, having worked on massive tracks like "GDFR" with Flo Rida and Sage the Gemini and "Game Over" with Crankdat, playing festivals from EDC Las Vegas to Ultra Music Festival. Just last year, he was named one of the Top 10 Acts to Watch This Year by Rolling Stone Magazine and with new music slated for later this year, he's about to live up to that title.

Lookas recently dropped his newest single "Mercy" and played an explosive set while supporting Adventure Club on tour at Terminal 5 in NYC. His new 3-track EP is set for release in December.

How does it feel to be back in New York?

It feels great to be back. I haven’t been here in a long time. I was here for Webster Hall and it was sick. The people here are amazing.

How was the set you just played?

It was fun! It filled up a lot more towards 15 minutes into my set and at that point it was just energy. From the beginning of my set towards the middle was great. For me it was such a ride and I had a great time.

Can you clarify how to pronounce your name for our readers?

It’s LUKE-as. My name is Lucas and I couldn’t come up with anything creative so I thought it’d be cool to spell my name differently. A lot of people come up to me like “hey Look-us.”

You've done a lot of touring at big festivals, local venues and Life in Color too. At this point in your career, what do you prefer?

I love club venues and I still think some of my best shows are my most intimate. Like when the DJ booth is right next to the crowd, close enough that people can reach over and touch me, I love that because people are right there interacting with me and the energy bounces off the crowd. The festival atmosphere too. I love that because I can play any song and that crowd is gonna go nuts. And I love hearing the reaction of a crowd especially when I play something new. My fans are amazing.

Speaking of big festivals, you played Ultra Miami for the second time this year. You’re from Miami so the reception for you must have been crazy.

As a Miami native, Ultra is a huge part of Miami lifestyle. Especially for young kids it’s like the place to go every year. These kids save up money all year long just to get tickets to Ultra because it’s that one event that everybody goes to and if you’re not there, you’re missing out. I was one of those kids at point and I actually snuck in..shoutout to everybody that runs Ultra, I love you guys.

Anything different your second time playing?

The first time I played on the bass stage and my competitors were deadmau5 and Carnage…so that was rough competition crowd-wise. The next year over, I had a 3pm slot on a Sunday, which was also rough. Everyone’s been partying hard all weekend and come Sunday, people are recovering, but Miami pulled up man. It was so sick, there were probably 1000 people at my stage. Shoutout to everybody who went to my set at Ultra.

You delayed school to focus on music. How did you first get into music and did you have any doubts when you made that decision?

I didn’t delay school; I actually dropped out. My parents were really all about me going to school and getting a job. I got fired from my first job. I dropped out of high school and out of college and I told my parents, “just give me a year. Give me one year and I’ll promise you I’ll prove you wrong and that what I’m doing right now is worth it.” And here I am, 5 years later.

You made it!

I wouldn’t say I made it, but I got to a place where I’m able to make music and live comfortably for sure. I have an amazing fanbase that I never expected to have when I was 16 years old. I started this when I was 16 and I’m 23 now. I didn’t really start making music till I was 18 or 19, but I was DJing when I was 16 and throwing my own house parties.

I want my fans to know I didn’t do this with the help of somebody’s hand; I did this all by myself. I spent hours and hours in my bedroom all the way till 6am and then I had a job at 7am, went to the job till 5pm and came back to the studio and worked. It was hustle.

So…word on the street is you got new music coming? Can you drop a few hints on what we can expect with this new EP?

We got a new EP that's 3 tracks. 1st track is my song called “Eclipse”— you guys are the first people to hear that name. 2nd track is with Krewella -- love those girls. They’re amazing songwriters, amazing singers and just amazing people. I also produced “"Be There" for them. Last song is with my buddy Able Heart. He’s from Philly and recently moved to LA where we worked on it. That song is my favorite song on the EP.

In the past years you’ve put out a bunch of different kind of music, lots of hard trap for sure but also tracks like “Apollo” and “GDFR” have some different kinds of influence on them. Where are you headed with your sound now?

When I started, I had no idea what I was doing. I’ll be honest, I got to the point where I know how to make songs. I took some time off after “GDFR”. It sold 4 million records, made a lot of money. It was crazy thing for me because I was almost 20 at the time and it was like, "wow I have a multiplatinum record on my hands". I was thinking about what I wanted to do long term as an artist. The way I think about it is I’m a producer. I can make any kind of music that I want to make. So for this EP this was really special because I would get into the studio, make a song and if it sounded good to me when I walked out, that’s the song. It has to feel organic and feel good no matter what genre it is.

Can we talk about your new single “Mercy”?

I made that record 4 months ago and Ive been sitting on it. It was a record that I just played in my sets. I didn’t really have an intention of dropping it, but I kind of thought it’d be cool to give my fans something for free.

I love the cover art, it’s super sick.

Shoutout to Slime Sunday, he’s an amazing artist. When I saw the art, I was like this is the cover.

Bass house, trap, and filthy genres in general are really blowing up with the EDM community right now. What’s your take on why that is?

I think people just like music, good music. Whatever stands out does because it’s good. At the end of the day, whether it be bass house or drum and bass or dubstep or trap, if it’s a good record people are gonna like it. Music right now, especially in the dance world is in a really good space because everyone is stepping out of their bubble. We’ve done it for so long and it’s all been the same thing over and over. For us, it’s time to make something new and better.

Rolling Stone named you one of the 10 new artists to watch out for last year. If you could nominate a couple people for this year who would they be?

I’d watch for SMLE, they’re my buddies from Miami and have an EP that’s coming which is insane. Genre-mixing to the max and they’re pushing boundaries with their music. Another buddy of mine, Crankdat. His sound design is unreal.

Anything else you want to say?

Shoutout to The Odyssey, thank you for this interview and shoutout to everyone who came out to Terminal 5. Shoutout to Monstercat and get ready for the EP coming out, it’s gonna be amazing.