Max HeyraudBeatport chart-topper and AGONY founder Luciid forges uncompromising electronic music from a decade of restless reinvention, threading schranz, acid, and ambient into a sound built to keep moving.
Luciid, born Luke Pollock, has emerged as one of Ireland’s most compelling exports in high-octane, uncompromising electronic music. Since beginning his production journey in 2012, Luke has navigated tech house, acid, and ambient explorations to forge a sound that is constantly evolving. Early tracks like Hardcore Happiness and 90s Paradise hinted at the intensity that would come to define his work, culminating in breakout releases such as Paro Hour and a series of chart-toppers on Beatport.
Luke has also founded the AGONY label, a platform dedicated to bold, experimental music that pushes past mainstream conventions. Collaborations with artists like Per Pleks and remixes for figures such as Dubfire have galvanised the young talent.
His latest project sees Luciid delving further into schranz, leftfield breaks, and ambient textures, combining raw intensity with cinematic soundscapes. It’s a record that mirrors his personal evolution, transforming emotional highs and lows into a dynamic, expressive statement.
His trajectory is a testament to an artist willing to experiment, to embrace resilience, and to reject confinement by one single path, charting a journey toward the next phase of his ever-evolving sound.
We caught up to chat about his new album Reeluv ahead of his All Night Long with Influence Collective at block, Dublin on Sunday night. You can get tickets here.
Congratulations on the album. It definitely feels like your most complete body of work yet. How are you feeling about it now that it’s out in the world?
It always feels great to showcase new music to the world, it’s what I live and breathe for and the reason I have always done music. This one feels even more special because of how much of the tracks were written out of love and not made just with the goal of reaching other DJ’s sets. I had a lot of anxiety about releasing tracks that were a little ‘out there’ for my sound but the feedback has been amazing and I definitely have a new found connection with my fans. I’ve had a lot of people reach out to me already and tell me how a certain track has helped them through hard times or how much they just appreciate the work and that means the world to me.
It’s quite obviously a massive artistic pivot. While there are still some hard techno-adjacent sounds, schranz features heavily in places, there are also more leftfield breaks and ambient moments. Can you tell me about the process of writing a more expansive project like this?
This whole process is a reflection of where I was, where I am and where I want to be. This project feels like a bit of a portal into my life. Some of the tracks like ‘6AM’ and ‘Sakura’ were made during the pandemic when I was also at college in Dundalk and some others were made in hotel rooms on tour over the past years. The process of writing more leftfield and ambient works is usually tapping into my life and emotions, having no ‘goal’ when I open my laptop and just letting whatever happens in that studio session happen. It’s really a freeing feeling to produce without deadlines or red tape everywhere. I think the problem with the hard techno culture we became familiar with since the pandemic is that there was little experimentation and the main goal of it was just getting the tracks played with the best reaction, which is the opposite of what I want when writing tracks.
“Saw Ritual” leans into a more classical style of techno. What drew you toward that particular artistic direction?
The reason I gave this track a chance is because I think every genre or style that I love and have produced should be showcased even if it’s just briefly. This track was sitting on my laptop for so long but I have such an affiliation with this style of techno, it’s what I grew up with. Artists like Ben Sims, Dax J, Luke Slater etc were such a big inspiration for me when I began producing and throughout my music career, that is music I listen to from day to day. For my All Night Long tour I had 8 hours to work with each set and much like the album I wanted each show to be a journey too, so I would always open the night with this style of techno. After playing “Saw Ritual” on the first date of my tour I emailed the label and (annoyingly) asked if there’s any way possible they can add it to the album and thankfully they agreed.
The following track, “6AM,” feels like proper 2018 energy. Lo-fi, dreamy techno, reminiscent of what artists like I Hate Models and Introversion were doing back then. Was that an inspiration for you? It feels really fresh.
This track was made around that time so I think it’s really cool that you can hear the influence that strongly. I was for sure super inspired by that sound when I was making it!
That rough-around-the-edges aesthetic comes through across a lot of the project, which is refreshing. To some degree, electronic music has become very polished in general, so I welcome the return to something more raw. Would you agree with that?
I agree. The best techno tracks in history were not polished, they were raw, they told the story they were there to tell or brought the energy they were made to bring. For schranz in particular the tracks that still pop to me are from the mid-2000’s, everybody’s still playing them in their set and their still demolishing clubs and have a certain energy that is quite hard to replicate. Has anyone ever listened to ‘The Bells’ and praised it’s amazing mixdown? No, but it’s still one of the best techno tracks ever made. I think to an extent we need tracks to be polished enough that all of the elements that you want the listener to hear and enjoy are there without it needing to sound over-compressed and over-processed. We need to stop thinking of Spotify plays and start thinking about legacy.
More broadly, how do you feel about taking a longer-form approach to releasing music, like you’ve done here?
This has been the most important musical project of my career so far but I think dedicating such a large amount of time to a release also brings some stress. These days everything is moving so quickly, trends come and go more rapidly than ever before and I can even see how the landscape has changed in the time since I began launching this album. In saying that I really enjoyed this project because it took me out of the usual scramble to find my next release and created a journey that I can enjoy. I have dozens of unreleased tracks I’ve made over this time too so even after the album has been fully released I will have loads of new music to get out which is exciting.
Do you think there’s pressure on artists now to constantly release club-focused tracks in this attention economy, where it feels like everyone is scrambling from one release to the next? This project almost feels like a rejection of that mindset.
In my opinion a lot of producers are producing their tracks for other DJ’s to play and not for their audience. Too many upcoming producers are not focused on creating their own sound but slightly tweaking another sound so that it’s unique enough to gain support and attention from the big DJ’s. Like everyone else I had to do this but without a doubt this project is a rejection to the mindset I had before. I always said this album was made for the listener at home to enjoy and not being focused on being a club banger.
I’ve called it “Reeluv” as its about falling in love with music as an art form again and fighting the fact that it should always come back to music and how it can help the world we find ourselves in today.
My scene has, to a point, really stepped away from a focus on music itself, demanding online attention instead. I want this record, and all its genres, to bring people back to music.
You mentioned that last year was emotionally challenging for you, have you channeled some of that into the music? Has creating this project been a helpful outlet?
Producing is my therapy and producing without restriction is the greatest therapy of all. Last year I was extremely burnt out from touring and a little bit disheartened with the direction the scene was going and I think these things resulted in my mental health taking a hit. This project gave me a new love for music and more importantly showed me that I can’t be scared to release music that is a bit more experimental because the reception has been amazing. I think in a lot of the tracks on this album you can hear how I channeled my feelings into emotionally driven melodies and more melodic breakdowns than I usually write.
I wouldn’t necessarily call this a departure from hard techno or harder sounds, but it definitely opens the door to more experimentation. Where do you see things going next from here?
I’ve spent the past few years playing a lot of schranz, even at a time when it wasn’t that popular but right now we are seeing a massive resurgence in this sound. I don’t want to restrict myself to a singular genre but schranz is the sound I truly love and want to push forward. There is really big potential for this sound to adapt and evolve and I want to be a big part of that.
You’re playing an All Night Long set at block with Influence. How do you approach a longer set like this compared to a shorter club set?
An All Night Long needs to be a journey through different sounds and emotions. I always tell people that they need to come to the show with an open mind and to expect everything. Normally for 1-2 hour sets you are really trying to bring as much energy as possible and playing the big tracks that make your set stand out from the others. For an ANL it’s a more carefully planned and thought out set that should constantly build energy over many hours. I’m usually starting these sets with techno & groove, moving into older 145-150 bpm hard techno and then finishing with schranz or whatever feels right in the moment. Thankfully throughout this full tour every date has been sold out and the audience were always super open-minded which made the sets so enjoyable.
As someone who plays all over the world, how would you describe your relationship with Irish crowds today?
Nothing will ever come close to playing on home soil. Some of my best memories are from shows here like Life Festival & The Telegraph. It’s my first time playing in Ireland since my show at Electric Picnic in 2024 so it’s a bit of a strange one for me. Unlike a lot of other Irish DJ’s I’m not actually playing in Ireland that often, but every time I come back I see a scene that is growing and becoming more on a level with the rave scene in Europe which is great to see.
I think parties like Influence have pushed the hard scene in Ireland so far and their level of professionalism in all aspects without a doubt leaves a great impression on the international DJ’s they bring over.