The recording of Lucid 3’s album, Dawn Planes, was a radically different process for the long-standing independent artists. For the first time they used an outside producer, award-winning David Long (Lord Of The Rings, Dave Dobbyn, Fur Patrol) and have worked with major label EMI, freeing them from the burden of business.
The songs on Dawn Planes were written between New Plymouth and Europe.
“I did so much touring/travelling around New Zealand and some parts of Europe during the time I was writing the songs on Dawn Planes. The contrasts of the various places are revealed in the diversity of the songs. The title track, Dawn Planes, was triggered after I accidentally left my dictaphone in my guitar case and recorded the eerie sound of engines rising as we left Wellington airport at dawn. This Soldier is an anthem written after being stranded for some days in China,” she says.
The songs are in keeping with her characteristic writing style, but she has made use of more traditional song-writing tools. Marcus and Derek’s rhythm section and contribution to the music put the distinctively Lucid 3 stamp on the tracks. Before the band went into the studio, they worked with Dave Dobbyn who shared his celebrated skills in song arrangement with the trio.
Lucid 3 has worked together for eight years, and maintained a fervent musical integrity. Victoria Girling-Butcher (songwriter, guitars, keys), Marcus Lawson (six string/bass guitars, keys) Derek Metivier (drums/producer) — joined forces in Auckland in 1999. They gelled instantly and their first musical collaborations produced immediate aesthetic rewards. On a business level the trio maintained an independent spirit and musically they stayed singularly focused on producing quality music.
Unveiled on the band’s own label Lupin Music in mid-2002, their debut album Running Down The Keys (produced by Derek Metivier), earned the band an extensive fan-base nationwide. Success was thanks to impressive live shows, word-of-mouth, b-net radio and music videos. Exactly two years later Lucid 3 released All Moments Leading To This, reaching No.2 on the nationwide Independent Music Chart and Heat-seekers chart. In addition, the single AM Radio won Best Indie Video at the fourth annual Juice TV Awards and was voted No.1 single by Rip It Up readers in their annual poll.
They’ve slotted in comfortably alongside international acts at WOMAD festivals and supported UB40 and Jimmy Cliff. When Victoria opened a show for James Blunt at his Auckland show recently, he was so impressed he doubled her fee. Lucid 3 has toured New Zealand extensively with the likes of Dave Dobbyn, Goodshirt and Brooke Fraser.
Lucid 3 are:
Victoria Girling-Butcher (vocals, guitar, keyboards)
Derek Metivier (drums)
Marcus Lawson (bass, backing vocals, keyboards)