EDM artist shares career highlights


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Lincoln Jesser is a name growing as quickly as the electronic music scene. Born in La Quinta, California, Jesser chose to pursue his dreams of writing and producing music at USC. He was quickly discovered by Indie Pop, a Los Angeles-based music management powerhouse with whom he worked with to release his debut EP, New Blood, in 2012. Jesser has utilized music platforms such as Spotify and SoundCloud to spread his music to a larger audience, with his single “Time Will Tell” (featuring Samuel Jacob) having over 2 million plays on Spotify. Though he’s put out several singles over the past two years, fans have been waiting for another EP since he completed Modern Color in 2014. This coming Friday, Jesser’s heavily anticipated EP Casa Mirage will be released, and in an interview with the Daily Trojan he provided more insight into the exciting process behind it.

Daily Trojan: How is your upcoming EP Casa Mirage different from Modern Color?

Lincoln Jesser: I worked outside of myself a lot more on Casa Mirage, featuring a bunch of my friends’ vocals, which I didn’t do on Modern Color. Collaborating brought in a lot of vibes and influences that weren’t there on the first album. On Casa Mirage I was also looking to channel more energy from the desert where I grew up.

DT:  What was your favorite part of creating this EP?

LJ: Working with other peoples’ amazing voices! That, and the EP really just unfolded itself very quickly on the back end. It’s always really cool to experience a flow of new ideas like that.

DT: Is there a tour being planned with the release of Casa Mirage?

LJ: Nothing on the books yet but likely very soon.

DT:  What advice do you have for college students who want to enter the EDM world of music?

LJ: Do what makes you happy and what you think is cool. Don’t chase what’s hot, people see right through it.

DT:  Do you think that your music has been influenced by the growth of Spotify streaming and SoundCloud use?

LJ: Definitely. A few years ago especially, SoundCloud and HypeMachine really helped launch my music to the internet and gave me my first chances to tour. These days, Spotify shows me a ton of love and it’s a similar dynamic.

DT: When did you first begin creating music? Has your process of songwriting drastically changed since then?

LJ: I started writing my own songs around 14. It just seemed like a natural way to process what I was feeling and going through. It felt like taking off layers of clothing. I wouldn’t say my process has changed a ton since then, I’ve just tried to refine it.

DT: You’ve worked with artists like Yuna and now Quiñ, what is the process of collaborating with other artists like? This EP features a lot of other songwriters and vocalists, how did you go about choosing who to work with?

LJ: It’s always different depending on the collaborator, but the successful collaborations tend to be fun and somewhat easy. I guess that’s why I chose to work with a lot of friends who I’ve been thinking of working with for some time now.

DT: What are your goals for the next year?

LJ: To make more music that people love, and to learn how to levitate.