Photographer: Jonathan Tomlinson
Styling: Harry Crum
MUA: Dakota Blacklaws-Lacy
Words: Joe Harries
Venue: ORMSIDE Projects
Step into the world of LCN (formerly LCY) and you’ll find yourself slipping through fog-thick air, into a realm where pitched-up voices drag you through a mirror of morphing terrain—shimmering with beauty, distortion, and vulnerability.
The London-based producer, DJ and visual artist has long been known for pushing beyond genre. Their sound blends bass-heavy experimentation with surrealist textures—often crafted with broken microphones, that swallow you whole and spit you out somewhere unknown, yet strangely familiar. They also run SZNS7N, a DIY label rooted in collaboration and creative autonomy, a safe haven for friends and peers to experiment freely and evolve on their own terms. It’s an ethos that runs through everything they do; from the artists they platform to the immersive sounds they create.
LCN’s recent shift in name marks more than just a rebrand, it’s a reclamation of identity—”having my dead-name as an artist name is very dissociative” they share. “Changing it is about me and others respecting my identity as a trans person and not torturing myself with my identity as an artist for fear of being misunderstood”. It’s a deliberate step away from the discomfort of being misread, and a move towards creating art on their own terms, unapologetically. “I am no longer trying to fit in or gain validation to sections of industry dominated by cis-het people or get booked at festivals funded by billionaire weapon firm companies where my friends can’t afford to buy tickets. The new aim on all fronts is to displease.”
After a two-year period of grief and introspection, LCN finds themself back in music with renewed clarity. “Saturn return has grabbed me, put me over its shoulder and brought me back to music,” they reflect. “I feel very at peace about it.”
It’s through self-reflection and discovery that LCN’s worlds take shape; spaces where grief, transformation and trans-ness unfold across fractured rhythms and warped soundscapes. The music runs Mariana Trench deep, but it’s never without play. Soaked in haunted hedonism, neon-lit stabs, wriggly basslines and twisted breaks, it nods to a dancefloor that once was. Think Burial, but more extraterrestrial.
From worship music to post-human mythology, LCN’s releases stretch way beyond the club. Their 2023 EP He Hymns on Fabric Records explores spirituality and the search for something to believe in. As they put it, “to tie songs of worship into club tracks”. In 2021’s five-tracker ‘Pulling Teeth’, they create a dystopian world named Ériu, home to a hybrid of canine, human and robot. These strange, shifting environments are proof of LCN’s unique ability to push the form far past its boundaries.
That same spirit carries through SZNS7N today. Now entering its seventh year, the imprint remains fiercely independent, funded, run and shaped entirely by LCN. “I used to compare the achievements of it to big labels”, they reflect. “But now I’m like, damn, you’re still alive and kicking with no trust fund and poor administrative skills—that’s kind of a miracle in itself to celebrate.” With its anniversary in July, the label kicks off a new chapter with birthday parties and events themed around revolt. When asked what their favourite post-party snack is, LCN doesn’t hesitate, “tea and propranolol”.
Among their closest collaborators is MISFYA, who LCN calls “the person I turn to the most.” Their music and art, LCN says, is “prodigal and has been a huge inspiration since we connected through SZNS7N.” Together, they make their art, nights, and ideas work by force, power, and universal alignment. For LCN, having MISFYA in their life means the world.
With such strong creative bonds, limitless imagination and a refreshed sense of purpose, LCN looks ahead to what’s next. When asked what excites them most about this next chapter, LCN replies simply, “to keep learning and evolving forever and ever until I’m gone”. A fitting mantra for an artist who’s always searching, reshaping, and never settling—in sound, in self, or in the worlds they’re building.
Stay tapped in with LCN via Instagram.