Cut Chemist has been a major force in Los Angeles music for three decades, with an impressive career that’s hard to fully capture. He’s known for his work producing and DJing with the popular hip-hop group Jurassic 5, and his debut solo album, “The Audience’s Listening,” reached the top 10 on Billboard’s Dance/Electronic chart in 2006.
However, considering he tends to keep to himself, he probably wouldn’t have created a resume unless someone encouraged him to.
Cut Chemist, also known as Lucas McFadden, says he’d prefer to stay home, but he often gets pulled into experiences. He recalls being invited to teach at the Red Bull Music Academy in São Paulo in 2002, and how another producer, Madlib, made him get out and explore the city with him – even though they were sharing a hotel room. He describes feeling like others guide him to actually live life.
Throughout his development as a musician, McFadden experienced several pivotal moments. When he was just four years old in 1977, his parents took him to see “Star Wars: A New Hope” at the Chinese Theatre. Years later, in the mid-1990s, a friend introduced him to the Good Life Cafe in the South Bay, where he discovered his biggest musical influence: the Los Angeles alternative hip-hop group Freestyle Fellowship.
When Madlib brought him out of their hotel room in São Paulo, the city’s samba schools were intensely preparing for Carnival. Years later, McFadden went back to experience live samba music, which he then used in his song “The Garden” from the album “The Audience’s Listening.” That track has become his most popular solo work, racking up almost 11 million streams on Spotify.
McFadden explains that his music often comes from experiences he wouldn’t normally have. When he returns home and spends time alone, he tends to fondly remember the past, and creating music allows him to relive those memories – it’s like watching a movie of his own life through sound.
I’m so excited that DJ McFadden is finally sharing the music that’s inspired his amazing career! He’s doing this through a really cool monthly event series called “Expert of None” at Only the Wild Ones in Venice, running from May to August. It’s in partnership with Dust & Grooves, and each month he’ll be digging into his massive record collection – seriously, he has over 25,000 records! – and talking about different themes and the music he finds. It’s going to be awesome!
The series of events began with “Imagining Music,” where McFadden discussed how music and visuals connect, using “Star Wars” as an example. Next, “Tuned In, Comped Out” explored the experience of finding new music through compilation albums. The third event, “To All My Teachers,” focused on how the emotions of mentors and peers influence music recommendations. The final event, “Building the Garden” on Sunday, will tie everything together, explaining how these ideas ultimately shape what listeners enjoy.
Ever since seeing “Star Wars,” McFadden’s parents couldn’t fulfill his desire to go to the movies daily, so they got him the film’s soundtrack. He’d listen to the music with his eyes closed, imagining the scenes. Visualizing moments like Obi-Wan’s sacrifice and the bustling Mos Eisley cantina helped him connect sounds with specific environments, a technique that continues to influence his work today.
According to composer John McFadden, the most striking visual in ‘Star Wars’ was the stark contrast between the desert landscape and the sky. He describes it as a beautifully simple, almost artistic scene, relying on music and minimal dialogue to create a powerful impact – a very unusual approach for the franchise. No other ‘Star Wars’ film achieved this same effect. McFadden aims to bring that same grounded-yet-dreamlike quality to his own music.
He connects music with a raw, natural sound to African and Latin American styles – he even captured this feeling while recording samba in São Paulo for his album, “The Garden.” This music feels rooted in that specific location, bringing back all the vivid memories of his experience there, like tastes, smells, and textures.
In contrast, the sky and air evoked a sense of wonder and potential, reminding him of the excitement he felt when he first heard Laurie Anderson’s song “O Superman” in 1982. He sought to recapture that feeling while listening to the album, and began exploring various compilations. One such compilation, “Alternative Funk: Folie Distinguée” from 1985, featured the track “Megamix” by the French industrial group Vox Populi.
That track really shifted the direction of the entire album. McFadden describes it as having a cyberpunk feel, but also drawing on the sounds of his youth – old-school music reimagined through psychedelic and experimental techniques. Hearing that style made him want to create similar music at the time, focusing on beat-driven rap samples, but he’s since moved past that idea.
On the track “Storm,” McFadden directly used a beat from the electronic song “Megamix,” building anticipation with otherworldly sounds before rappers Edan and Mr. Lif begin their verses. This album also shows McFadden moving beyond traditional hip-hop, demonstrated by bolder choices like intentionally using rough and imperfect scratches on the track “(My 1st) Big Break.”
McFadden explains that the film’s chaotic ending is intentional, even a bit messy. He embraced risk-taking and made choices that weren’t necessarily logical or polished, contributing to the overall disorder. He appreciates that the conclusion isn’t neat or overly precise.
One thing that really grounds the more intense stuff in McFadden’s music is his friend, the rapper Hymnal – that’s Terry Robinson, by the way. He jumped on the track “What’s the Altitude,” which is huge – it’s got over 8 million streams on Spotify, making it his second biggest song. They’ve known each other since they were kids, which is really cool to see that long-term connection reflected in their work.
We’ve shared so much life experience together. Creating this song as friends was a fun process,” McFadden explains. A key part of what makes their collaboration comfortable is their willingness to experiment with new music. Robinson exposed him to artists like Frank Zappa, introducing him to airy, psychedelic sounds. When McFadden listens to the energetic, danceable beat of the song, he’s reminded of the two of them at a rave in the early 90s.
McFadden recalls they’d go to raves and embrace their hip-hop roots, questioning their place in that scene. They wanted to simply be themselves – the hip-hop kids – amidst the lights, loud music, and drug use. He describes them as two friends exploring a new and unknown musical path together.
McFadden doesn’t say whether Robinson was responsible for introducing him to the rave scene. However, that detail aside, he believes that even now, twenty years later, listeners of “The Audience’s Listening” can experience the same powerful emotions he felt at those raves, as well as during his experiences in Brazil and watching “Star Wars” at the Chinese Theatre.
2026-07-29 13:34