R.LUM.R
Show Me
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Since premiering “Show Me” two months ago, we’ve been anxiously awaiting more music from this up-and-coming Orlando artist. Unfortunately, we’re still a ways off from hearing “Be Honest,” so we’re giving you the next best thing: an in-depth interview.

Take a few minutes off from whatever it is you’re up to and get to know the intriguing R.LUM.R

What does the name R.LUM.R (pronounced ar-luhm-ar) derive from? 

R.LUM.R is the representation of everything I am at his point.

To be brief about it, it’s a combination of my first and middle name. Growing up, I was always made to be ashamed of myself about being who I wanted to be and liking what I liked, so I hid it all. It was for a multitude of reasons, and for the sake of brevity I won’t get specific, but it can mostly be boiled down to pressure to be “blacker” and the insidious effects that has on one’s psyche, but I did what I was told, and whatever I thought a person like me was supposed to do.

My middle name, Lamar, was just one I never really felt attached to. So I hid that.

Getting my starts in music, I played acoustic and released and performed music as a singer-songwriter for a long time, which started basically because of my limited resources, and I kept going because of the positive ways I was affecting the world around me through that medium, but there’s always been another part of me that wanted to explore the stuff I’m exploring now, but never had the bravery or resources.

So in the process of evolving into this music, I wanted to do something that pulled from my past and exposed all those things, but created a clear focus on the future. Reggie, my first name, is in the first R, and with it being at the beginning of R.LUM.R, it’s the past, and the music I created that got me here. Though I’m evolving, I don’t want to abandon where I came from.
LUM is part of Lamar (my middle name) and represents the parts of myself I’d always hidden, and the present time. It means to me that I can take that stuff from back then and wear it proudly, turning it into positives. It’s also the center of the idea right now, so it’s fitting for it to be sitting where it is visually.

The last R is the future and the person I can be, coexisting with the person i’ve always been. Lamar ends with an “r”, and Reggie starts with an “r”, so it’s like bringing the ideas of the past and the present together, but in the future.
I hope that wasn’t too convoluted. lol

What is the story with “Show Me”?

Show Me is the first meeting. It’s the intensity between two people. That first moment where your whole body feels it, and consequences don’t matter, you just know you need to engage because you’re caught up. The singer is living through that in real time, and we are allowed into their mind to experience it firsthand. The pulsing throb of that music just makes you live it, you know?

Will the EP be a continuation of that journey?

It will! The Over EP will follow the character through what happens after Show Me. The next single, “Be Honest” which is coming out very soon, will be picking up where Show Me left off. I won’t say much, because I want you to hear it, and let it grow in you naturally as it pleases, but I will say that sometimes bare, naked vulnerability in relationships is everything.

What inspired you to run with it on this EP? 

I think this is a story that could be unfolded in a very cool way. I think people are going to like it, and I hope people love to see it grow as much as I love to make it.

Having co-produced “Show Me” have you found any interest in co-producing records with artists? If so, who’s next?
Haha you’ve done your homework! I’ve certainly been excited by the freedom and possibility gained by producing material from my own fingertips. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of collaboration when the right relationship comes along and things click creatively, but sometimes the only way to do it right is to do it with your own hands.

I can tell my collaborators in Ethnikids exactly what I mean, and we can just springboard each other, back and forth until it becomes the amalgam that you hear as a final product. I’m totally in love with that process.

I am, however, currently trading some fun ideas with a few artists whose work I love, but nothing has taken shape enough to discuss just yet.

What was your life like growing up?

I mean, well, everybody’s got their own things in their past, and mine I explained a bit earlier. I did personally have a lot of issues growing up where I did because I never found any confidence in any of my situations early on. I struggled for identity for a long time. I never really fit in where I was, because I was probably naively believing that fitting in was the goal. I think it caused me to spend a lot of time in my own head, for better or for worse.

Do you think your youth impacted your music in any way?

Absolutely. It’s affected my life positively, because I’ve chosen to see it that way, and my music stems from my life. Like I said, it made me think a lot, and that’s how I find myself getting most of my inspiration: mulling over people, places and things.

Say you had the power to help people through your music; what would be your means of doing so?

I’ve always wanted to participate in keeping music, and frankly the arts as a whole in schools to use as a means for mental and emotional health. I want to young people to find their voice somehow, be it with music, poetry, drawing, theater or whatever, and to learn early on that they truly have the power to give to others and be great.

I think the arts have a special way of teaching the concept of feeling deeply for other humans while giving us an opportunity to show that same love to ourselves. It shows us the importance of empathy and self love in ways that are very individual.
We learn through art to give and receive, and I think if we taught those concepts more adamantly to young people, we’d see our way out of a lot of issues we face today.

What does R.LUM.R’s weekly schedule look like, as of late?
Lately, I’ve been on the move a lot. I don’t find myself at home on weekends as much anymore. I spent some great time at SXSW meeting people and seeing some really incredible performances and going to a few studios. Generally, I like to spend most of my time in the studio, working on things, but truth be told, if I’m not doing that, and i’m not in transit somewhere you’re super likely to find me huddled up reading or watching anime.

Do you find yourself being more inspired writing your music in certain environments, and if so, why?

I mean, I think inspiration is everywhere. It is certainly exciting when you just happen to hear something someone says in a crowd, and it snaps you back to that friend you had in high school or something and that bridges a gap for you somewhere in your mind that becomes a picture you’re seeing that you can turn into words and melodies.

But when I’m not struck by luck like that, I honestly find a lot of inspiration in people. Though I’m a bit of a homebody, I do really love people and the things they feel and say. I’m really interested in body language, and the sometimes disagreement between what people say and what they show, so I get a lot of inspiration there.

That said, I hope to never take for granted the importance of being able to lock away in a studio space that you feel something special for and to just have the freedom to make things. I love that.

We imagine you have a lot on your plate. What are your goals with this project, and what’s next for you?

I just want to make people feel things with this music, to make what I love and to go places I’ve never been before, thematically and sonically. I ultimately want to tour and take it to the people, but one step at a time, I think.

What’s next is to stay positive and creative. The next single, “Be Honest”, is coming out very soon, so be on the lookout for that.

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