Today is about digital, and the future will be even more digitalized to a point where our feelings will become digital? Let’s hope not. However it’s no news that millennials live in a digitalized world, and it’s becoming a cliché to point out the obvious: we don’t interact with each other and human relationships have faded. This has also an effect on our relationships, me talking health and overall lifestyle and relationship with ourselves. Our relationships with others are also fragile in front of the unfollow button and Instagram lifestyle and as preposterous as it may sound, it has become a bitter fact.
Andrei Lucas, London based indie musical artist, releases the single entitled Real Life and Mad with a message about today, and a demand to live what real life has to offer without feeling mad if you share your emotions. On his songwriting journey, Andrei Lucas has faced life challenges that every young adult faces in a world dominated by social media pressure, online dating, internet life and at the same time growing up into adulthood
Furthermore, Andrei Lucas aims to send out a message about those facts and wrote the singles Real Life and Mad as a reflection of who he is and what he experiences in his world, a world we are all a part of. The single “Mad” was released with “hope’s of raising awareness in mental health stigma for everyone including men and to cancel the idea that being open about your feelings is associated to madness” while the single “Real Life” was released to shed light on how social media has an effect on our mental health.
Men’s mental health issues are still a taboo topic in our society. Increasing suicide rates in men and closeted depression needs to be a conversation now. Ultimately men of all ages but also young men are allowed to be honest about being vulnerable and that is not at all a sign of weakness.
“I’ve been called mad for just showing my emotions and there have been times when I was honest about how I feel and I was told I’m having a mental breakdown. People seem to impose a standard of how we should feel at any given time, and I think we should be allowed to be vulnerable.”
“Mad” is a tentative to break masculine vulnerability stigma following a personal journey and sharing a personal view on life. Andrei Lucas inspiring lyrics promise to bring such subject into the pop culture that sometimes doesn’t acknowledge those issues.
Andrei Lucas has a profound, sophisticated and up-tempo sound, his style which is very classic and we see this as being pretty cool. You can sense a unique approach on his dress code, as trendsetters ourselves we really liked that! The first single of Andrei‘s career came out in 2017 titled “Heart On My Sleeve”, after a hiatus due to mental health and anxiety struggles, Andrei Lucas returned to compose more songs in 2019. As a composer, Andrei’s main goal is to explore authenticity with reaching his fans through being honest, describing personal life experiences and emotions with no fear to expose real-life issues and vulnerabilities. He wants to support his listeners bringing awareness to relevant subjects like social media peer pressure, online dating, and life struggles.
The singles “Mad” and “Real Life” embody the message that Andrei Lucas wants to get out there in the pop scene, and that is that one has to leave the past behind, move forward from negative experiences that life can bring, accept self-doubt and live to the fullest
Given the social pressure on young people today which is not helped by social media and peer pressure, the line “This summer I’m going mad”, stands for the idea that it’s time to live your dreams and your truth. As youth depression is stigmatized and looked upon, men’s vulnerabilities are also considered taboo and this song aims to highlight the pressure around it.
“Real Life” on the other hand celebrates life and the meaning of what it is to be a person capable of showing love and relationships in a way that encompasses living today.
Andrei Lucas hopes to unite communities throughout the world with the power of self-esteem, and his music is about a young person who feels isolated for whatever reason, and it’s about accepting unapologetically who you are for what you are, not how it’s portrayed on social media by others.
Asked what he would change in today’s world of social media, Andrei Lucas added: ”I personally believe very much in backstories and I believe that everyone has one. My story and background is very complex from a cultural point of view and also from a career perspective as well. I have always strived to stay authentic, but social media can definitely have an effect on your mental health making it hard to become honest with the ones around you.”
It is without a doubt not easy to put in a box an upcoming artist who hasn’t displayed a considerable amount of singles yet but definitely has the potential to send out more empowering messages.
Indie pop is becoming more and more different from an artist to another, and it’s safe to say that in some way it’s great for upcoming artists to label themselves as indie pop, but at the same time, it has become a safety net for the artists who are still looking to find their sound. Will Andrei Lucas find his? It’s a matter of time and self-discovery.
