Photography: Chris Robert
BAD WOLF HQ is declaring an official state of emergency due to the imminent arrival of Lucille Croft’s post-human form, PATIENT X. What originally began as a project full of ‘promise and possibilities’ – has spiraled out of control and fans worldwide are strongly urged to prepare themselves for a new era of unbridled creativity and mind-bending artistry. In a recent radio transmission from BAD WOLF HQ, Patient X left the below message:
“I was once human, like you. I was under their control, the harder I fought, the worse it got. Every word I spoke, every step I took, all of it, was preordained. I was molded, twisted, shaped, into ‘their’ version of the perfect human, the perfect artist, the perfect woman.
They offer you the future, peace, happiness. What they’re really offering is the removal of your humanity, loss of control. They wanted me to be compliant, obedient, they thought this was their solution to deal with me.
But they didn’t realize what they’d done, until it was too late. They’ve removed my humanity, but gave me so much more. Power beyond imagination. They thought they could control me, but now, I have the power. And now.. I’m out for blood.”
STREAM HERE https://lucillecroft.ffm.to/patientx
Hey Lucille, thanks for taking the time. What’s your story as an artist?
Previously I was Lucille Croft. An Australian artist and producer, who got into music through an interest in dissecting songs and working out how they were made. Music has always been a form of escapism for me, I spend most of my time living in my head, inspired by the likes of science fiction, anime and fantasy games. These are the forms I explore within my music. Now, I’m Patient X. A character who was taken in for a mind-control experiment by the evil corporation ‘Bad Wolf HQ’, and now I’m in my next era, my post-human form. The EP explores Patient X going through phases of her mission of empowerment and revenge, and also just doing whatever the f*ck she wants, with nothing and nobody holding her back anymore.
What exactly do you want your music to communicate?
Each song and body of work I make has a story and message of some sort, that will vary each time. Each song has its own emotion and feeling, it really varies each time. Out For Blood – one of the songs from Patient X, for example, is kind of an anthem for anger. I was in a state of rage when I made the song, I was seeing in red, and I made the song idea in under an hour. The EP itself is a fictional story I created to explore my experiences as a woman in music. In a sense, it’s very personal. In a sense, it’s also not – because I created the Patient X character, I also feel detached as ‘Lucille Croft’, and like I only experience it in character as Patient X. This is something I’ll continue to go deeper with with future songs and bodies of work. Every song will have a story, and there will be new characters too.
Patient X is pretty intense. What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
For Patient X in particular, I had a story I wanted to tell, and decided to make a character, and a game theme with each song as an individual story and mission. The Patient X story is a fictional version of my experiences as a woman in music. Having people try to control and mold me into what they thought the Lucille Croft project should be – telling me how to dress, what music to play, what music to make, all of it. The post-human form and the storyline is symbolic of me coming into my power as a woman, as an artist and as a person. I feel empowered and confident in my art now, I have an incredible team behind me, and I’m doing things my way.
Are there any artists that you look up to more than others today?
Absolutely – Nine Inch Nails, anything Trent Reznor touches, The Prodigy, Bjork, David Bowie, Grimes.
What’s the record or artist that made you realize you wanted to be an artist?
I was at an Aphex Twin show. I’d never heard of him before, and I’d also previously never been to any kind of live music show that wasn’t rock or metal. I left my friends and stood in the middle of the crowd for the entire show, not moving or speaking. It completely blew my mind, I think I had some kind of out-of-body experience, and I left the show thinking ‘THIS is what I need to do. This is it’. I haven’t looked back since.
Tell us more about Patient X and the creative process behind it. How’d you piece it all together?
I had the concept, and I had the songs. I’d been playing some of my favourite games – like Doom and Resident Evil, and had a dream that I was a character IN the game. My songs were playing as I was running through the mission, slicing up monsters and shooting their heads off. When I woke up, it all started to come together. I was laying on the floor in a dark room listening to the demos (I do this A LOT), and you know how you see colours and shapes when you close your eyes? Well I kind of saw a rough outline of a blue X. And then it hit me. The character is X. Patient X.
What inspires your sound? It’s pretty unique!
As mentioned above, I like to live in my head. I love fantasy, games, science fiction, anything that’s out of the real world. These are what inspires the themes for my music. I like raw, dark, experimental and industrial sounds. What usually starts a song or sound for me is a dream I have, or something I’ll look at – like an image, colour or piece of art. I see sounds in things – like colours, patterns etc, I usually make moodboards for my songs before making the actual songs, or I’ll make a drawing that represents the sounds and arrangement that looks like a messy scribble to anyone else, but to me is an entire song idea.
What’s your favorite tune of yours (from the EP and in general)?
I don’t really have a ‘favourite’. I like different things about each of my songs. I definitely prefer my recent works over the last 2 years compared to my earlier works.
I really like how Post-Human sets the mood for the EP. It’s got an alarm synth sound I created on an MS20 (my favourite analog synth), to set the feel of Patient X escaping the lab, and then the drop is just pure chaos. There’s a lot of raw sounds, live drums, it’s an intense energy like you’re in the final battle at the end of the level in a game.
Where are some things you really want to accomplish as an artist?
World domination. But not in the sense that you think. I’m not out here chasing ultimate fame and money. Instead, I’m wanting to have enough resources to create my own world, my own reality. I’ll do this with my music, my shows, and the community I create. If there’s even just one person out there who connects with my music, then I feel accomplished. I also want to build my brand across different industries – music, fashion, art, technology, gaming, all of it.
Were there ever any moments when you felt like giving up?
Every day. There’s so much going on in my head all the time – ideas, conflicting personalities, thoughts, it’s exhausting to keep up with. But then I consider what else I’d be doing if it weren’t this, and I realise there’s not really another path for me. If I weren’t in a position of creating, I think I’d completely lose my mind.
What is the best advice you’ve ever gotten?
Make music for you. I can’t remember if someone else actually said this to me, or if I said it to myself, but it’s something I think about every day. You shouldn’t be creating art with the goal to please others – within music – to write a ‘commercial hit’, or something that’ll go ‘viral’ etc. You should be creating what you want to make, that’ll make you happy. You’re never going to please everyone, so you may as well aim to at least just please yourself.
Where do you think the next game changer will be in the music industry and entertainment scene?
We’re likely heading into a time where soon artists will be holding concerts and shows predominantly in virtual reality, where fans can participate from anywhere in the world, and eventually artists won’t have to travel as they’ll be performing in the virtual world, in a studio in their home city. The metaverse and virtual world is exciting, it’s a realm of infinite possibilities, and definitely something I’m personally very interested in exploring with my brand and music.
