Voodoo Preview: Skull and Tones

Electro-Pop Artist Mystery Skulls from L.A. Returns to NOLA for Voodoo Set

[Our friends at Nola Defender are also covering Voodoo, and we're sharing stories this year to cover as much ground as possible. I hope you'll check out Nola Defender the rest of the year, and thanks to M.D. Dupuy for the story]

Although he spends his days in the other L.A., a 27-year-old Luis Dubuc spent his first days in Louisiana. “My mom went to Tulane, I was raised in South America but I was born near Tulane.”

The electronic artist began as Secret Handshake, and he released his first EP under the name Mystery Skulls in 2011. While his most recent work is characterized by the standard synthy sounds of electro pop, Dubuc infuses a number of genres into his work. “I make this sort of electro/funk/soul thing. It really blends with the future and the past in a really interesting way,” said Dubuc.

Dubuc is excited to be doing now what he grew up seeing on television. “I really like in movies when they would show new music, the future. Humans in the future are always dancing to robot music. Dub step is just robot bounce,” said the artist.

While some criticize electronic music for its lack of stage presence, Dubuc sees the one-man show aspect as an opportunity to connect with his audience in a more intimate way. “It’s a little more visceral than other performances are. There’s no band on stage, so you really just sort of have to just let it take you. If you do, you can sort of accept it,” said Dubuc.

Currently, Cashmere Cat, Drake, and Rusty are on Dubuc’s rotation. While the artist gravitates towards the electronic in his own music consumption, Dubuc says he is not the “Captain America of the genre.”

“I just think that it’s music, at the end of the day. It’s just using a different tool set,” said the artist.

Dubuc promises some Halloween-themed surprises in his upcoming set, but he will not reveal the specifics. “That’s a surprise, isn’t it?” he laughed. “It’s definitely something more geared towards kind of a cool, funny, playfully scary vibe.”

Mystery Skulls will be coming off of a Halloween-night Las Vegas show when Dubuc arrives in New Orleans.He said this week is packed with excitement, as the show in Vegas and his Voodoo set are two of his biggest gigs yet. “I guess Voodoo would have to be the first [big festival], and two nights before is my first Vegas show ever.”

The last time Dubuc was at Voodoo, he was a high school kid on a road trip with some friends. Over a decade later, Dubuc is playing it. 

Mystery Skulls play the Le Plur Stage at Voodoo Saturday at 2:10 p.m.

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