Q&A: Lecx Stacy Showcases a New Level of Artistry With 'One by One' Short Film
ONE CREATES IN SEARCH OF NOISE WITHIN SILENCE - a caress in a world often out of touch - this a thought grounded in music and art as mediumship for individual momentum. More broadly, one creates in search of a place within a richly unsettling history, a continuum that seems to bear its consequences indefinitely, a constant reprise ripe in hesitation to look back on the cracks it has left behind. For Filipino American artist Lecx Stacy, the kinship of cultural dialogue with music and art persists as the crux of his artistic purpose, where his body of work as a musician, producer, song-writer and visual artist paves a path towards regaining the losses carved by Western ancestral wrongdoings. He grasps, tightly, a knife that sinks its ridges into a visceral exploration of colonialism, generational trauma and ultimately, self, as a metaphysical and tangible product of each.
The release of Lecx’s short film One by One in November 2021, based on his debut album Bundok, follows more than a light tip-toe on the rope that bridges passive discomfort and uncontrolled rage, instead, channeling a deeply nuanced outlook on the social and political underpinnings of lived experience. Through a mosaic of revenge, torment, connection and healing, he innovates what is seemingly fixed, playing with tradition, instrumentally and cinematically, to express a moment-to moment awareness of cultural displacement and loss. He embodies multiple facets of identity, rejecting the notion that they can easily crumble into a single consciousness. Lecx finds inspiration in the mysticism and folklore of the Philippines, extending this beyond mere semantics and injecting its symbolic weight both sonically and visually. Directed by visual collaborator and director Timmy Harn, the film pulls us into a world harsh with emotion, haunted with turbulence, where we are able to relish in the feat of exploration, a journey that is immersive and intentionally disorienting. Submerged in creative expression, the essence of One by One sits in its ability to locate an orb of light at the centre of the plight, a desire ripe with revenge and a reclamation of cultural-identity through self-discovery.
Read on as Lecx unpacks the scope of his artistry, culture and his short film One by One.
LUNA: With all your work, you have created a universe, this nuanced, almost other-worldly experience. One By One delves deeper and deeper into this experience as we move throughout the film. Could you explain the concept and ideas behind this?
LECX: This film was my second time collaborating with my friend Timmy Harn, who is a film director based in Antipolo, Philippines. I came to him with a base idea of a revenge tale centered around a sacred mountain. The overarching concept that we came to for this short film follows an assassin who is contracted to exterminate the last inhabitants of a mountain in order to obtain its resources. This is all to dive into and explore real life situations currently going on such as the New Centennial Water Source dam project which is ongoing and affecting the Dumagat-Remontado indigenous group. This Philippine tribe is currently being pushed away from their ancestral land and killed in order for the Philippine government to proceed with the construction of a dam. I think One by One is mine and Timmy’s way of processing what’s going on.
LUNA: Your music goes beyond just the song. It is a reaction, it is an entire artistry. Within the music itself, I know that you draw from a range of genres and styles, you've told some other stories through a 'punk/pop/hardcore/hip hop guise', and this track in particular sits in an alternative/rock/punk realm. What inspired One By One?
LECX: I wanted to create something based on this desire for revenge. Part of the fixation on revenge stems from obvious reasons, such as the trauma caused by colonialism. Another reference point for the concept of revenge probably comes from my obsession with My Chemical Romance. I grew up listening to and idolizing MCR. Their album “Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge” is a very important album to me. I aspire to write songs and albums with just as much balance of melody and worldbuilding as Gerard Way.
LUNA: Such a wonderful archive of inspiration! Beyond the sound, it is evident the worlds you create are inspired by something much broader. What art forms are you drawn to and how do these each intertwine with or shape the worlds you create through your visuals?
LECX: Any form of escapism. Games like Skyrim and RuneScape have allowed me to immerse myself in mythical adventures, similar to the ones I try to paint in my music. Also folklore of any culture is really fun for me to read about. I find it really entertaining seeing how people across different times,eras and cultures try to make sense of the world around them and how these views, beliefs and knowledge are passed on.
LUNA: It is wonderful how culturally submerged your process is. You use the mysticism of the Philippines to explore decolonisation. Could you elaborate on this symbolism?
LECX: I think mysticism and folklore are pieces of culture that have been widely erased due to colonisation, especially in the Philippines. Because of this, I feel like exploring the mysticism and the beliefs that were widely held pre-colonization is in itself a small way of practicing decolonisation. It’s also my own way of trying to connect with my ancestors and the way that they lived and existed before experiencing the traumas inflicted by colonizers.
LUNA: The mountains or bundok hold a larger meaning as wilderness bears the inscription of global forces of war and empire. You weave an entire history in fragments throughout One by One. Could you explain how these symbols and stories influence your process as an artist?
LECX: I guess my attachment to the mountains is very multilayered. In the most tangible sense, both of my parents grew up in the mountains of Baguio City. I feel like I have an innate love and connection for the mountains because of this. In a more abstract sense, I began to feel a stronger fascination with the mountains because of the history that the word “bundok” itself holds. American soldiers brought the word “bundok” back to America via newspapers and letters, Americanizing it and turning it into “boondocks” or “boonies.” This was during a time when Americans were settled in the Philippines and torturing the people in camps. Because of all this, the mountains give me both a sense of home/connection to my ancestors and yet also a sense of sorrow and grief.
LUNA: Could you tell me about the mountains and the symbolic resonance they have had on you personally?
LECX: Unpacking and learning all of this has become a part of my process as an artist. I’ve been seeing that my process in creating art is kind of a cycle. I’ve been learning about my own history which then becomes my source material for my art, which my art then causes me to internally process what I’ve learned, which then inspires me to learn more and keep exploring deeper depths of my psyche/ancestry/culture...
LUNA: The short film has these distinct core parts to it, stylistically and conceptually. There is a spookiness to it, both the visuals and the song. What inspired this choice and what impact do you hope it has on your listeners and viewers?
LECX: I’m really inspired by horror/thriller films that explore folklore and mysticism, which probably explains the spookiness. This includes films like The Witch and The Alchemist Cookbook.
There's this quote that Gerard Way says in the Life on the Murder Scene documentary that goes something like “fiction is the best metaphor and sometimes actually feels more fact.” This is how I approach both making and consuming music and art, especially when it involves such traumatic themes. Sometimes it’s easier to express and relate to things when it immerses you in uncommon ways.
LUNA: I've realised in my own journey with cultural identity, that a lot of it is silence, and that there will never be a moment of 'Oh, we've done it, we've figured it out.' The process of exploring yourself and the experiences before you is infinite. These facets of identity are informed by years and years of turbulence, accumulated conflict. Did One By One and music in general play a role in the navigation of your own cultural identity? Has it helped the process of healing?
LECX: My album Bundok as a whole has been a direct result of exploring my cultural identity. Everything from songs, to the album art, to the videos and a short documentary film that I made called Buhay Sa Bundok. Becoming an artist has caused my cyclical journey of learning and unpacking my identity, turning it into art, which then surfaces more ways to explore and learn.
LUNA: What role do you hope this plays for your audience?
LECX: I hope others who follow and relate can see what I’ve done with my art and be inspired to dive into more creative ways of discovering one’s identity.
LUNA: What emotions would you say drive the core of One By One?
LECX: Discomfort. Rage.
LUNA: Lastly, music often serves as an instrument of education and a catalyst for social change. How do you hope One By One draws from this purpose?
LECX: I hope anyone else like me can hear my music and feel validated in some way. Or for people to be more comfortable with engaging in conversations and creating art that unpacks cultural and ethnic identity.
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