Providing a platform for a soaring music success

Former Leicester College student, Lloyd Luther is now a successful rapper and singer who has had his music featured on an episode of Netflix’s Top Boy and his tracks streamed 4.2 million times on Spotify.

Lloyd studied the Access to Music/Music technology A Level at Leicester College which he began in 2004.

Lloyd began his time at the College studying graphic design but soon realised that music was his passion and something he had a real talent for, and so moved to the two-year Access to Music/Music Technology course.

During his time on the course, Lloyd was particularly impressed with the equipment, the teachers, and the shows they put on as part of the course. He had never used Apple computers or Logic equipment before and was amazed at what could be achieved with the technology.

He comments: “The staff have a wealth of knowledge and taught me techniques that I still use today. Also, their feedback gave me the confidence to take part in their shows and network with other artists and students on the course, which I think created a community and that was great to be a part of.

“The course taught me the basics of all things related to technology and music, and the freedom to experiment and use the studios made me realise that I wanted to do music for a living. It also added to the sound engineering side I had already gained from a course I did in Coventry at a place called Glasshouse.”

The course at Leicester College introduced Lloyd to the music scene in Leicester which led to a lot of collaborations, enabling him to further his career thereafter.

After completing the A Level course, Lloyd went on to do an HND at Leicester College/De Montfort University then a degree in Music Technology and Innovation at De Montfort University. After writing for a few years, he produced a track that was selected as a BBC 1xtra Track of the Week. This led to Lloyd being invited to take part in the BBC Masterclass 2012 where there were talks with big artists such as Wretch 32 and Miss Dynamite to name a few.

Lloyd continued: “I went on to release my first album ‘Dubs Of The Mad Skint And British’ in three parts starting from 2015. It got praise from people including grime artist JME and actor Lenny Henry. One of the tracks from the part two of this album, ’Stop Lying,’ got me to the MOBO Unsung finals where I came in third place.

“I released a few more singles and a freestyle at Chip Shop in Brixton led me to go on tour with UK hip hop legend TY. He also put on a show called ‘pass the torch’ at Jazz Cafe which featured a wealth of artists such as Enny who have gone on to do great things musically.

“Just after this is when I received the email from Drake’s management and the production company working with Top Boy asking for ‘Drugs On Tap’ (a song from my first album), to be featured in one of the episodes, and the rest is history!”

When asked if he would recommend the course he took at Leicester College, Lloyd commented: “Yes, most definitely. It will give you a head start in knowing how to produce and engineer your music, and that is essential in this climate of ‘do it yourself’ rather than hoping to get signed to a label.”

You can find out more about Lloyd and his music at www.lloydluther.com