Luis Dubuc didn’t audition before Simon Cowell. He didn’t trek to a distant metropolis with a few sound bytes and a sales pitch for a producer. He wasn’t noticed by another artist while he performed in a bar or coffee shop. 
Luis Dubuc just liked posting his music on Tumblr.
“From Tumblr, it definitely found its way onto Youtube channels,” Dubuc said. “I remember sort of waking up one morning, and I had so many emails. Someone had posted something, and people found it and started talking about it. It was on 4chan — they loved it.”
Almost overnight, Dubuc hit the No. 1 spot on the popular music sharing website Bandcamp. That, Dubuc said, was when he realized he had a following.
“I’m so lucky, it’s amazing,” Dubuc said. “When you’re making it, you never think it’s going to be number one anything — you’re just making music.”
It’s been a year and a half since Dubuc posted his EP on Bandcamp under the moniker Mystery Skulls. Since then, the Dallas native has signed with Warner Music Group, produced his debut album, which is slated to come out later this year, and completed his first tour across the U.S.
When Dubuc performs at Palousafest, it will be his first time in Idaho.
He said he found his way to Moscow much in the same way he found his way into the music industry in the first place — someone clicked on his song, and liked it.
Dubuc’s story didn’t begin with a share, a like, a favorite, a view or even a few thousand, though. Music is a long-time passion of his, and something he’s worked for since he was young.
“I was into music growing up like anybody else,” Dubuc said. “I liked metal, and hip hop, and whatever else was on the radio in the nineties. I got into punk rock, and I was a drummer in garage bands with my friends … long story short, I got into music the normal way, just like anybody else.”
Dubuc doesn’t have a single, favorite genre — he is what he calls an equal opportunity listener. This was helped in part by working at a record store through high school, where Dubuc was exposed to a deluge of different styles and artists. Mystery Skulls is the product of decades of growth, development and exploration. It’s an indie pop, electronica, dance anthem project — it’s funky, it’s dirty and it’s tangible, according to Dubuc.
Now that he’s settled into his style, Dubuc said he hopes Mystery Skulls will be a long-term project. He’s already collaborated and received guidance from artists he admires such as Nile Rodgers of Chic, Avicii and Adam Lambert.
“I just started — of course I’d like to make it as big as I possibly can,” Dubuc said. “I would love to make music that influences people to make their own music. Obviously at some point I listened to music and was inspired to learn to play it, so if I can pay that forward in some way and make great music doing it, I’d love to see that.”
Mystery Skulls will be performing at Palousafest at 7:30 p.m. Saturday on the Theophilus Tower Lawn.
Hannah Shirley can be reached at [email protected]