london-based musician luke Sital-Singh will be in India to perform at NH7 Weekender. The young sensation speaks to Karan Bhardwaj about how his lyrics are born out of his curiosity
What is your Indian connectionIJ
My father’s grandparents were India born. They all moved to Jamaica, where my grandparents were born. Then the family moved to london where my father was born. Everyone in my family is little hazy on these details (laughs).
How did you get into musicIJ
My upbringing wasn’t really musical. I got into it properly around age 11 as a social thing. My friends were all getting into nu metal bands so I half-heartedly joined in. I started playing guitar so that I could join the bands we were forming. It was all a bit of fun and nothing more. But once I turned to folk music and song writing and I really got hooked. Music became an essential part of my life. It has remained that way ever since.
What kind of feedback did you receive initiallyIJ
It was mostly good. Though I was really bad, especially at singing, my family was always supportive. My parents liked the idea of music even though they weren’t particularly musical, so they really encouraged me.
You sing melodies. Does it come naturally to youIJ
I think music is the only thing that comes naturally to me. I find melodies the easiest part of what I do. lyrics are much harder for me, mainly because I have very high standards. I have to feel like what I’m singing is important and perhaps hasn’t been said quite the same way before. I’m not going to write songs about trite things. I’m always searching for real meaning and often that’s quite hard to find.
I like the idea of trying different kinds of music, but I’m also a firm believer in doing one thing well and trying to perfect one craft I’m good at. It’ll take me forever to master the art of simple songwriting.
Who have been your musical inspirations and influencesIJ
I’m sure all kinds of music have influenced me in one way or another. Some artistes that have really stood out for me over the years are Damien Rice, Bon Iver, Neil Young, David Bazan, Ryan Adams, Sigur Ros, Mark Kozelek and Teitur.
Your songs are inspiring yet have hints of melancholy. How do you compose lyricsIJ
I get a lot of inspiration from questioning nature. I am quite an annoying person who questions everything. ‘Why do we do thisIJ’ ‘Why do people do thatIJ’ I’m always searching for meaning and often complaining about how little meaning there seems to be. So those ideas often find there way into songs. I love to examine myself mostly and my strengths and weaknesses as a person and how life can just be hard and wonderful at the same time.
Tell us about the first EP Fail For You.
That EP happened soon after I started working with a new manager back in 2011. I’d had two managers before Julian and things just didn’t work out for many reasons. But everything was beginning to come together nicely at the end of 2011 and Julian came on the team and the first thing we talked about was putting an EP out of some of my best songs I had at the time. Julian knew Iain Archer, who I was a fan of and he agreed to come in to help produce the EP. It all felt like a very natural process and a very confident one. We were working without a label and it felt very easy and un-pressured. I had made recordings before but this time I actually felt ready and having Iain on board only added to that confidence. I’m still really proud of that EP. I think it’s still one of the purist 20 minutes of music I’ve made because no one was watching and I did exactly what I wanted with no compromise at all.
Share the making of The Fire Inside
It happened over a long time. We didn’t get it all done in an intensive few weeks. It was more of a gradual chipping away between touring and other commitments. But I enjoyed that in the end. It meant I could come back afresh each session and get a good perspective on the progress as we went along. The producer Iain Archer and I had been working together on everything I’d released up to that point and so there was a good understanding between us. This meant that when it came to deciding what instruments we’d use on what songs, we would just trust each other’s instincts. The decisions were based more on what we didn’t want it to sound like. We didn’t want to choose the obvious things every time. We would explore a lot of alternative ideas during the sessions like putting a background vocal through a guitar amp to make it little dirtier.
You are going to play at NH7 Weekender. What should we expect from the performanceIJ
I will be playing solo, which is my favourite way to perform. I love the freedom and the intense emotion I can express when I perform alone. It’s my first ever performance in India so I hope people resonate with it. I’ve not got a lot of expectations about my trip. It looks like it’s going to be a busy one for lots of promotional activities. So I may not get the chance to see anything fun, which would be a shame. But it is a work trip after all!
What is your take on your contemporariesIJ
I think there’s a part of everyone that likes the idea of being the best at something, but that isn’t really what drives me to make music. I don’t pay that much attention to what the other people immediately around me are creating and find it can be counter-productive if I’m trying to write from an authentic perspective. I find myself attracted to current artistes who have been around for years.