The Luka State

The Luka State are an "electronically enhanced"^[1] rock band from Winsford,^[2] Cheshire, in the North West of England, halfway between Manchester and Liverpool. They were formed in 2012 by Conrad Ellis (guitarist), Sam Bell (bass) and Jess Whitmore (drums) as a three-piece.

From late 2013 to mid-2014 the band released three singles: "Matter of Time",^[3] 30 Minute Break,^[4] and Rain;^[5] all three being recorded by Sam Williams, best known for discovering alt-rock band Supergrass. They were picked up by Vulture Hound, which called the group "the epitome of modern Rock-n-roll."^[6]

In 2014, Whitmore parted with founding members Ellis and Bell, the latter citing musical differences and leaving room for Jake Barnabas as drummer.^[7] This change coincided with a change to a more electronically enhanced sound, described by Clash as "all epic guitars and contagious synth lines".^[3]

With an ever-growing international following asking for new material the band headed to Edge Studios^[8] to record their debut mini album The Price of Education.^[9] The album was self produced alongside the band’s manager Jim de Whalley,^[10] and engineered by Mark Winterburn, who has worked with bands such as Plan B and Nine Black Alps.^[11] Additional bass production was contributed by Simon Edwards of Fairground Attraction with the final mix being done by Chris Sheldon, who had mixed Foo Fighters' The Colour and the Shape^[12] whilst producing Feeder and Oceansize.

In early 2015 the band went on tour with One Night Only,^[13] best known for the top ten UK single Just for Tonight. To ensure the big sound they had produced in the studio on their record, the band held auditions for a second guitarist, choosing long-time friend Lewis Pusey.

To date (July 2015), the band have released two singles, The Believer ^[14] and Can’t Help Myself,^[15] from their debut mini album, The Price of Education.^[16] Both singles had significant regional airplay and positive reviews. Exposed Magazine said of the mini album: ‘The Price of Education is a lesson in how to kick off a good music career.’^[17]

Most recently, the band had their first European festival performance at Polifonik Sound Festival in Barbastro, Spain.^[18] Their performance was streamed live on iPop FM. The band are currently (July 2015) performing UK and European festivals and will be releasing a third single at the end of 2015.

Early years

Founders Ellis and Bell began playing together at the age of 12,^[19] along with Whitmore. Years of angst-fuelled jamming and cover songs eventually evolved into three-piece mod (subculture) punk band The Targets, which toured the UK with From the Jam and grew a following through the Scooter Rallies and Festivals of North West England. In that time they recorded demos with Steve Powell, producer of Cast, Echo and the The Bunnymen, and Ian Mcnab;^[20] and Jim Spencer (aka Dario G), who had previously worked with The Vaccines, Johnny Marr, and Badly Drawn Boy.^[21] Their self-funded North American tours to support their demo releases built them a fanbase in Toronto, and gave them a chance to play the El Macombo and Horseshoe Tavern, as well as New York City’s Mercury Lounge.

Formation (2012 - 2013)

Toward the end of 2011, the band decided that "The Targets" had run its course and that a change of direction was needed. It would however take almost a year for the band to announce their change of name and direction as they began work on breaking down the self imposed barriers to their creativity. They worked with Sam Williams,^[22] perhaps best known for discovering Supergrass, ^[23] to refine their ideas in his basement studio Temple Sound, in Oxford, UK. Their experience there proved to be "eye-opening", and not just from a musical standpoint.

These sessions resulted in the band’s shift to an electronically enhanced act, and presented them with the new challenge of reproducing the studio sound in a live show. To date band play live with a Tascam 788 hard disk, providing electronic elements, but intend to incorporate live electronic instrumentation from a keyboardist when possible.

With the new direction recorded the band only had to settle on a new name. After almost a year, inspiration finally came from one of their North America tours, where they met a fan named Luca Gismondi. His carefree attitude reflected that of the band. This attitude was picked up immediately in the band's first ever review from Clash: "it sounds like the band simply don’t care. They’re too busy having the time of their life, running on adrenalin and dismantling barriers placed in their way."^[3]

Emergence (2013 - 2014)

On 2 December 2013,^[24] "Matter of Time" was released as The Luka State’s first track from the Sam Williams sessions. It is available for download on iTunes as well as for sale as a Double A-Side Vinyl with "30 Minute Break". The single was well received, Vulture Hound calling it "The epitome of modern rock-n-roll."^[25]

The music video was shot in Delamere forest with the band running through the forest holding maritime safety flares. The single received airplay on BBC Introducing and the reviews lead to the band’s first European tour.

The band’s second single, "30 Minute Break", was released 24 March 2014.^[26] It had a more angst driven, heavier sound than pop-influenced Matter of Time. It was described by blog Backseat Mafia as:

a rush of almost garage like guitar indie rock. It bounds along, propelled by driving drums and spiky guitars and the kind of infectious chorus that has led to many a night out jumping up and down getting swathed in sweat and covered in beer.^[27]

The music was accompanied by a gritty, cinematic, domestic violence^[28] themed music video in keeping with the band’s interest in film and their desire to push the boundaries of what can be expected from an unsigned act. The band was helped by the director Oliver Kember.^[29] Thomas Sangster, most famous for his roles in Game of Thrones and Love Actually, appeared in the music video, having befriended Bell on the set of John Lennon biopic, Nowhere Boy. Bell played George Harrison in the film and voiced for Sangster in the singing scenes.^[30] Coincidentally, his appearance in the film would later inspire the band to choose Tomorrow Never Knows as a cover song b-side for their single, The Believer.^[31]

The video drew attention to the band online and received front-page coverage by Billboard US^[32] and the Hollywood Reporter.^[33] The blog Tigers Lions and Bears said of the video "It's fantastically acted, ingeniously shot, wonderfully thought out ...and couldn't have been better done for this quite spectacular display of music."^[34] The video has nearly one million plays to date, and has gained the band more coverage on BBC Introducing.

The band’s third and final track, "Rain", was released 7 July 2014.^[35] The inspiration for it came to Ellis while walking home in the pouring rain after finding out about a family tragedy. Written in just one night, the lyrics reveal a more adult side to the band.^[36] The band wanted to be more daring with the new video, which had a split screen, dual storyline production in homage to sliding doors. It was directed by Yurena A de Dios^[37] from Stella Polaris Productions and was the beginning of an ongoing (as of July 2015) relationship with the band.

The video revolves around abandonment and desperation, climaxing in a suicide attempt.^[5] The Canada Journal wrote: "‘Rain’ again pushes the boundaries and explores the mentality of someone who’s isolated, depressed and considering suicide."^[38] In the video, Thomas Sangster and Stephanie-Jane de Whalley can be seen briefly reprising their roles on Primrose Hill.^[39] The scenes on Primrose Hill would later inspire Ellis to write a song of the same title, which is yet (July 2015) to be released.

The promotional campaign around the single was difficult, but a pivotal period for the band. Ellis and Bell parted ways with Whitmore, and immediately began demoing songs and preproduction for what would become their debut mini album, The Price of Education.

The Price of Education and Tomorrow Never Knows (2014 - 2015)

Although temporarily a two piece, The Luka State decided to self-produce The Price of Education.^[40] This would free them to experiment again. Project Records agreed to this so long as Jim de Whalley oversaw production.

The band recorded at Edge Studios,^[8] Cheshire, with Mark Winterburn^[11] as their engineer. With the studio booked and no drummer, Bell might have had to drum on the record. However, Jake Barnabas approached the band before recording started, asking to join. He auditioned and passed, joining the band just three weeks before recording began. In eight days, the band recorded the instrumentation for 10 songs, only 7 of which would be released.

Additional guitar production assistance came from Jack Fearon, lead singer of local band Deja Vega, and Danny Werner,^[41] a session musician who very briefly in late 2012 was the band’s fourth member.

The Price of Education has six tracks, plus an electronic intro. The seventh track recorded was a cover of The Beatles’ "Tomorrow Never Knows". Ellis explained:

We chose a Beatles track because they’re so hard to tackle and reinterpret. We also knew it would push us in a different direction and open up new doors to our creativity. Of course we’re big fans of the Beatles. Everyone in the UK should be. There’ll never be another band like them.^[42]

"Tomorrow Never Knows" was the first track to have its electronic elements added. It was mixed by Chris Sheldon, along with the rest of the album, and was eventually released as a B side to "The Believer". The band shot a music video in the guerrilla style, featuring Ellis on a bad trip in Soho.^[43] It was filmed by Yurena A de Dios, director of "Rain". With this track, the band had achieved its desire to be an "electronically enhanced rock’n’roll band".^[44] The rest of the album would take almost six months to complete,^[45] with "The Believer" being released before the rest of the record was done. Almost immediately after completion of the album, the band flew to Berlin for a show at Antje Oeklesund^[46] and the debut performance of Barnabas with the band.

Bell and Jim de Whalley spent several months on the synth work, drawing inspiration from everywhere they could. The Believer actually started life as an acoustic introduction to the album,^[47] but the addition of synths was inspired by Hans Zimmer’s score for Interstellar.^[48]

The lead up to the album’s release saw the band tour with One Night Only,^[49] best known for their single "Just for Tonight", letting them showcase their new material to a new fanbase. With the tour booked, the band needed another musician to recreate the large studio sound at a live venue. Long time friend Lewis Pusey auditioned and joined on guitar. Before even playing a show with the band, Pusey appeared in the music video of "The Believer".^[50] Blog Noise cannon reviewed their one show saying, "Their passion for what they do shone through their warming performance and each song had a little something more than the last, demonstrating just the right amount of experimentation."^[51]

"The Believer", released on 16 March 2015, received almost unanimously positive reviews. Musique Review described it as "an upbeat catchy tune",^[47] whilst Indie London said: "Dripping with psychedelic rock values, this is a barnstrormer of high quality – trippy, adrenaline-driven and kick-ass cool."^[52] The monochrome music video was colour graded by The Mill in Chicago. The single received much regional radio play, and BBC Introducing continued to show support for the band. The promo video also appeared on The Video Pool,^[53] and its B Side, "Tomorrow Never Knows", gained the band its first Q Magazine review, which described them as having "some serious cajones [sic]" for covering the song.^[54]

The second single, "Can’t Help Myself", was released simultaneously with "The Price of Education", on 8 June 2015.^[45] The single received more positive reviews and publicity for the band, as it coincided with their mini UK tour. BBC Introducing^[55] continued to show support for the band, claiming that ‘Their time is now’^[56] The video was again shot by Yurena A de Dios, who shot the video entirely underwater. Ellis had some difficulties shooting the video, saying: "Playing guitar was fun though. The thing kept floating away. It’s completely ruined now."^[57] The video included alternative model Integra Fairbrook, who is Judge Anderson from the comic series 2000AD. This video was the second of The Luka State’s to feature on The Video pool.^[58]

Discography

Singles

• Matter of Time - (2 December 2013)
• 30 Minute Break - (24 March 2014)
• Rain - (7 July 2014)
• The Believer - (16 March 2015)
• Can't Help Myself - (8 June 2015)
• Bring This All Together - (27 November 2015)

Double A-sides

• Matter of Time / 30 Minute Break [limited edition 500 x 7″ vinyl] - (22 August 2013)

Studio albums

• The Price of Education [Mini Album] - (8 June 2015)

External links

• The Luka State Official site

References