Holding a boost of experience under his belt through his journey with Nizlopi, Luke Concannon is branching out into his solo travels with quality.
We caught up with Luke before his set on the Third Stage at Barn on the Farm…
Hi Luke, you’re set to play Barn on the Farm later – are you excited for that?
YEAH! This is the fourth year I’ve played. It’s one of those small festivals – grass roots, loads of enthusiasm, young people running it, young people at it.
You released your album last year – are you pleased with the reaction to that?
Yeah, I’d like more people to hear it, but I am yeah. I’m really proud of it. We’ve been on three headline tours as well – one we did in peoples’ living rooms, and yeah just getting music out to people feels pretty amazing. Just for people to hear it and to get some comments on it.
Tell us a bit about your writing process.
Usually I’ll get a riff and work around that. But I think the thing that comes first is some sort of inspiration, like going somewhere inspiring. So, this album I wrote on the way to Palestine, I hitchhiked in Palestine for a while. And a bear found me in the night and I was on my own and then the Syrian army wouldn’t let me through and all sorts of stuff. So, these sorts of places when you feel really alone, they bring ideas and you feel the music coming and you feel passionate and inspired by it. So I think being in places that have meaning, that’s what tends to start the song, I just get ideas and put them down.
Coming from a band previously, what has the transition to your solo career been like?
Well obviously, everyone sort of knew Nizlopi from ‘The JCB Song’, so at first it was mad going from say the last Nizlopi gig with 1000 people, to the first gig on my own with 15 people. So it’s quite hard to rebuild, it’s like starting again. But, it’s also been really inspiring ’cause it’s what I love and it’s what I believe in.
Was it pressurising in that maybe people who are fans of Nizlopi would be expecting you to go above that and sort of better yourself?
Yeah, you’re right. What was hard was that there were a lot of people who didn’t want Nizlopi to break up and people who were attached to it. There was a sense that it didn’t matter what I did or how good the songs were or the album was, people wanted Nizlopi. And so it takes quite a lot of perseverance to stick with it. And then slowly people were like “oh, I think that song is the best song you’ve ever written” or whatever.
What’s next for you or what have you got planned for the Summer?
Well, everything is on my website, www.lukeconcannon.com, and I’ll be touring in the Autumn again. Really, the next year I just want to focus on sharing this album with people. I just really believe in it, I’ve put so much into it. There’s a lot on the record about changing things, in terms of like encouraging people’s feeling of what is right and that we can make a difference politically, personally, so I want to deliver that and hopefully be part of a movement for music that isn’t just about the normal stuff, but stuff that we’re really passionate about like justice and real love, not just romantic love as a distraction, but as what makes us live and breathe and die. So yeah, the next year I’ll just be doing anything I can to get it heard.
I’ll also be doing some Nizlopi gigs as well. For the last year now, myself and John have been doing some gigs together. We’re gonna play in Dublin too – November!
I’ll be there! Thanks very much for that interview.
Yeah you’re welcome, great questions!
VOTE for Barn on the Farm as the Best Independent Festival right here: http://www.diymag.com/AIMawards – We did!