Luke McAuley is set to unveil his new single, 'Turn Out The Light', following the successful debut of his first single, 'You'. In this conversation, I had the opportunity to ask the Devon-based singer-songwriter about his recent work as a solo artist, as well as his travels to London to promote his debut single.
Hi Luke, thank you for taking the time to do this interview! Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your music?
Hi Keiko! Thanks for having me! For the people who are unaware of me, I’m a singer/songwriter from Devon! I released my Debut single ‘You’ in March and my second single ‘Turn Out The Light’ is out on April 27th! My music is similar to that of Lewis Capaldi, Dean Lewis and Hollow Coves!
Some of our readers may recognise you from your work as lead vocalist of indie-band Region, could you tell us about your decision to focus on your solo music and any challenges you have faced so far as a solo-artist?
Yeah, so Region was a band for 4 years, so since we were 13/14. Over time all of our music tastes have changed and our plans for our own careers were also changing so it made sense to focus on our own stuff! I decided to focus on my solo stuff in a style which is a bit different to the band but it’s the kind of music I like writing and performing!
Obviously starting anything new is scary and comes with lots of challenges but I am lucky enough to have some awesome people around me to help! I luckily haven’t faced many challenges so far. I think the big thing is trying not to do too much. Being a solo project, I’m already putting a lot into it so sometimes taking a minute to breathe is great but also difficult when there’s no one else to cover for me!
You recently released your debut single ‘You’ which included lots of promo in London, how was that experience and what was the most interesting reaction/interaction you received from the release?
That was a really fun day!! My producer Colin, My brother and I went into London on the day with the plan to go to some public pianos to play the song and film it, throughout the day we realised there was only 1 public piano annoyingly!! But luckily we had made a little cardboard sign and had a bunch of QR codes for the song so we ended up walking round the streets of London bothering the public haha!
I think the most interesting interaction we had was actually on the tube! I was sitting there with a sign, and a couple asked about the song and I eventually ended up signing the QR code sheet for them which was funny!
Following on from your debut release, you have just announced your brand new single ‘Turn Out The Light’. What can you tell us about the meaning and inspiration behind the single?
Yes!!! My new single ‘Turn Out The Light’ is out on the 27th April! The song lyrics kind of talk about getting out of a relationship or a friendship which is maybe a bad situation to be in. That’s all I’m gonna say! I would love for listeners to have their own story within my songs, of course all of my songs have their own personal meaning but everybody views things differently which is great!!
How would you say this single differs from ‘You’, did you approach the single differently or do you have a set method/routine when it comes to writing?
It’s definitely a slightly different vibe to ‘You’. ‘Turn Out The Light’ is more of an anthem kind of song! Both of these two songs were actually written in quite a similar way just at separate times! ‘Turn Out The Light’, similar to ‘You’ , was one of those songs which just flew out of my head and onto a page. I think I had just got back to Devon after a recording session for one of my other songs in London, and I sat down with the guitar and it just happened! I’m sorry I can’t say about a method or routine! I guess my method is to write loads and loads of songs and about 1 or 2 out of every 10 or 20 songs is a good song which I can adapt and work with!
Do you have any plans to release an EP or album featuring ‘You’ and 'Turn Out The Light’?
I have got some very exciting plans for the rest of the year which definitely involves new music whether it will be in the form of an EP, I guess you will have to wait and see ;)
So far you have worked with London-based producer Colin Brain on both of your singles, could you tell us a bit about how you came to work with Colin and what it’s like collaborating with others in the studio?
Working with Colin has been amazing! He has been a huge help not just in the studio whilst recording but also all of the parts in between and after! He’s been a huge part in all of the planning for everything! I was connected with Colin through my brother, who has also played a huge part in all of my music so far. My brother is based in London so he at one point connected with Colin and then connected Colin and I together. It’s been really fun working with Colin on these songs, it adds a view and perspective I wouldn’t be able to see and it also pushes me to get the best for the song. It’s such a new thing for me to be working with other people considering the band recorded all of our stuff ourselves at home with no producer! Working with Colin has definitely progressed me further as an
artist already!
Do you have any plans to tour this year and play live gigs?
I have got some festivals and shows lined up for this summer so far! I’m hoping to get some more shows booked up for the end of the year, if not then next year I will be hopefully gigging nonstop! It’s always a challenge as a new act to get booked for shows and tours but there will definitely be some fun shows in the near future!
In our last interview, you recommended some music to our readers including songs by I Don’t Know How But They Found Me. What songs have you been listening to recently and did any artists inspire your new material?
My taste has definitely changed since then(definitely still recommend IDKHOW.) Recently I have been listening to lots of different artists but if I had to name a few James Bay, City and Colour, Hollow Coves would be a few of them! Lots of other artists like Lewis Capaldi and Dean Lewis have also acted as a source of inspiration for me as well!
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview, do you have anything you would like to say to your fans and listeners?
Thanks so much for having me! The last thing from me would be to follow me on socials @lukemcauleymusic and also don’t forget to stream ‘You’ and also my new song ‘Turn Out The Light’ which is out on the 27th!!
Check out Luke McAuley's debut single 'You' in the link above and on my Spotify Featured Artists Playlist and listen to 'Turn Out The Light' tomorrow!