I recently had the opportunity to chat with indie singer-songwriter Luke McAuley about his new single, 'Alright'. In this conversation, we delved into the evolution of his music and how his artistic approach has shifted since he embarked on his journey as a solo artist.
Hi Luke, thank you for taking the time to do this interview!
Hi Keiko! Thanks very much for having me again!
In our last interview you had just released your single ‘Turn Out The Light’ and were preparing to play gigs throughout
the summer. What’s the reception been like to your new music and how was your summer of playing gigs and shows?
The reception to my live show so far has been great! It’s been so nice to have the opportunity to play a load of new songs and test them out on new audiences! It was my first summer gigging with this solo project and I loved every second of it(apart from quite a lot of string snaps!!)
You are now back with your brand new single ‘Alright’ (which I absolutely love!), what can you tell us about the single?
I'm glad you like it!! It’s a song I'm really proud of and it has been in the works for a while so it's great to be finally getting it out. I wrote the song back in March 2023, a whole year before I released my debut single, so it's one of the first songs I wrote for my solo project! ‘Alright’ is an uplifting song, which I think is much needed now that summer is over, and I hope that listeners can really relate to the song in some way and allow it to be a song of comfort when they need it most!
‘Alright’ was also produced by Colin Brain who has worked with you on your previous singles. What made you decide to choose Colin as your producer and collaborator?
Working with Colin is always great, he knows his stuff which is great ‘cause I don't know anything really! But he
really understands my writing and knows exactly what is needed to take the song to the next level but he also helps with all aspects of the release, not just the production which is a huge help. The support he has given me has been
unbelievable, I'm a new singer/songwriter on the scene and it's so great to have Colin as part of my team!
‘Alright’ is about someone having feelings of anxiety and fear and captures the importance of having support from loved ones. What inspired you to write this song and how do you feel that it differs from the themes captured in your previous singles?
Yeah this song means a lot to me lyrically. I think everyone has those times where they just don't feel themselves
and all they really need is someone to talk to and someone to just tell them that everything's alright. I'm so lucky in the
fact that I have got so many people I know I can turn to when I need to chat, but some people really struggle to talk so I
guess it's a song to those people so they know that it is okay. Hopefully this song can be used as a place of comfort for
people and hopefully it can help in some way.
How would you say your approach to music has changed going from being in an indie-rock band to a solo artist?
I mean the music I am writing now is so much more me. I used to get too caught up in trying to write a song which sounds like another band rather than just writing what I want to write. I love that I can experiment more with my writing now too!
In our previous interview, you mentioned that these singles may end up forming some kind of EP- is that still the plan?
I'm at the moment loving releasing these all as singles, there will definitely be some kind of EP but I'm wanting it to
be more of a physical release rather than releasing the singles as an EP on streaming services. Some kind of limited run
of CDs or even Cassettes would be so cool!
Do you have any exciting plans for the rest of this year?
New music is always on the horizon, I've been back into the studio with Colin recently and have hit a bit of a
songwriting streak. Maybe a few intimate end of year shows but my full focus is onto next year and getting out and
about as much as possible! I've started rehearsals with my band for some live shows so hopefully 2025 will be a big year!!
Finally, could you recommend some of your current favourite songs to our readers?
At the moment I have got James Bay's new album ‘Changes All The Time’ on repeat! ‘Go On’ and ‘Hopeless Heart’ are two of my favourites from the album. James is such an inspiration for me in songwriting and everything else!
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! Only thing I have to say is that my new single ‘Alright’ is out on October 29th. The support I have had so far on pre-saves has been great so let's keep that going!! ENJOY ‘ALRIGHT’!!
Check out Luke McAuley's new single 'Alright' on the 29th October and follow my Spotify playlists where you can find Luke's previous singles (link in bio). You can also check out Luke's cover for Episode 4 of 'Soundtrack of My Life' on my Instagram and TikTok.
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