Introducing Luca

Today I’d like to introduce a new artist to Belles and Gals – Luca! I was lucky enough to catch a listen to her latest single ‘Last Orders’ on social media and immediately loved it (watch it on YouTube above, or stream on Spotify below). Having heard the song I had to find out more about Luca!

Hi Luca, I have to say I think your new single ‘Last Orders’ is wonderful, with a real story-telling vibe. What was the inspiration behind the song?

Thank you so much, I’m so glad you like the song! I had a lot of fun writing this one and it really is a track close to my heart, so to hear such wonderful feedback feels incredible. The song came about as I wanted to tell a story of a breakdown in a relationship from both perspectives. I’ll quite often write a song coming from just my point of view on a situation and my recollection of the details. But as always, there are two sides to every story and I thought it would be really interesting to explore this more.

Lyrically, the song is just brilliant. Can you tell us something about the writing process for the track? And does this follow your usual writing process?

This was a completely different writing process for me as for the first time, I co-wrote with my husband! We had a few ‘lockdown wines’ and started throwing some ideas around, by the end of the night we had the finished song. To be able to write with him is so much fun. I usually write alone, but he knows the direction and vibe I want to explore musically and we bounce off one another and it just works.

I went to him with a melody already in place, so we really focussed on the lyrics and structure and approached it as if we were writing a short story rather than a song. We wanted to really allow the characters to come to life and present the story to the listener in a subjective way. Once we had the bones, we started manipulating it around the melody and it grew from there.

Tell us something about your music career? Have you always wanted to be a singer? And which artists have inspired you?

Everyone probably says this but yeah absolutely, it’s something I’ve wanted to do from as far back as I can remember! My mum always jokes that I was singing before I could talk and she’s probably right. I have a huge family and they’re all really musical. My house was full of music growing up. When I was around 7 or 8 years old I asked my dad to teach me guitar and my love of it just grew from there.

I grew up with a huge country and folk influence, so I take a lot of inspiration from those artists. You know, when you look at the absolute genius lyrics of people like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, the exquisite harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, John Prine’s storytelling, Joan Baez’s mesmerising vocals, it’s impossible not to be influenced by them. It’s these artists that have really been a huge presence in my musical journey. Once I discovered The Chicks when I was around 12 years old, I said to myself I just had to do this. I thought that if I could achieve even a tiny fraction of what someone like Dolly or Shania had, then I would be one very happy woman indeed.

I live in Manchester and its so richly steeped in musical history. I’m surrounded by this wealth of awesome bands and artists which pushes me and excites me to do more.

I started off doing open mics and gigs whenever I could. I instantly realised how much of a buzz playing live gave to me. I used to get hard on myself for feeling awkward talking on stage or making mistakes, but I quickly realised just how important those mistakes are. It’s all about learning and developing from experience. You need those tiny gigs in an empty pub or a room full of people drunkenly chatting away oblivious to you on the mic. It helps you grow as an artist and craft your work.

A couple of years ago I headed into the studio and recorded my debut EP ‘The House That We Know’. From there, I’ve been continuing to write and I’m hoping to have my album out in the very near future – yay! I’m working with a brilliant producer and friend and it’s been mega to see these songs come to life. So watch this space for the release!

And if you could look into the future ten years, where would you like to see yourself.

I would like to say I’d still be playing and writing music for sure. I’d have a good few albums under my belt and I may have persuaded my husband to quit his job and accompany me on the road in our tour bus haha! But yes, playing and releasing music without a doubt and still loving every minute of it.

I love making music and want to continue to do so for as long as possible. It’s interesting for me to look back at the songs I was writing or the sound I had when I was younger and see how that has evolved with age and life experience. So I’m excited to see how this will develop and change over time as well.

To finish, tell us about your dream gig – which venue would it be at, and who would join you on stage for a duet?

Ok, dream gig would definelty be The Grand Ole Opry! Ahhh just imagine?! What an iconic venue and to step onto that stage in which so many incredible musicians have graced over the years. I don’t think you’d get that smile off my face for years.

It’s hard to choose just one person for a duet! But I’d have to go with Loudon Wainwright III. To be on stage singing with him would be a dream come true. The way he crafts a song and injects so much raw, honest warmth into his lyrics, (not to mention hilarity) is just mind blowing to me. His songs have played such a huge part in my life growing up. I did once meet him and I regret to this day that I didn’t ask him for an impromptu jam sesh whilst he was signing my gig ticket…one can dream hey.