It is true that Luke Frees is a very versatile artist, as he produces all of his own music. He sings, plays the bass, programs the drums, plays the guitars, and plays synthesizers on his own.
Despite writing songs since he was 5 years old, he only started officially releasing his own music in 2017 with an EP called After The Rain. In the years since then, Luke has released three full-length albums, as well as a number of singles.
Boy Harsher, Nick Cave, The Cure, and 80s post-punk/industrial music, in general, were the major influences on this song, along with other big names of rock music history. You can see that he is mirroring the same characteristics as one of the most iconic independent musicians in the world today, and here you can see why.
You can listen to our entire playlist containing the artists’ music and learn more about their work by scrolling down the page.
Since he is an independent artist, he played this past year at the Porcupine Mountains Music Festival in Ontonagon, MI. He continues to play in/around the Chicagoland area on a regular basis. This guy has a lot to offer and you should stay close.
In November, Luke began this single-a-month project, where he started releasing one song (and a B-side, usually experimental/a cover/etc) a month. This is the third single in this series, and it is the most intense and passionate.
Many of these songs are breakup songs, and while a song like Most Of The Time (November’s single) picks at depression following a breakup, this is a more angry song. He recorded and produced this single in his apartment in Chicago, and it was mastered by Garrett Edson in Los Angeles, where he resides.
The song started as something called Authenticity Crisis, and he worked on the general form and basic tracks with those lyrics. Luke tried several vocal takes but wasn’t really convincing himself, so he almost completely rewrote the lyrics.
To make sure he was saying everything correctly, he worked through four or five drafts (Leonard Cohen is a huge influence on his lyrical writing, particularly his revisionist tendencies).
“There is a lot of passion in this song. It was inspired by the anger and clarity you feel after leaving an unhealthy relationship. It is in line with my own beliefs and intuition.”.
According to Frees, when you are in a relationship like that, it’s very easy to lose sight of your own beliefs and become overwhelmed by your partner’s. It’s similar to alcoholism and drinking, where you get sucked up and become a different person by those external forces.
Therefore, the gifted artist used that as a central metaphor in this song, and it worked perfectly because people could relate to it. You can check out his music on his website, follow him on BandCamp, and listen to his tunes on Spotify, but be sure to watch his interview below, too.
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