Having originally starting life as a drummer, 21-year-old Welshman Luke Jones has now swapped sticks for a microphone as he unveils his first solo single as a singer-songwriter, 'Follow Suit'.
With a rich and breezy aesthetic, 'Follow Suit' looks to take cues from acts such as Sea Girls and Catfish & The Bottlemen with its light yet powerful indie-rock direction. Filled with soaring vocals, blistering guitar hooks, and an instantly catchy chorus, his debut offering certainly sees him off to an incredible start.
So with his new single now doing the rounds, we decided to sit him down and find out more about his background and what has inspired him over the years.
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What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
The Drums - songwriting is sill very new for me, but I’ve been drumming since the age of like 5 or 6 and up until about 2 years ago thats all I ever really wanted to do. Leather things with sticks!
What has been the most prominent inspiration behind your music so far?
I don't really have anything I could pin point as my one source of inspiration in all honesty, I guess I draw influence from people closer to home rather than anyone on the music scene these days. Growing up my drum teacher was a big inspiration, my dad, and my mates really. My recent single was inspired by one of my best mates and his ‘story’. So yeah, I’m probably mostly inspired by people around me.
Although recently I’ve started a new songwriting ‘technique’ where I scroll through social media and find some sort of debate and pick extracts or quotes from that, whether its the status itself or the comment section, I always seem to find some quality one liners lying around on social media.
What kind of music did you love as a teenager?
My music taste has always varied. As a kid I was never too far away from anything 80’s, my dad was always playing his music on car journeys painting pictures of life in those days saying I need to be writing tunes like that to make it to LA. He’d always say that, I’ll be lucky to make it to Rotherham never mind LA.
Like I say my music taste has always varied I’ve gone from AC/DC to Mac DeMarco to The Police then to something more poppy like The 1975, some mad transitions there. Some of my more recent favourites would be The Strokes, Jeff Buckley, The Black Keys, Sam Fender, Arlo Parks, Steely Dan, From Indian Lakes, Kishi Bashi and Matt Corby. To name a few.
Can you remember the first song that made you want to pursue a life in music?
Honestly, not really. Theres never been a defined moment where I’ve gone ‘right I’m gonna chase this’. It’s all I’ve ever been half decent at, I’ve always just wanted to play music and be able to make a living out of it. Still trying!
When you wake up in the morning, what kind of music do you like to listen to?
I’ve just gotten into Lianne La Havas, really easy listening and she’s well cool. I like Bombay Bicycle Club, especially their album ‘Flaws’. I’ll never play anything too heavy, especially not before my first coffee.
How many of your songs have you written about people in your life?
All of them I suppose. I write out of personal experiences or something that the people close to me have gone through, but I always try to link it to something that matters to me. I’ve tried to steer away from writing about girls recently, just got a bit boring talking about love and heartbreak etc.
What has been the most memorable moment in your career so far?
I don’t think I’m really qualified to say I’ve had a “career” in music just yet.
I suppose my best memories within music have come from gigging with my former bandmates, trying to pack all our gear into my old banger of a car that would break down every two miles, it was like a big game of Tetris. We’d be cramping up travelling nationwide to play a half an hour support slot, get paid in energy drinks, pizza and “exposure”, and then travel all the way home the same evening to make it to work the next day. Rinse and repeat most weekends, thats what I love the most. Unfortunately the band went a bit south and we’re not really doing much anymore. That’s what has led to me writing and releasing my own stuff though which I'm really proud of, always a silver lining.
Outside of music, what is your biggest passion?
Throughout my school years I was really into Rugby, you’d never guess looking at my stature now though, I’m a bit of a stick insect with a beer belly and moobs, but I was half decent some years ago. I decided to give it up a couple seasons ago though because I injured my shoulder badly and have accumulated a few broken fingers over the years.
If you weren’t a musician, what other path do you think you might have taken?
I’m a lifelong Southampton FC fan so I’d never say no to pulling the red and white on for them, and I wouldn’t mind a couple hundred grand a week for it either. I’ve never been good at football though so I’d probably be the kit man, but I’d do anything to shake Danny Ing’s hand. Apparently he dabbles with the guitar too, might give him a message.
And what advice would you give to other musicians looking to stay productive through the coronavirus lockdown?
Try to turn a bad situation into something positive. I’ve tried to treat it as an opportunity to improve and enhance my skills. My old man always said practice makes perfect and theres no excuse now not to put the hours in.
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Luke Jones' debut single 'Follow Suit' is available to stream and download now. Have a listen to it in the player below.