Luke Storey on ‘Weirdo’
Having originally been thrown into the music world by djing for Professor Green on his tours many moons ago, Luke Storey has now become a musician in his own right. Luke started slowly releasing music as a solo artist in early 2018 and has been gearing up to release his debut album ‘WEIRDO’ which dropped at the end of last year.
PHOTOS BY EVA PENTEL
The word is thrown around a lot but Luke’s sound is definitely unique, a sound that stands out from the rest of the scene without a doubt. His realism and honesty mixed with witty word-plays and old school beats make for a full-bellied album, with each track giving you something different from the last… From the personal & hard hitting ‘Joker’ to the slapstick-seeming jokes ‘Fake Taxi’ which is told from the point of view of a dude who learns life lessons through the world of porn, Luke touches on a whole range of topics. From addiction and rehab to his own mental health issues, he manages to smash through each taboo perfectly.
As well as a sonic success, this record also has an array of really fun music videos to accompany it. Pretty well rounded if you ask me.
So here we are, on a train back from East to West post-shoot chatting about tattoo artists, becoming a dad to the apple of his eye, his delicious dog Big Suze (peep the reference) and our shared love for FIP.
What song off WEIRDO took the longest to finish & why?
In terms of the writing all of them took about the same, each one written in one sitting. Production wise I’d say ‘Crack’ took the longest to get right simply because what it ended up asking of us was a different style of mixing that we were used to. It’s an out and out pop record to me, dark in theme but very much still a pop song.
Biggest weirdo you know?
My mate Harry. He’s mental.
So this was written in the first lockdown - how was lockdown 1 for you in general?
When lockdown 1 hit I had just got back from rehab and was back living at home with my mum. I was in lot of shame about it and had nothing really apart from a spare room to lay my head and some of my equipment. So in a way, Weirdo was written in a place of ‘this can’t get any worse’. As a result of that it’s me being pretty free on the record, I thought if i had nothing to lose then I might as well give it all I’ve got.
Your videos are sick - I especially like Joker & Bad Choice, what’s your process like? Do you enjoy making the MVs?
Ah thanks, I appreciate it. Most of my songs are pretty clear and direct concepts so the video ideas tend to come pretty easy. I don’t always enjoy them though because they can be a lot to pull off… It all depends on what’s needed for the particular song, I knew for the Joker video the outfits and make up had to be on point. It would’ve been far too easy to play a really bad joker.
PHOTOS BY EVA PENTEL
Dream venue to play?
I’d like to play the Jazz Cafe. it’s small but intimate and the people that go to shows there really care about the artist they’re going to see. And fuck it, Glastonbury main stage because why not.
& dream artist to collaborate with?
I would’ve loved to collaborate with Mac Miller…..it’s so tragic what happened to him. There are plenty of artists I look up to, but the collaboration would also have to make sense for the song. I never want to just collaborate for the sake of it, it’s always got to be the right fit with the right artist which is why so far, I haven’t done many collab tracks.
First CD/song you bought?
I think the first CD I bought was the “BAD” album by Michael Jackson. Killer!! I even got it tatted on me.
If you could give your 18 year old self a piece of advice what would it be?
Don’t bother smoking weed. It will lowkey rob you of so much….and try and treat others with a little more respect.
How would you describe your style?
You know what, I don’t even know anymore... I used to care a lot about it, I’d spend shit loads on clothes and come up with fits but nowadays I dress kind of bummy. Unless there is something I have to look good for. My everyday outfit is usually a hoodie, a pair of jeans or trackies, trainers and I’m done.
Who’ve you been listening to at the moment?
I’ve started to listen back to lot of old Eminem recently, his first two albums. I forgot how much I loved him and related to them as a kid. He was actually the goat.
What’s next for you? Or bit of a post-Weirdo break?
I said I’d take a break but I'm getting ideas again... Kind of annoying because now I’ve got to see them through, Ha! Nah I love it really, and I never force it. No song I’ve written has been difficult. So yeah, a few singles, a couple shows then who knows..?
You’re on the Last Bus home after a big night out and you’re plugging your headphones in. What are you listening to?
I'm listening to Weirdo. Either that, or Leonard Cohen. The man had bars for days.
