Capturing the repetitiveness of everyday life, Luke Hansen shares his love of playing gigs with friends, his gratitude to his creative clan, and the process of his debut album.
Luke Hansen has embraced the local music scene in recent years with his multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter attitude oozing such hypnotic magic. recently fell the air is thin the title song for their debut album. The track is packed with poetic introspective snippets intertwined with smooth sounds and amplified instrumental experimentation.
Luke Hansen had a moment with us to express how he captured the repetitiveness of everyday life in the song through an eerie tone that melded with a strong climax to break out of the boredom of everyday life. He also shares his love of playing concerts with his friends, being surrounded by a creative family and his favorite instrument: the piano. He reads on and knows his musical process and where he would love to move if he could right now.
GLAD: Thank you very much for chatting with us! What are you doing today?
LUKE HANSEN: Hey, don’t worry at all. Glad you asked, I just bought an Ibanez Tube Screamer guitar pedal! So, it’s been a very good day.
GLAD: Congratulations on your latest single, the air is thin, from his upcoming album. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind it and what message do you want to convey to your listeners?
LUKE HANSEN: Well, it’s a pretty dark song about the repetitiveness of everyday life. The chord progression at the beginning and the vocals express a creepy tone, and that’s how I wanted the track to start, and eventually it turns into a big chorus, which is about making a drastic change in your life and getting out of that repeating cycle. . .
GLAD: How is your composition and recording process?
LUKE HANSEN: It’s not always the same, but I usually start with guitar and then build some vocal lines with some chords that I like. With this song in particular, it was interesting because I asked the band to have something to do with songwriting, and my drummer came up with the cool drum line that’s in the verse, and we came up with the ending as a band. The bridge section also has over 30 layered vocal lines, which took me hours to do.
GLAD: Tell us about your suburb. What do you like/dislike about where you live?
LUKE HANSEN: I am located in the Northern Beaches, which is where I grew up when I was young and then moved to a few years ago. It’s pretty quiet, but that can be good and bad; sometimes it can get a bit boring. That is why I am planning to move to the UK at the end of next year.

GLAD: Tell us about your creative community.
LUKE HANSEN: Well, I have a lot of friends who are in the music scene and we all help each other out. I play concerts with many bands of friends. I also have friends who do warehouse shows/parties and have just started selecting music for a Sunday night event called “Day About” in Kalyx. I’m lucky to be surrounded by creatives of all kinds who help with all kinds of things, like videography and photography.
GLAD: You experiment with different instruments during your creative process. Do you have a favorite instrument that you gravitate towards? Or a new instrument you’d like to try that you haven’t played yet?
LUKE HANSEN: Well, I recently bought a synth and would really love to start adding some synth lines to my pieces. I also listen to a lot of jazz and would also love to add some jazz harmony to my songs. I must say that my favorite instrument is the piano.
GLAD: What is something someone has said about your music that you have near you?
LUKE HANSEN: Someone praised the production quality of my latest single, which means a lot because we worked so hard to make it sound up to scratch.
GLAD: What TV shows are you enjoying right now?
LUKE HANSEN: I’ve been watching The Sopranos recently and it’s kept me busy every night.
GLAD: Tell us a bit about what we can expect from your next album, which is scheduled to be released in May 2023. Which artists or bands would you say you drew the most musical influence from while working on the record?
LUKE HANSEN: It’s a very eclectic album, there are many different influences. I haven’t recorded the last few tracks that will be on the B-side of the album, but they gravitate towards a more RnB vibe, while the first half of the album is a more intense folk/rocker vibe. The main artists that I am inspired by are probably Jeff Buckley, Tom Waits and Elliot Smith, and some more modern artists are Steve Lacy and Connan Moccasin.
GLAD: What do you have planned in terms of live shows these next few months?
LUKE HANSEN: I’m planning on playing a few more shows in Sydney and Melbourne in January, and then I’ll be flying to the UK where I hope I can do some solo acoustic shows!
GLAD: If you could be anywhere in the world right now playing a show, where would you want to be?
LUKE HANSEN: Definitely Osaka, Japan.
GLAD: Thanks for the chat!
LUKE HANSEN: Thank you for your time, we appreciate it!
Stream the air is thin via Spotify below. Keep your eyes and ears peeled and ready for sneak peeks at the remaining LP, available May 2023, via Luke’s social media.
Interviewed by Olivia Adams
Photos supplied.