Luce in the Lamplight
I’ve said before that one of the best things in music is seeing an artist grow. Last year we wrote about the acoustic debut single by Luce called ‘Shoulder’. Now she’s back with her latest track, the band-infused ‘Lamplight’ from her forthcoming EP. Featuring a Q&A with Luce about this new music and her recent past, let’s take a look at her journey since 2021.
Image Credit: Cora Rebel.
It’s been a busy year for Luce! As well as completing her Masters in Songwriting, Luce put a band together with her fellow course-mates to record new music and take to the stage. The band, featuring bassist Conor Reilly, guitarist Phill Vidler and Benedict Williams on drums played London’s Islington Assembly Hall in September and The Camden Assembly in December. Following up ‘Shoulder’ in January 2021, Luce released her second single, ‘Paper Notes’ in March.
‘Finally moving to my first place, packing boxes full of old games, finding Paper Notes from you…’
Written as a lockdown collaboration with Phill Vidler (who also created this track’s artwork), ‘Paper Notes’ is an excellent example of Luce’s story-based songwriting. Described as a tale of ‘young love, growing up, and growing apart’, Luce’s character finds the paper notes they passed between each other later in life. Prior to release, Paper Notes would receive its radio debut on BBC Introducing Beds, Herts and Bucks for their International Women’s Day special.
‘Ink blot dreams, said we would be friends forever, love struck teens, scrunched up moments I remember, creases that we left behind, when we turned the page in life…’
In terms of her sound, it’s already grown from the modest arrangement of Shoulder. The early acoustic guitar picking is beautifully captured in the recording, with Luce singing the first verse alone. A brief pause brings in drums, bass and some more of the gorgeous harmonies Luce demonstrated in her debut. An interesting addition to Paper Notes is some lead guitar which is not overly assertive, but the perfect compliment to the acoustic playing that remains throughout. Hidden further back with the acoustic guitar is what sounds like banjo too, a glimpse at the kind of layering and production to be heard in her 2022 releases.
In a stop-gap between her solo singles, Luce collaborated with rapper R2J during lockdown, with ‘Gentle’ being released in April. This track sees Luce framing R2J’s storytelling in her melody, backed by an instrumental made by GeorgeKing Beats.
‘When you’re stuck in transit it’s ok to feel heavy with the load, when you think about it, just remember be Gentle as you go.’
Gentle shows Luce’s versatility as an artist, moving away from her more organic songwriting and arrangements. Her voice and writing here gives excellent balance with R2J, who raps in an English accent, their interplay sounding like a conversation between friends. Like much of Luce’s music, her vocal is a comfort, though in Gentle it works both aurally and narratively. At a running time of two and a half minutes, there could be more to flesh out in this story, which both artists are more than capable of expanding upon.
‘Turn the main lights down, we’ve been here for some time now, touching hands on your bed, listening to your breath…’
Luce’s latest music in 2022 comes in the form of ‘Lamplight’, the first single from her forthcoming debut EP. Co-written with Simon Stirling and with its arrangement brought out by Luce’s band, Lamplight is a strong statement of intent for what’s to come. Luce continues to showcase scenarios in her lyrics, with this song centring on a couple going through three stages of a relationship as they share the Lamplight together.
The rhythm and mood of this track is established immediately with the introduction and first verse in the acoustic strumming and vocal pacing. I particularly love Luce’s enunciation at the end of this line: ‘Look through me with those eyes, I’ve never seen a colour like it,’ hitting the mark almost like a sting.
Image Credit: Cora Rebel.
‘Bed of two sides, screens of blue light, squares that flicker in our eyes. Something changed, we lost the flame somewhere along the way…’
One thing I’ve noticed in Luce’s music is the importance of the small details, with the keyboard layers in Lamplight being an especially good example, taking the edge off the purely guitar-based approach.
And how glorious and exciting the arrangement for this song is. Lamplight hardly sits still as the rhythm section jumps in and out at crucial moments, bolstered by Phill Vidler’s subtle lead guitar parts as previously heard in Paper Notes. Yet at its core remains the constant that is Luce’s ascending voice and captivating lyricism, finishing ambiguously as you’re left wondering: is this a happy ending? With so much to offer in its lead single, the wonder yet to be heard in Luce’s forthcoming EP is an exciting prospect.
Continue reading for our Q&A with Luce. We discuss all three tracks heard here including Lamplight in detail as well as Luce’s 2021 live performances, Taylor Swift’s ‘Red’ album and navigating the music industry in 2022.
Live at the Islington Assembly Hall. Image Credit: ICMP Life.
1. Your new single 'Lamplight' lyrically moves through three stages of a relationship. When writing songs with a narrative like this, do you find yourself creating a backstory in your mind that helps build that world?
Absolutely. I like the lyric to be consistent so I like getting the world clear before I polish or redraft the song. For this one, me and my cowriter established the sort of relationship our characters had, and decided – after the initial idea dump – the different phases we would capture.
2. You worked with Simon Stirling on this track. Did you begin the writing process of the song alone, or did 'Lamplight' evolve during a writing session together?
We wrote the song together from a writing brief given to us in class. Simon and I studied together on our masters in songwriting. The brief was to write descriptively around an object; to involve the 7 senses (the 5 normal ones, plus organic (the awareness of what goes on inside our bodies, and kinaesthetic which is like your sense of yourself with the world around you). We wrote around lamplight as an object.
3. One of the later lyrical points centres on the couple being on their phones or tablets in bed. Do you think technology is driving us apart?
Haha, yes and no. I think technology can bring us together and drive us apart. In this particular phase in the character’s lives, it is driving them apart. But, at any point, they could put their phones down and enjoy the lamplight together again 😊
4. Is there a happy ending for the couple in 'Lamplight'?
It’s up to you, really
5. One of your influences for this record includes Taylor Swift's 'Red' album, how did you find 'Red (Taylor's Version)'? Can an artist re-capture the majick of a classic?
Oh my god I love that you’re asking me about this hahahaha. I loved it. Yes. Initially I was (not under or over) whelmed. I forgot that she was – for the most part – rerecording the same songs with the same arrangements. Nonetheless, I’ve always loved the album and I can enjoy it with more depth now and I think more appreciation for the songwriting craft as I too have aged since hearing it in 2012.
6. You got to return to live performance in a big way last year, playing the Islington Assembly Hall and The Camden Assembly at the end of the year, what are the moments you treasure most from those experiences?
Oh my gosh I did. Well playing the Islington Assembly Hall was the first gig I ever did with a band! It just felt so right. The whole 35 minutes went so quickly. It honestly was just immense. Absolutely immense. I feel like I’ve found my calling when I’m on stage performing – I feel connected to the audience, I feel connected with my band, I feel empowered and awesome. I think – though there will be moments of less impact – that feeling will only continue.
7. Your sound has certainly grown since the release of 'Shoulder' in January 2021. Has working with your live band changed how you write and arrange your songs?
Totally. Shoulder was mostly self-produced and I did feel the restrictions of that in 2020 when making the track. I’ve learnt more about songwriting, more about myself, and I’ve worked very closely with Conor – my friend, producer, and bassist. I really feel as though the track belongs to us as a band because they wrote their own parts. So far, I still write the skeleton of the song acoustically, and we build the arrangement around it, but moving forward now as a band it will be interesting to write “music first”. For example, starting with a drum part would challenge me and my confidence hahah.
8. It's coming up to a year since you released your second single 'Paper Notes', how did it feel to be writing songs with people you hadn't met at the time? Of course Phill Vidler is in your band now!
Honestly when Phill and I wrote together for Paper Notes, we were both surprised at how easy it was. I think we had to be pretty flexible when working with lots of different people on our degree; sometimes the songs amount to nothing but practice (which is still worthwhile), and other times you get to turn them into finished products to share with everyone else! We will write together again I’m sure.
9. You also collaborated with R2J on a track called 'Gentle' in 2021, how did that collaboration happen?
Oh yeah! Me and Ronnie went to school together and we both enjoyed each other’s music so in May 2020 we suggested a collab, found a backing track we liked, he sent me his lyrics for his verses, I wrote a hook and structured the song, then we recorded our parts. Still yet to meet up with him actually, we did it all remotely.
10. I've read a lot about how the role of an artist has changed in recent years, with the workload multiplying enormously. Can an artist co-exist with their act of creation as well as running their own PR machine?
I’ve had a recent battle with this. I’ve found it is easy to get caught up in the social media likes, view counts, and stream numbers; where you forget the reason you’re doing this which is for connection. I have to remind myself that the reason why I’m spending hours a day for 4 weeks prior to a release, sending the song out, writing a press release, planning social media posts, is so that it can reach more people and therefore connect with more people and I can build an ongoing relationship with those who it matters most to…. But f*** me is it a long road.
I’m currently researching ways I can make my next project more collaborative and connecting; it’s about recovery from sexual violence and I want to bring survivors together over it so it’s important it isn’t driven by money and streaming stats.
11. 'Lamplight' is taken from your forthcoming debut EP, is there anything more you can tell us about this collection of songs?
Sure thing! The EP has four songs: Lamplight, Come Outside, Helium Balloon, and The Rain. Extracts of which are all on my Instagram. Come Outside is out in March, then Helium Balloon in April and the EP shortly after. I’ll be raising money for Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre when I release Helium Balloon as it was written about my experience with dissociation after significant trauma. Come Outside is about a day where I was able to leave my state of sadness by people watching, and then The Rain is in that feeling of heaviness, trying to process it. There is no deliberate theme or intention, really, I just wanted to put out a collection of songs – it feels like a time stamp on this phase of my life in music. I’m so excited to share the next phase with you too.
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The music of Luce is available to download and stream in all the usual places.
For more information about Luce, including upcoming live performances, visit her official website here.
Follow Luce on Instagram and Twitter @musicby_luce and on Facebook @lucebarks.
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