New album from chart topping Nizlopi singer Luke Concannon (out today) + Moth Club Show
LUKE CONCANNON
NEW ALBUM FROM CHART-TOPPING SONGWRITER
MIDNIGHT BLOOM OUT 14TH NOVEMBER
NIZLOPI HEADLINE SHOW AT MOTH CLUB 30TH NOVEMBER
“Luke Concannon is my hero; I owe a large part of my career to him” - Ed Sheeran
“Political, intense, angular and beautiful” - BBC Radio 1
“The Real Deal” - The Guardian
Anglo-Irish activist musician Luke Concannon unveils his new album and a special Nizlopi show at London's Moth Club later this month.
As one half of folk duo Nizlopi, Luke Concannon is perhaps best-known for penning their 2005 #1 hit ‘JCB’, and being a key inspiration for Ed Sheeran when he interned for them. Having continued to write songs over the years, Luke will be releasing his new album Midnight Bloom on 14th November. Punchy, passionate and bold, it’s a joyful yet hard-hitting return to recording after a long period of illness in his life. Following a gruelling tour promoting his previous album, Luke was diagnosed with IBS and burn-out, leading to three years of poor health, fatigue and lost creativity.
His gradual recovery was driven by his desire to build a house for himself and his pregnant wife Stephanie, who was studying for her Master’s Degree in Boston. Buying eight acres of woods in Vermont, Luke lived in a small tent while building a yurt, and found his creative mojo returning through physical work as he wrote songs at 5am every morning in the woods. Soon after, Stephanie completed her degree, they welcomed their son Oran, and the songs became his first new album in four years. Luke has embraced the land and community, finding that life does indeed find a way, even through the darkness, if one shows up and plants the seeds.
On the inspiration for the album, Luke explains: “I’m a recovering perfectionist. I’m learning to let go and realise that ‘good enough’ is a better way to approach our lives. We live in an area with a rich history of back-to-the-landers who lived on the edges of culture, and yet still managed to shake up the world through community, art, and politics.”
Soulful album opener ‘Shine’ reflects this mindset while addressing the hostility of workaholism and its effect on creativity. Then ‘Stick Together’ questions this further, with Luke flying through current world events and calling for unification in the face of it all: ‘We could take this so much higher… If we just stick together.’
Throughout the album there’s plenty of groove, which is also present on ‘Namaste Away From Me’ as Luke uses positivity in the face of negativity, but not to the detriment of one’s self… ‘I try so hard to reconcile when relationships falter,’ he explains, ‘But sometimes you have to say “enough.” The end of the song is a prayerful chant for keeping our love alive for people even if we can’t be in touch.’
Performing throughout the album is multi-instrumentalist composer Darius Christian (Adele/Lenny Kravitz/Mumford & Sons/Gwen Stefani), with all horns arranged and played by him, as well as various keys and bass lines. He also contributes various harmonies, such as on one of their first collaborations ‘What Would You Change’, elevating its hopeful message of breaking through the hate.
Sitting comfortably alongside the upbeat soul-pop on display throughout the album are some striking slow-burners, such as ‘A Woman is Sacred’ - this track was inspired by meeting two women at a songwriting retreat and hearing about the unrealistic expectations placed on them in the music industry. While it may have originated from a certain context, its resulting message is universal, one which has led to tears from audiences when performed live.
‘Dance With You’ and ‘Romy You’re Magical’ harken back to the early 2000s with its R&B-inflected guitars and slinky rhythms, but keeping his lyrics firmly in the present is ‘Brother’ with its harrowing inspiration as explained by Luke: ‘This track was written from the perspective of a Ukrainian and Russian soldier on either side of the war. It recognises the madness of the whole thing, war leading to mass murder of people who are often our closest neighbours.’
To have come through several years of illness and remain as grounded as he has, Luke’s message of hope in the album sets an example of how to keep your head in these extraordinary times. Be sure not to miss him at an upcoming show, details to be revealed shortly...
Bio:
Luke Concannon has early memories of falling asleep at Irish family parties to the sound of guitars, singing, and dancing. He has been making music in the community ever since. Upon meeting double-bassist John Parker in school, the two formed the folk hip- hop duo Nizlopi (best known for the ‘JCB Song’), selling a million records in their twenties and deeply influencing the young Ed Sheeran who interned with them. Through the strain of recording and touring world-wide with a small family-run label, Nizlopi parted ways.
Invigorated by a hitch-hiking trip to Palestine, Luke wrote his first solo album Give It All, kindling the fire for a solo singer-songwriter career. Ecstatic Bird in the Burning, Luke’s 2022 album, debuted at Number 12 in the folk charts on both sides of the Atlantic, including a Number 7 single, ‘Doing Nothing,’ and garnered rave reviews.
