LUKE MARZEC – ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND INTERVIEW
Photo Credit Theo Batchelor
By Ralph Beauchamp
Luke Marzec is a magical talent. His voice is melodically brazen with funky vibrations. His music is like a kaleidoscope. He blends and shapes soul, R&B, jazz and pop like a groove laden wizard. Marzec is a UK artist who will be releasing his debut album, Something Good Out Of Nothing, on August 18th via Swift Half Records. He has already dropped Something Good Out Of Nothing (Part A) using the four song EP as a cinematic preview to the upcoming full length. Luke Marzec uses (Part A) to craft deeply personal, emotionally rich soundscapes that examine the tension between memory and change.
Marzec‘s life is a true adventure. During the pandemic, he sailed as a water traveler enhancing his perspective on the crazed universe. He simply enjoys destroying the everyday norm. Luke‘s true superpower is the ability to transform his songs into sublime paintings of exquisite beauty. His grooves are smooth and jazzy. His vocals crush with a bold ferocity. Luke Marzec‘s vocal tone is intensely gritty while still retaining an edgy smoothness. As a songwriter, Marzec excels. His tracks are filled with wondrous vibrations that transports the listener to fields of lush enchantment.
With a background in classical and jazz training (Royal College of Music, Trinity Conservatoire), and current work as a member of modular synth-jazz trio Lazy H and the Loose Cables, Marzec has built a singular voice that bridges experimental production and soul-rooted songwriting. His jam session series Headroom has become a fixture in London’s underground music scene, showcasing some of the capital’s top electronic and jazz talent.
Luke Marzec was kind enough to sit with AMP for this interview.
AMP: What first got you into music?
LUKE: I had the opportunity from a young age to learn an instrument, and I can’t remember why or when exactly, but I was drawn to the violin. I had a classical introduction to the violin, and took to it straight away; it helped train my ear early on. Around age 11, I started the sax and it soon took over.
AMP: Your music straddles many different musical genres including jazz and soul. How would you best describe your sound?
LUKE: The sound of the album finds a midpoint between jazz, soul, R&B, hip hop and folk and rock elements.
AMP: Speaking of jazz, do you feel it is a lost artform in today’s musical sphere and if so, do you see some sort of revival?
LUKE: It’s far from a lost art form. There is so much amazing jazz out there these days: after Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp A Butterfly” Kamasi Washington and ThunderCat came out with their albums in the US. You’ve got BADBADNOTGOOD. All the London Jazz outfits at the moment: Kokoroko, Nubiya Garcia, Ezra Collective. There are so many young, talented jazz players about.
AMP: What is your creative process like?
LUKE: I was called “the wild card” in the Lazy H synth band I’m in. When I write alone you just noodle around until you find something that sticks. Have a sing; an improvise. Find something you like. Develop it. Discover some lyrics. You might hear another sound or a baseline and play it in.
The creative process is really about getting in the right head space though. Focussed. Listening to everything. Getting rid of all expectations. Creative work takes a lot of decision making. A lot. That requires possibly confidence, but probably intuition. So you need to be in the right headspace to listen to yourself. I rarely save multiple edits of the same track. I just make a decision and go with it. The sooner you get something down the sooner you can work on it.
AMP: Your voice harbors a truly singular tone. When did you realize that it has such an amazing quality?
LUKE: Some kids in the school choir noticed I had a husky voice. But I guess I’m also self aware and am able to hear my voice. I like its sound, at its best, and am aware it doesn’t sound like most other voices. And I make the sounds I want to hear.
AMP: How has music transformed your life?
LUKE: When you make music and collaborate with people, you form really deep bonds. Making art and music is an incredibly pleasurable thing to do. It’s so much more fun than office work or mixing cement. At least for me. There are only so many days that I’ll live this life vital, healthy, with plenty of energy. So I spend my time doing things that are a good use of this little time I have.
To make memories to nurse my older days. Collaborating successfully leads you to properly good team work. To make sure everyone is heard. To make sure you yourself are heard. Also, to criticize someone’s playing can hurt someone: you get better at communicating compassionately. At trusting in good processes. Trusting that they will lead to good outcomes.
AMP: During Covid, you basically lived in solitude on a 44-foot narrowboat as a water traveller. How did that experience influence your songwriting?
LUKE: That time influenced how I live my life. More countryside. Time to heal. Time to connect with myself and with old friends. In addition, time to learn new trades and skills. It was a time when I focused on life not music. I joined another band. I didn’t try to write anything at all. What did get written came from organic impulse. When I finally did write again, after that period, my life was richer, my character deeper and ultimately that affects the stories I communicate in my music.
AMP: What would you like your fans to take away from your music?
LUKE: I’ve never really thought about that. I’ve just tried to make something that resonates with me.
AMP: Your debut album, Something Good Out of Nothing via Swift Hall Records drops in August. How stoked are you?
LUKE: I can’t wait to have the physical record in record stores. To have a finished physical product. To sell it at gigs. I’m stoked to make another!
AMP: What’s the future like for Luke Marzec?
LUKE: I’m excited about the future, if the present is anything to go by. I’m in the early days of playing with a solid band, and we’ve got a few gigs coming up which I can’t wait for. Then we’ll start writing and recording together and will have a little residency in the autumn. I’m in the process of recording another album with the synth jazz guys Lazy H and that’s always wild. My label Swift Half Records has some releases of some other collaborations I’m a part of which I can’t wait to get on with. But really, I’m just plugging away!
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