Luke Hurley
Encyclopedia
Luke Hurley is an independent New Zealand guitarist and singer-songwriter
, who works mostly outside the confines of the music industry. He was born in Kenya, and later moved with his family to Gore
in Southland
, New Zealand
when aged 12. He achieved a degree of early success on student radio with the song "Mona Lisa" in the early 1980s at University of Otago
in Dunedin
.
Growing up in Kenya and Zanzibar exposed Luke to Arabic, African and Indian styles of music which have influenced him to this day. Mississippi John Hurt
was also an influence. Luke's current style of playing has also been described as "Indian tabla meets Irish rock". Another comparison with singer-songwriters might be with Bruce Cockburn
and Ron Sexsmith
who are also prolific but outside the commercial mainstream.
His song "Albatross" is one of many much loved show stoppers in his 25+ years worth of repertoire. His idiosyncratic but perceptive songs are admired by many and in demand for recording by other artists such as Tracie De Jong who has recorded his "Fait Accompli" song.
He is now based in Auckland, and has toured with artists such as Michelle Shocked
and Marianne Faithfull
but is more likely to be found at fringe festivals or even busking
. He has self recorded the equivalent of about 8 albums since the early 1980s. The most recent, High Risk features 17 songs recorded at some of Aucklands best sound studios. It was engineered by Steve Garden and mastered by Chris Chetland at Kog Studio. The album was reviewed by Liz Barry who said it "...captivates the listener with gentle melodies, exquisite guitar technique and simple yet sometimes complex rhythms."
High Risk was released in 2000 and is perhaps the most well recorded example of Luke's capabilities. High Risk was strongly supported by Dr Greg Finucane (Neuropsychiatrist) who is credited as Executive Producer and who was also a member of two bands 'The Clear' and 'Thin Red Line' previously. High Risk took 4 years to record and complete. As relayed in an interview with Andrew Dubber, Luke described the album as part of his recovery process from depression. The album is named High Risk because for many of the people who supported the project it was a high risk as to whether it would succeed.
His own website features samples of his music and much more background information. In January 2007 he was signed by Monkey Records who have produced and recently released a compilation album Luke Hurley, The Best Of, 1981-2006. He was a featured artist at the Auckland Arts Festival. Luke performs often at festivals and was described as "one of New Zealand's great unknown musicians" by organisers at the Wellington Busking Festival.
In 2008 Luke completed a double album called Brother Sun Sister Moon with Brother Sun being the full album and Sister Moon an instrumental only version highlighting Lukes' guitar technique and style. Since July 2008 Luke has been on an extended tour of UK and nearby cities. He was based in Dublin, Ireland for most of this time with concerts and other performances in London, Paris and Stockholm through to early January 2009.
In 2010 Luke appears in the opening of the New Zealand movie The Insatiable Moon. Luke also wrote and played a number of songs for this project.
Luke currently performs publicly, on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, mid-town Auckland, NZ, and has done for several years.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, who works mostly outside the confines of the music industry. He was born in Kenya, and later moved with his family to Gore
Gore, New Zealand
Gore is a town, surrounding borough, and district in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand.-Geography:The Gore District has a land area of 1,251.62 km² and a resident population of...
in Southland
Southland Region
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
when aged 12. He achieved a degree of early success on student radio with the song "Mona Lisa" in the early 1980s at University of Otago
University of Otago
The University of Otago in Dunedin is New Zealand's oldest university with over 22,000 students enrolled during 2010.The university has New Zealand's highest average research quality and in New Zealand is second only to the University of Auckland in the number of A rated academic researchers it...
in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
.
Growing up in Kenya and Zanzibar exposed Luke to Arabic, African and Indian styles of music which have influenced him to this day. Mississippi John Hurt
Mississippi John Hurt
John Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
was also an influence. Luke's current style of playing has also been described as "Indian tabla meets Irish rock". Another comparison with singer-songwriters might be with Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
and Ron Sexsmith
Ron Sexsmith
Ronald Eldon "Ron" Sexsmith is a Canadian singer-songwriter from St. Catharines, Ontario, currently based in Toronto. He started his own band when he was fourteen years old, and released the first recordings of his own material seven years later, in 1985...
who are also prolific but outside the commercial mainstream.
His song "Albatross" is one of many much loved show stoppers in his 25+ years worth of repertoire. His idiosyncratic but perceptive songs are admired by many and in demand for recording by other artists such as Tracie De Jong who has recorded his "Fait Accompli" song.
He is now based in Auckland, and has toured with artists such as Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
and Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Faithfull
Marianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
but is more likely to be found at fringe festivals or even busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...
. He has self recorded the equivalent of about 8 albums since the early 1980s. The most recent, High Risk features 17 songs recorded at some of Aucklands best sound studios. It was engineered by Steve Garden and mastered by Chris Chetland at Kog Studio. The album was reviewed by Liz Barry who said it "...captivates the listener with gentle melodies, exquisite guitar technique and simple yet sometimes complex rhythms."
High Risk was released in 2000 and is perhaps the most well recorded example of Luke's capabilities. High Risk was strongly supported by Dr Greg Finucane (Neuropsychiatrist) who is credited as Executive Producer and who was also a member of two bands 'The Clear' and 'Thin Red Line' previously. High Risk took 4 years to record and complete. As relayed in an interview with Andrew Dubber, Luke described the album as part of his recovery process from depression. The album is named High Risk because for many of the people who supported the project it was a high risk as to whether it would succeed.
His own website features samples of his music and much more background information. In January 2007 he was signed by Monkey Records who have produced and recently released a compilation album Luke Hurley, The Best Of, 1981-2006. He was a featured artist at the Auckland Arts Festival. Luke performs often at festivals and was described as "one of New Zealand's great unknown musicians" by organisers at the Wellington Busking Festival.
In 2008 Luke completed a double album called Brother Sun Sister Moon with Brother Sun being the full album and Sister Moon an instrumental only version highlighting Lukes' guitar technique and style. Since July 2008 Luke has been on an extended tour of UK and nearby cities. He was based in Dublin, Ireland for most of this time with concerts and other performances in London, Paris and Stockholm through to early January 2009.
In 2010 Luke appears in the opening of the New Zealand movie The Insatiable Moon. Luke also wrote and played a number of songs for this project.
Luke currently performs publicly, on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets, mid-town Auckland, NZ, and has done for several years.
Discography
- Policestate (1983)
- Japanese Overdrive (1984)
- Make Room (1986) Compilation
- Luke Live (1987)
- Revival EP (1987)
- First Civilian (1989)
- Alone In Her Field (1990)
- Stop Luke Listen (1990) Compilation
- Reha (1994)
- High Risk (2000)
- The Best Of (1981-2006) (2007) Compilation
- Brother Sun Sister Moon (2008) Double album
- ' 'Soundtrack - The Insatiable Moon (2010)
External links
- Luke Hurley Website
- National Radio Interview 20070420
- News Video
- Schools Music Resource Kit features Luke
- Luke Hurley's page (includes audio previews) at Monkey Records