We had the chance to speak with Luke from Canadian duo cleopatrick before the release of their forthcoming highly anticipated debut album 'BUMMER', due for release on June 4th via their own label Nowhere Special Recordings.
After playing Reading & Leeds festivals, cleopatrik will head out on a UK headline tour in November with four shows that are almost sold out, including a date at London's Islington Assembly Hall.
At just 23, cleopatrick have proven themselves to be a genuine underground global sensation. They were the only band picked for Amazon Music UK’s Ones To Watch 2021, and have amassed nearly 100 million streams alongside multiple sell-out tours across Europe which included an immediately sold-out underplay at London’s Electrowerkz and several shows (including London’s Alexandra Palace) supporting Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes in 2020.
Introduce yourselves and tell us a little about the band! "I'm Luke. My best friend Ian and I are in a band called cleopatrick. We play rock music." How did you guys meet and start making music together?
"Ian and I met on the first day of kindergarten when we were 4 years old. We became best friends and started to play music together when we were around 8 years old." Where are you from? Do you feel your surroundings inspire the sound in any way? "We are from the small rural town of Cobourg, Ontario Canada. I write a lot of my songs about feelings and ideas that feel pretty connected to the experience of growing up in a small town." Who do you derive musical inspiration from? "My favourite songwriters are Thom Yorke/Radiohead, Drake, Andy Shauf, Julia Jacklin, and Alex Turner. I love them all for their own unique reasons, but collectively they inspire me with their lyrics, melodies, and arrangements."
You guys have had an incredible success story to date with so many amazing achievements! What’s been your stand out moment so far? "We got to play Lollapalooza which was pretty fucking nuts. All through 2017/2018 we were totally obsessed with Brockhampton. When we played Lolla they were on the same stage as us and we ended up chilling beside them on some chairs backstage. It was so surreal. we played it cool though."
Most recently, you shared your single ‘FAMILY VAN’ - tell us a little about it! "That's a fan favourite that we've been playing live for a long time now. We are so stoked to finally have it out in the world." How have you felt the reaction has been so far? "The reaction has been pretty awesome. I think some people are a little taken back by how heavy these new songs sound - but the truth is, this is what we've been trying to sound like since we started this band. I think our whole record is one of the most unique sounding rock projects I've heard. not to "toot my own horn" -- I'm just really proud of what we made!"
Your previous single 'THE DRAKE' comes alongside a music video - what was the inspiration or theme for the visuals? "That video was shot by our friend Kurtis Watson on a shitty VHS camera at a secret basement show we played a while back. That night was so crazy. The basement was like an oven. The guy that booked the show ended up running out to a grocery store to buy waters for everyone in the crowd after our set." What can we expect from you for the rest of this year? "We are going to be releasing our debut album 'BUMMER' on JUNE 4 2021!!!!"
Listen HERE @cleopatrickband
The Lowdown is an online blog & print entertainment platform for music discovery featuring the very best in both established and upcoming talent. Find the latest news, reviews, interviews with your favourite artists and grab tickets to upcoming gigs & tours.