Arriving as a promising new talent, this Summer sees gifted singer-songwriter, Luca Wilding unveil his spellbinding debut single, ‘Heartachers’ – the inaugural track from his upcoming debut album, 'To', out on Abbey Records later this year.
Credit: John Ogunmuyiwa
Raised in the grey anywhere of Greater London, Luca Wilding never played an instrument in his youth. It was a family tradition of gunslinger ballads and time-old story-singalongs, and his eventual love for Leonard Cohen, that spurred him to begin song writing. Inspired later by a mixtape gifted to him by his supportive schoolteacher, he set out to achieve his ambition.
A unique dream-folk inspired track, ‘Heartachers’ is indicative of Wilding’s outlook. While it was written for a friend in the early stages of dealing with mental illness, it could be applied to so many of us, in so many differing situations.
Luca says:
“Heartachers is about learning to let go of what was. It was meant as a kind of call to arms; an invocation of the strength it takes to overcome the mountains of the mind. It tells the simple story of trying to love someone through all their pain and despite their sadness.”
Led by a gently plucked electric guitar, ‘Heartachers’ mesmerising melancholy is pulled from the myriad of transformative experiences that have peppered Wilding’s life thus far. His voice drifts with pain and passion, before a bold splash of instrumentation concludes the track, taking it totally somewhere else entirely.
We got to know Luca a little better...
Where are you from?
"I was brought up in a little town just outside London, one of these nondescript towns but I’ve lived in many different parts of the country - Margate, Peckham, North Devon - and for a while now I’ve been in Forest Hill South East London".
When did you start making music?
"I started writing songs when I was in my late teens, but never really started til a few years ago - I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of good musicians who have helped me a lot, but I’ve got a long way to go".
Can you sum up your sound in one sentence?
"Impossible".
What is your biggest motivation?
"Perhaps the knowledge that almost anything is achievable if one wills it to be. I take a lot of motivation from that. I think other peoples doubt is also a big one for me".
Who’s on your playlist right now?
"Oscar Peterson Trio, Big Thief… I’ve been listening to a lot of Zambian rock and roll recently, and as we speak I’m listening to Nina Simone".
What would you be doing if you weren’t making music?
"A poet, I hope. When I was a little younger I always wanted to be a poet and I’m sure when I can’t hit those high notes anymore I will hone that part of my craft. If not maybe I would be directing, I’ve always had a very visual way of writing and I think if I didn’t have an aural voice I might’ve explored my visual one."
Is there a piece of advice you’ve been given by anyone in the industry that has really stuck in your brain?
"When I first met the owner of my current label I told him about some pretty sad stuff that had happened over the past few years of my life, we talked about the music for a while and the songs that had come out of that period in my life. He told me “if you can take all the sad things that happen to you and make them into something beautiful, then you have won the game.”
Who are the most important people in your life and how do they inspire your work?
"I’m a big believer in the idea of the muse. Not in the traditional sense of a beautiful ephemeral girl, but in a non-gendered sense; the idea that all people are potential catalysts to invoke alchemical changes in you, the writer. All my songs are inspired by great men and women I have known. My friends are very important to me, 3 of them in particular have inspired me to write many of the songs on the album. But equally, more transitory meetings can often yield moments of great inspiration. There’s one song on the album written for a girl I only met for about 5 minutes, she said one thing in that interaction that stayed with me and led me to create this huge expansive story in my mind about her… So my friends and my family are important, but strangers too".
What’s your dream venue / place to play?
"I would love to play The Royal Albert Hall I think, but there are a few open air venues I would love to play like The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, I always loved The Minack theatre in Cornwall too, I think has something really beautiful about it. I want to play these sort of places at twilight when the world is very still".
Your debut single ‘Heartachers’ is released today. Tell us a little about the track!
"Heartachers was written for a friend of mine when they were in the early stages of dealing with a long battle with mental illness. It was meant as a kind of call to arms for that person; an invocation of the strength it takes to overcome the mountains of the mind. Its also a story about trying to love someone through their pain".
What do you hope the reaction will be like and is there a message you would like listeners to take away?
"Don’t be afraid of anything".
What are your goals for the future?
"I just want to keep writing, keep learning from the great writers, and the amazing musicians I’ve been lucky enough to meet, keep moving towards The Voice".
Stay tuned for details on Luca's debut album!
Listen to the track HERE
Instagram: @iamlucawilding