Emerging British artist Iona Luke has released her new single, Existential. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
23-year-old Iona studied English literature at Cambridge University, while simultaneously building her career as a songwriter, signing a publishing deal with the B Unique record label and performing across the UK.
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Existential follows previous singles Cowboy Boots, Violence, and Voices On The TV.
"In a madly oversaturated music space, figuring out where you stand and what you have to say is scary stuff," she says.
"When I had to decide whether I'd be 'Iona' or 'Iona Luke,' I repeated my name in my head too many times and had the mini existential collapse we all get when a word suddenly looks a bit funny.
"Existential is about identity, overthinking, and wondering if what you do actually matters. It was almost impossible to write... I snapped a lot of pencils."
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
A pretty defining moment for me so far was when Lana Del Rey created a TikTok account during Covid and her first video was of her singing along with my cover of Bel Air. For the first time I felt like I might be able to be a musician successfully, in a capacity that was more than a pipe dream. I cried for an embarrassingly long time after seeing it, and didn't actually have TikTok at the time, so I guess the social media side of my music journey started there.
I’m not sure if anyone other than me (and a few hardcore Patti Smith fans) would find this interesting, but I wrote my university dissertation on Smith’s work. To give a whistle-stop tour of it, the essay challenged the outdated (often gendered) tendency to read her songwriting and poetry as autobiography, rather than allowing it to be art and treating it with the same critical attention afforded to the contemporary male artists such as Bob Dylan, Lou Reed or Jack Kerouac.
I have a secret little pile of poems that are where most of my songs come from. Usually I simplify them and boil them down to a more specific and digestible meaning so that they work better as songs, but in terms of process, words almost always come first for me.
How would you describe your music?
It’s quite difficult to describe your own music, but I think it’s quite honest, a little dramatic, definitely dark, pretty intense, and possibly a bit shrouded sometimes. By shrouded I mean that I don’t like to write anything in an obvious way but always want it to be emotionally true.
Who are your musical inspirations?
My musical inspiration comes from a massive number of different people. I’ve always loved my ladies; Stevie Nicks, Beth Gibbons, PJ Harvey, Lana Del Rey and Patti Smith, but there are also some 90s bands like Massive Attack and singers with slightly quieter energy, like Elliot Smith and Jeff Buckley, that I really admire. I’m also inspired by poets that feel inseparable from music to me, such as Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson and W.B. Yeats. There’s some art that inspires me a lot too, I love Dante Rossetti and Salvador Dalí.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
The first gig I went to was The White Stripes at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, my parents took me and it was amazing. Jack White smashed his guitar and I thought I saw God. To this day Icky Thump is the song I listen to when I’m walking somewhere and I’m nervous, it’s a perfect strut song.
What was the first record you ever bought?
The first vinyl I bought was Norman F***ing Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey. It’s an unbelievable album, controversially I think it’s her best, though that involves me in a big Lana debate I’m not sure I’m ready for.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Ghost by Dog Cage, it’s so calm but so haunting.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"Two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, please" - Splodgenessabounds.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
This is an impossible question, so I’ll say 4’33’’ by John Cage.
Where can people find your music/more information?
You can find my music on all major streaming platforms, and keep up with me on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok for updates, releases and live shows. I also have an Openstage for fans where I share exclusive content and the occasional secret release!
Alan Corr
