Who is Luke Faas?
The short version is that I’m a 23-year-old Norwegian kid that’s absolutely engrossed with music.
I see that you’re from Norway?
Yeah, I’m from a suburb outside Oslo called Stabekk, which is the best place I can imagine growing up. Big shoutout to my mom and dad for moving there!
What or who are some of your musical influences growing up in Norway?
I grew up listening to a lot of my dad’s music, that spanned from jazz and singer-songwriter stuff to British seventies rock, and I think that helped me expand my pallet.
With that said, who would you say inspires you to better your craft?
I think the music scene right now is better than ever, and I get a boost of inspiration every time new music drops.
In the modern music scene, I tend to listen more closely to the group of artists that really shifts the paradigm and pushes things forward like James Blake, Bon Iver, Frank Ocean and Kendrick Lamar. The list is a lot longer, but those guys all bring something new and genuine to the table.
With that said, I don’t think you’re able to hear any strong Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple influence in my music nowadays.
If you were to take our readers on a tour of where you come from, what would we see?
I would have you follow me through our garden, over the fence and into the small forest right beside our house, where I spent A LOT of time growing up.
Depending on what time of my childhood we would want to revisit, the activity would span from shooting bow and arrow, blowing up stuff with homemade firecrackers, hiding beer from mom and dad or making out with a childhood sweetheart. Your pick!
That’s pretty dope, shooting bow and arrows. I know that that’s a pretty big sport in your country. The only reason I know this is that I happened to stumble upon some of your countrymen doing their thing in the Olympics. Was that ever something you seriously considered doing yourself professionally?
That’s right! Norwegians are pretty good at bow and arrow, but it’s still a very small sport over here, so I never considered doing it professionally. I guess this was more of an “into the woods” experience for me and my mates than a sport.
That forest was the place I felt the most free to do what I wanted, where I let myself daydream and be creative.
How did you get started performing?
I jumped into whatever activity that involved music from very early on, but I think my first ever concert was with my primary school band, where I played the bass, but I always enjoyed singing the most, cause it’s much easier to communicate something to the audience with your voice than with an instrument.
The opportunity to reach out to people got me hooked, especially when I started performing my own songs late in my teens.
How do you come up with the ideas for your songs? Is there a particular method to the “madness”?
I pick up things along the way and write ideas down on my phone, but most of the stuff I write down is just rubbish. When I get to the studio the “rubbish” is still really valuable to kickstart the creative process, especially with lyrics.
Take us through your thought process of how you create your music?
There are so many different ways to start a songwriting process, and I think I’ve done them all. I usually improvise over some chords, lyrics or a melody that I have in my head, and go from there, but the process varies a lot from song to song. With Why Bother I actually started out with making the beat and built on top of that.
Luke Faas – “Why Bother”
“Why Bother” is a really good song.
Thanks!
I see it doing some good numbers on Social Media. How has the reception been with that song? Are you hearing a lot of positive feedback from others in the industry?
The reception of “Why Bother” has been amazing, and a lot of people I don’t know has reached out to say they love my music. Since the release, it’s been listed on national radio (NRK P3) and I’ve also been booked to my absolute favorite festival Øya in Oslo. It’s just been super fun!
What artist out now, if you were to compare yourself to someone, would you compare yourself to? Who would you want to work with?
My dream collaboration would be with Frank Ocean, because everything he touches turns into gold. His lyrics really connect with me as well, and he seems like the type of person that thinks a lot like I do. So if anyone has his number, hook me up!
I wish I did (laughs). So how is the music scene in Norway?
It’s booming! We have so much good talent over here that I’m sure you’ll hear more from over the coming years. Especially the girls are killing it. A big shoutout to Sigrid, Anna of the North, Astrid S, Dagny and the rest of you!
Do you hope to cross over to the US similar to how Adele has done in the UK?
Absolutely! Anywhere there are people that like my music is where I wanna be.
What’s your favorite thing about being an artist?
That’s definitely performing. Nothing beats it.
What’re your future plans? What are you currently working on?
Right now I’m focusing on the release of my upcoming EP, Apathy, that I’m really happy with. Other than that I’m spending my days in front of the piano and in the studio writing more music. I’m also planning a couple of live shows for late summer and early fall, and can’t wait to get back on stage.
Make sure you keep us posted.
Will do.
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Luke Faas’ newest single “Why Bother” recently dropped via NYLON. You can check out the video above in the article.
His debut EP Apathy drops 6/16 on Easy Records Oslo.
You can also check him out at his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Soundcloud.
