Luke Shrestha details the future of his music - Q&A
Continuously working to better himself, get artists on the map, and crank out some of the best music in the scene, Luke Shrestha did us a favor and took the time to answer our hard hitting questions. For this Los Angeles-based producer and songwriter, he’s got a massive amount of collaborations in the works with the likes of Tayler Holder, Faime, and beyond. During our Q&A, we got a glimpse of the real Luke and an idea of exactly what to expect in the future. Don’t miss out!
WWAM: Hey Luke, thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions, how have things been on your end?
Luke: It's been great thanks so much for having me! I’ve been busy working on tons of projects for our artists so it's been really rewarding seeing all these artists grow.
WWAM: To start, this song absolutely rocks from start to finish. Would you mind breaking down the message of it all?
Luke: Thank you. We all worked really hard on this one so it's great to hear people resonating with the record. For this one we were trying to write a party song that resonated with who the artist is as a person. Rudy is definitely someone that loves to party and have a good time so when he came up with the phrase “on the rocks” I knew we had something. From there we produced the track, added the live horns and we had a record! We spent hours just on the vocal production trying to get every part just right and I think we nailed it.
WWAM: The production on the song is too good. Do you do all of your production, do you have help putting together the final pieces?
Luke: I have a production partner Simon Jay and together we are known as Chapters. We’ve done basically everything together for the last 9 years so it's always been helpful to have someone I trust to bounce ideas off of. The beauty of making music is the collaboration and making something you would have never thought of by yourself. Even bringing in the horn players on this record, their ideas definitely inspired us creatively as well.
WWAM: If you had to put a label on this song genre-wise, how would you describe it to the first time listener?
Luke: I would describe it as Latin/Pop. Even though the song is in English it has a lot of inspiration from the latin genre with the horns and the drums. Pop is a good description too since the melodies are so catchy and the beat has that “get up and dance” feeling.
WWAM: The hope is that there’s more to come right? Do you have plans for more singles or something bigger?
Luke: Definitely! Rudy is someone we’ve been helping develop with Charlie Walk so he has an EP coming out in October that was executive produced by Simon and I. I think we really discovered the unique Rudy Touzet sound with this EP so I'm excited for everyone to hear it!
WWAM: Are you going to be looking to experiment?
Luke: I'm always experimenting and trying new things with my music. I think experimenting is the easiest way to get out of writer's block. Trying things you wouldn't normally do and breaking down your own creative walls. It's easy to just do the same thing over and over staying in your comfort zone but the best songs are always the songs where big risks were taken and the listener is hearing something they haven't ever heard before.
WWAM: Are you trying to model your sound after your inspirations or trying to for your own sound?
Luke: I always find inspiration in other music. Hearing what other artists are doing inspires me to try new things and reach outside my comfort zone. Whenever we start a new song with an artist, we always ask for references of songs they want their song to be like. Even if they just like one element from a song like the drums of one song and the lead synth in another, this gives us perspective into what they like. Music is one of those things that is nearly impossible to describe with words sometimes so the only way to truly understand what the artist is wanting is by hearing what they are hearing through other songs. From there we always make it so it fits the artist but other music is always a great way to get on the same page as collaborators.
WWAM: So tell me, is there something specifically you enjoy the most about being an artist and creative?
Luke: I love bringing an artist's vision to life. As a producer my job is to take what is in the artist's head and make it into a piece of music. It can be tough sometimes especially with an artist that has a very specific idea of what they want but when I find it, that is definitely one of the most rewarding things for me.
WWAM: Trying to tour this year?
Luke: Possibly at the end of this year! We have another artist Faime who blew up in Southeast Asia so he might be playing some shows over there. I try to stay in the studio as much as possible because that's my first love but I also understand that touring is a huge aspect of an artist's life so I always try to make sure every artist we develop is ready for that part of their career.
WWAM: What’s a favorite song of yours to perform?
Luke: We have a song with our artist Faime called “Feels Like You” which is his biggest song with currently over 30 million plays. It's also a special song for me because I wrote it about my girlfriend so whenever we perform that song it has a special place in my heart.
WWAM: 1 year plan?
Luke: I used to set a lot of goals that were in reality out of my control so now I try to set goals that I have full control over whether I achieve them or not. One of those goals is I try to break down hit songs every month. I break down melodies, production, branding, marketing and anything else I can find to help me understand why the song did so well. This is something that I have full control over whether I do it or not so all my goals for the next year are things like this. Anything I can do to make myself a better producer and person I prioritize. Everything else I let the flow of life take me where it is pushing me knowing I've done everything I can to be prepared for every opportunity that comes my way.
WWAM: For the person who's going to discover you from this and listen to your music for the first time, what's an opening message you'd like to pass off to them?
Luke: I hope this music makes you feel in ways you've never felt before. So much of the music I make I try to evoke a feeling I haven't really felt in a song before. Whether it's a feeling of euphoria or makes you reminiscent, every song I do has something different to offer.
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