Au by Au

The influences Luke credits give some insight into the uniqueness of his music- a life spent as a stutterer, the rhythmic hypnosis of Arnold Dreyblatt, the simplicity of Louis Hardin's structures, the magic of Terry Riley's repetitions, John Cage's restraint, and the New Lost City Ramblers' re-interpretation of America's historical music.

Under the new moniker Au (pronounced ‘ay you’), this is his second album recorded in his home studio (the first , peaofthesea, as ‘luc’, 2005) and unearths a more crystalline and cohesive whole. Enlisted are the considerable talents of Zoë Wright and Sarah Winchester on vocals (from Team Love’s A Weather), Jonathan Sielaff on clarinets (Nick Jaina, Parenthetical Girls), Mark Kaylor on percussion (Haiku Ambulance, Ghost to Falco), and the mastering finesse of Jherek Bischoff from The Dead Science. Throughout the album Luke looks to the paradigms of everyday life, whether in the sorrow and longing of “Death”, or the glorious celebration of “Sum”; presenting songs that sidestep diaristic accounts in search of a more ubiquitous emotional experience.

The live show finds him collaborating with Jonathan Sielaff (clarinets, guitar, saw and banjo) and Mark Kaylor (drums, sousaphone, and saw). The three met in the Portland improv scene centered around the 411 Collective (2003) and together weave sets on numerous instruments that find a delicate balance between their roots as free music players and the pop oriented structures of Luke’s songs.

Luke has had the honor of sharing the stage with such bands as the Castanets, Tom Carter (Charalambides), Shaky Hands, Valet, Phosphorescent, Modernstate, Mary Halvorson and Jess Pavone, Grouper, Ches Smith and David Hoff, Colin Stetson, Evolutionary Jass Band, Dragging and Ox Through Water, Amps for Christ, Rollerball, David Kendall, Jackie-O-Motherfucker, The Yellow Swans, Pauline Oliveros, Olivia Block, GOD, A Weather, and Emma Zunz.

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