“Dressing Like A Stranger”, il nuovo album di Luke Sital-Singh

Alla scoperta dei brani della nuova raccolta del cantautore tra folk e soft-rock in uscita il prossimo 2 settembre

Ispirato al suo trasferimento da Londra a Los Angeles, poco prima dell’arrivo della pandemia, ‘Dressing Like A Stranger‘, il nuovo album di Luke Sital-Singh in arrivo il 2 settembre – il primo con Nettwerk Music Group – riflette sui modi in cui il trasferimento, e tutto ciò che è accaduto dopo, lo ha cambiato come persona, o forse sui modi in cui si aspettava che sarebbe successo e non l’ha fatto. “’Dressing Like A Stranger’ riguarda il guardare indietro a se stessi e notare se qualcosa è cambiato o meno, e in che modo. E’ una retrospettiva su sé stessi: ho cambiato vestiti a Los Angeles solo perchè fa più caldo che a Londra? Ho comprato una chitarra in un negozio a LA e ho usato questo strumento per tutto il disco. Il primo brano che ho scritto, appena rientrato a casa con la nuova chitarra, è proprio la title-track” afferma Luke Sital-Singh. “Se guardi abbastanza bene, potresti ritrovarti. Tuttavia la ricerca potrebbe non essere mai solo una questione di miglia o di cambiamenti drastici. Invece, succede spesso quando stai fermo abbastanza a lungo da farti trovare”.

Autoproclamatosi ‘pensatore cronico’, Luke Sital-Singh – cantante, compositore e produttore – cresce senza necessariamente cambiare in ‘Dressing Like A Stranger’: “la cosa più confortante è stata rendersi conto di essere me stesso. Ho solo bisogno di guardare le cose in modo diverso” continua l’artista.

Fino ad ora si potrebbe dire che questo processo è andato a buon fine, data la sua prolifica carriera da milioni di streaming. Il suo terzo album, ‘A Golden State’, ha ottenuto ampi consensi nel 2019, grazie alla sua abilità nel coinvolgere l’ascoltatore in un’intima serie di emozioni, accompagnate da suoni folk e soft-rock. Negli anni, è stato in tour con Angus e Julia Stone, Martha Wainwright, Kodaline ed altri, oltre ad aver condotto TED Talk. Trasferitosi da Londra a Los Angeles con la moglie, poco prima della pandemia, con l’arrivo del Covid-19 ha affittato uno studio ed ha inciso alcuni brani da solo prima di coinvolgere il collega Dan Croll come co-produttore e Tchad Blake (Fiona Apple, The Black Keys, Elvis Costello) al mixer.

Tra ballad romantiche, suoni che riportano al sole della California, momenti di riflessioni e folk-rock, ‘Dressing Like A Stranger’ rappresenta al meglio le già note doti da cantastorie alternativo di Luke Sital-Singh, i cui precedenti brani hanno fatto da colonna sonora a note serie tv, tra cui Grey’s Anatomy.

Tracklist

Dressing Like A Stranger – Blind Missiles – Me & God – Can’t Get High
All night Stand – Forever Endeavour – Summer Somewhere – My Mind
Til The Day I Die – Rather Be (feat. Christina Perri) – California
The Walk – Wiser Too

Track-By-Track

Dressing Like A Stranger
The first song I wrote that felt like it unlocked what the album would be/sound like. It’s about looking back at yourself and noticing the ways you’ve changed and what has and hasn’t changed you. In retrospect, it sounds like I was exploring how I had changed or not changed since moving to LA. Have I changed or do I just wear different clothes because it’s hot? I bought a guitar from a local store in LA. I found it a very inspiring instrument, and I used it throughout the record. I wrote dressing like a stranger the minute I got home with the new guitar. It informed the sound of everything else.

Blind Missiles
A song about feeling alone in a world of craziness, isolated in a new country, and weirded out by politics, feeling like I couldn’t relate to any of the beliefs around me. And I hated the animosity and inability of people just to talk and empathize with each other as humans. I co-wrote this one with Dan Croll. His demo impressed me so much that I thought he could help me produce the whole record.

Me & God
This song is a reflection on belief in God. On the one hand, it is a very literal and personal song about my faith and lack thereof. It is also supposed as a metaphor for any belief system and how it’s important to interrogate what you believe and figure out whether it makes sense or whether it’s worth dropping it—a very lyrical storytelling song.

Can’t Get High
Written with Ben Cramer (Old Sea Brigade).

Looking for meaning in the rubble of a failed relationship. Going over memories, trying to find the positives when things go wrong.

All Night Stand
A song about marriage. Thinking about what life would be like if I was single and coming back to loving being married and how amazing it is to have that one person there with you every night.

Forever Endeavour
Another marriage song, sort of. This song is the third part of a song cycle that I started on my first album with “Benediction” and continued with “Afterneath.” “Benediction” was a love song at the end of the world. “Afterneath” was a love song for what comes after the end. And “Forever Endeavour” is a love song about forever; it’s another way of describing marriage.

Summer Somewhere
A general reflection on life in LA amidst the anxieties of the last couple of years. Wildfires, Covid, protests, loneliness. Trying to encourage my wife as we went through it all together. A very confusing time, I wanted to write a song to help ease the struggles.

My Mind
Another song that is about trying to get on top of anxieties. Trying to control your mind. I wrote this one after first moving to LA. I think I had lots of worries at that point. If only I could control my worries, maybe I’d enjoy living in this new place.

Til The Day I Die
This one is a fictional love story that explores the passing of time, a relationship going through the years and changing circumstances, and eventually getting older and dying at the end.

Rather Be (feat. Christina Perri)
A duet with Christina Perri. Another pandemic type of song. A love song about wanting to be nowhere else but with the one you love when the world is falling apart.

California
A reflection on moving to LA. Good and bad memories. We were thinking about how we’ll feel about it once we’ve moved back to the U.K. in the future. Trying to appreciate the here and now and not worry about the future.

The Walk
Reflecting on the walk of life. Using the metaphor of a tightrope walk through the woods.

Wiser Too
A song about feeling at odds with the world around me and wanting everything to be smarter, more compassionate, and more understanding. Maybe one day we won’t all be idiots