An Interview with Luke Markinson

Emily: So, you have the new song coming out, right?

Luke: Yeah, “Brand New” comes out tonight at midnight.

Emily: Brand new!

Luke: Yes, “Brand New” is brand new.

Emily: Yes! I’m really excited to hear it! I’ve been listening to a lot of your stuff, and I got, like, hardcore miserable, super 2000s vibes. MGMT if they did hyperpop. You know?

Luke: Yeah, you really hit the deep cut!

Emily: Yes! “Never Alone” is like, an 80s ballad. And then a lot of your new stuff has been super hyperpop. So, what is your music process like?

Luke: Yeah, good question. Honestly, it depends on the specific song or project I'm working on. So, a lot of my songs have been created after I sat at my keyboard, played around with chords, and have just kind of created some sort of melody, like super rough. Whatever producer I am working with, I’ll share my idea, and we’ll build out the production and everything together. Or, a lot of the time, I’ll get a beat or some sort of instrumental sent to me, and I’ll just kind of roll with it. Melody is always important for me, so sometimes the chorus comes first, sometimes it’s the verse, you know? I would say my favorite way to make music is to just have a proper session with a producer or whoever, and just flesh it out together. But songwriting is very personal to me. So, like, for a lot of my music, that’s just coming when I'm by myself and I can think about what I'm articulating and saying.

Emily: Yeah, so, that was kind of one of my other questions. I can tell. I’m a pretty big lyrics person, so some of your songs—and Spotify has all of your lyrics linking up, which is awesome, because I don’t have to try to look it up or decipher it for myself—I can tell you put a lot of your heart into what you write. So, I was going to ask about your writing process. Are you able to force yourself to sit down and write a song? Or does it kind of have to come a little more naturally?

Luke: Yeah, that’s a good question. I would say it kind of depends on the type of song. I love fun pop music that feels, maybe, superficial on the surface. Like, don’t get me wrong, a Britney moment, Charli XCX, something that is fun, camp, catchy. In that vein, I think it’s very easy to write, you know? But also, you know, some of my other music—that’s maybe more alternative or not as pop, let’s say—then it’s a bit more difficult for me to lean into songwriting that’s more vulnerable or just more out there. So, it depends. I’ll still go on rhyme dictionaries or whatever if I am in a rut and can’t think of anything.

Emily: Hell yeah. So you also said you’re working with producers, and I also was going to say that honestly with all of your music, the production is super heavy and intricate, and I was wondering if that was all you. I feel like you don’t find a lot of people who both do the lyrics as well as all the producing on something this big

Luke: I don’t do all the production myself. I’ve taken a lot of classes in college about music production, so I feel like I’ve kind of trained myself to have an ear for it. Whatever producer I’m working with, I always go back and forth and communicate a ton about where I want the song to go. But, still, I don’t feel strong enough to just completely do the production myself. Also, I love collaborations. Like, you know, most of my songs, I’ve made with, if not one, then two people. I just feel like, whether it’s a different artist or a different producer or whatever, people just bring something to the table. True art comes from different places, so I love trying to bring together different energies, to make a sound that might not be my typical thing. Instead of being like, “oh ‘Hit and Run’ is my biggest commercial success, every song should sound like that,” I still try to make everything unique.

Emily: Yeah, totally, and you can see that come through in “Hit and Run” versus other songs, “CMBYN” and all that. And that kind of goes into my next thing: I did notice that you had a lot of collaborations and features with people. I love that. I love, like you said, that you get multiple sounds, and you can hear multiple voices coming through, but it feels really hard to find someone you can create something with that you feel confident enough to put out. So, how do you find these people to collaborate with? Because it's gone so well so far.

Luke: Yeah. I mean not every collab is going to be a walk in the park. There are so many unreleased or failed attempts to make things with other artists. Just because it is hard to communicate all of your ideas and maybe one person wants one thing and another person wants another. I’ve definitely had moments of tension where I am just like, fuck this, I should just do it myself or something. But a lot of times, when it works, it just works. I am really grateful to have worked with artists that I admire so much. Like, Thomas Ball is one of my favorite artists. He has worked with people like Kylie Minogue and just some of my idols. So, just being able to write with him for our song, “Make Believe,” was really cool. Sometimes I still get nervous, you know, asking people, like, “Hey!” Sliding into their DMs or whatever. But yeah, most artists that I have come across, we’re just in a similar lane. A similar style of pop music. I just feel like they would be a great fit. Also, being gay, I love amplifying queer voices and really being in that kind of ballpark with music. I feel like a lot of queer artists love the same types of culture and other pop artists and stuff, so that’s something that’s been really fulfilling too.

Emily: Totally. And especially in a genre like hyperpop, where it’s really, totally crushed by the LGBQT community. Like we rock that genre. We are the kings and queens and royalty of it. So, has that been also something that has made it a little easier, a little more fun for you, just being in this genre?

Luke: One hundred percent. I would say a big part of my own coming-out story and identity was shaped by queer spaces that hyperpop kind of flourished in, or even created. So, you know, going to certain parties, or being around certain people where the music was a core part of it was important to me, and I just wanted to get involved and be part of the community and make similar stuff. Starting off with “Never Alone” and everything, getting a co-sign from Charli XCX also was the craziest thing ever. Like, my idol telling me basically that she liked my song was crazy and motivated me to keep going and going down this path. Now, I feel like I don’t like being bogged down to that one label, “hyperpop,” because it means so many different things, but, I definitely love that futuristic pop sound and try to incorporate it a bunch. I will say, for my unreleased music--or music that I'm working on after this release, “Brand New”--it’s a bit different. One of the songs I’m working on, it’s called “Self Destruct,” it’s very 80’s pop sounding. “Brand New” is definitely super energetic. Like, dance-pop song. I guess you could call it hyperpop. But yeah, I’m excited for all these new releases to surprise people.

Emily: Okay yes, wait, you’re literally guessing some of my next questions. My next question was for you to tell me just a little bit about this new single you have coming out.

Luke: Yeah. So, it's such a fucking cliché to say; I hate it when artists say this, because, come on. But it really is my most personal song I have put out. Definitely, some of the themes about it… It’s just growing up and getting confused. For example, I started getting gray hair—I know, scary—a little while ago and that spooked me. Just realizing I wasn’t a kid anymore and my childhood was over. That’s a big part of this song, “Brand New.” It’s kind of about acknowledging you're not in college. There are pressures to become an adult and get a job. But, at the same time, you know who you are, and your past still impacts who you are now. You can feel brand new, even if you’re still the same person. So that’s really what I was trying to home in on for this newest song.

Emily: What a perfect time for this to come out, with the new school year for some people, new graduates, new jobs; it's perfect.

Luke: There's something in the air.

Emily: Totally something in the air. So, is there going to be like, any visual art for us? For this new song coming up?

Luke: Okay, so I made a little teaser video. I would not go so far as to say it’s a music video; it's just a short little fifteen-second visual. I'm definitely going to be putting it up on social media and everything. A lot of scenes were shot in the daytime, at the beach, in Santa Monica, and in Venice. But then at night, it was kind of like… I don’t know. Weird places like the club, or back alleys and stuff. I wanted to show that dichotomy of older and younger and night and day.

Emily: Yes! You mentioned briefly that you have some unreleased stuff, some things you’re working on in the future. You’ve put out a lot of singles, but you haven’t put out an album yet…

Luke: Everyone tells me to put out an EP. I don’t know.

Emily: Yes. EP, album, give us something.

Luke: I know. I think I’m going to drop an EP soon. I just love singles. I feel like they’re really fun, and every song can be its own world.

Emily: Exactly. That’s what I was just going to say.

Luke: But I will say, I’ll probably do some sort of EP soon, after these next two. Like I said, “Self Destruct” is this sort of eighties pop sound that I’m really excited about. And I’ve got another song, which, I don’t know what I’m going to call it yet. It’s a collab, and it’s with a very, very special artist. I don’t want to say who. But this is very Britney, Gaga, Slater. Big pop girl energy. I’m super excited about this one.

Emily: This is going to be amazing.

Luke: Yeah, I’m excited

Emily: Last question. I’ve seen that you’ve done a few live shows, and I personally would like to see you live. Can we expect anything? How can we find out if you are performing?

Luke: That’s a good question. My shows are crazy. Like, at the last show, I performed at this club called Beaches in West Hollywood, and someone threw a jockstrap at me, and it landed on the mic. You can't even make this up. I didn’t even mean to catch it. I didn’t know what was happening. The next thing I know, there was a jockstrap on my mic while I was dancing. So that was crazy. That doesn’t happen at every show, thankfully, but you never know what to expect. I love performing, I feel like it gives so much life to the music. So, definitely going to try to do some more shows in LA, maybe other places. If you follow me on TikTok or Instagram, I always post about it.

Emily: Awesome. Well, these are all the questions I have for you. Thank you so much for doing this. I’m really excited, and I’m really excited to hear “Brand New!”

Luke: Thank you! This was so much fun.

Find Luke on Instagram: (http://instagram.com/lukemarkinson) and Tiktok (http://tiktok.com/@lukemarkinson)