Eurovision star Luke Black has returned with the buoyant and Lily Allen-inspired new single ‘I’m So Happy’. Check it out below along with our interview with the artist.
Back in May, Black represented his native Serbia at the Song Contest with the political, “cyber-punk”, sci-fi and video game inspired ‘Samo Mi Se Spava‘ (also known as ‘Sleep Forever’). Now, the London-based artist has returned with a new single – inspired by the landscape, culture and music of his surroundings.
“‘I’m So Happy’ is the first song I created when I moved to London to study music,” Black told NME. “It was created at my university with just a piano. I was walking around with my friend and we were constantly joking about how weird it was when you’d ask someone at school or on the street how they were doing over here and they’d be like, ‘Good, everything’s fine!’.
“Culturally, in my country when you ask someone how they’re doing they start spilling their emotions out! Here, everyone is so chill. I was trying to learn and not overburden everyone with my emotions. Who cares? I tried to learn how to say, ‘I’m so happy and life is good’ – even though really I was tumbling down!”
As for the music, Black explained how he “used the sound of London”.
“I was really inspired by Lily Allen’s ‘LDN’,” he said. “I was walking through similar surroundings from her music video and seeing the beauty and the faults. Kate Nash also has a song called ‘Merry Happy’ and I wanted my piano to be a bit jumpy like that. The sound is basically that, but on steroids.
“I wanted to create an electric guitar sound that was a bit de-tuned and messy, especially near the ending when I’m just head banging. It goes from Kate Nash into Nirvana. I’m a big fan of the band Soft Play, who used to be called Slaves. I wanted some inspiration from them on that guitar sound and the rage at the end.”
Speaking of life after Eurovision, Black spoke of his pride in his growing community of fans – especially on his Discord server, which has seen users and followers grow by thousands
“When I was really young, I envisioned my fans to look exactly like they do at the moment – the same hairstyle, expression and type of humour – which is the most important thing,” he admitted. “I’m often misunderstood, especially back home. People will look at me in a weird way, but my fans share the same sense of humour and they’re all very creative.
“Some of them I met through concerts at London, some are struggling musicians too, so it’s really nice to be there for them. My Discord channel has been a blast and there are now over 4,000 people on there, and a lot of them have met. Gamers: unite and be friends! That’s all I wanted to achieve.
Of his dedication to Discord, Black said that his vision was originally simply “to have a place for people to send me letters about how they feel”.
“I had the time to reply to all of these letters sent anonymously to me, and help some people out,” he said. “To realise when you’re feeling lonely that there’s someone out there, not particularly important but making music, who has taken the time for you. That’s a nice feeling.
“I posted the link on Twitter and suddenly there were 2,000 people posting various types of content – some appropriate and some inappropriate – and it was an explosion. Loads of fans picked it up, became mods and made it the best place in the world. People are gathering through it to come to my shows. I see people coming from Ukraine, Sweden, France, and Israel, all coming to my London shows.
He added: “There are times when I talk, like I am right now, for ages without thinking. They appreciate that and find comfort in it. I didn’t think I was going to be so emotionally connected to the fans, but I really want to be there for them. That all just happened naturally after Eurovision. I saw myself in them. If they’re having a good time and feel comfortable, then I’ll continue to do it.”
As for what’s next, Black is looking forward to releasing a new EP later in 2023 – in a similar emotional vein to what you’ll hear on ‘I’m So Happy’.
“I tend to keep up the same level of songwriting – a lot of harmonic minors that you’d associate with my home country, but infused with a lot of British sounds,” he said. “The next thing will have that same stream of consciousness. I’m really fascinated by the pursuit of happiness and sudden feelings of sadness at the same time. The sound and lyrics reflect that a lot.
“I have an EP coming out that encompasses all of this. Even my song ‘Sleep Forever’ from Eurovision was dealing with mental health and a different range of emotions. I want to keep it really honest and confessional, but I don’t just want to vomit it all out onto a pop music canvas.”
Fans can get a taster of what’s coming at his upcoming London gig – which the singer said would be “an arena show for small venues”. Having partnered with with Vasso Vu, Furmaan Ahmed and Marija Iva Gocic – who have worked with the likes of Ashnikko, Caroline Polachek and PC Music – for his Eurovision show, an equally ambitious live experience has been in the works.
“When I was performing around the Balkans and some European countries, I designed a pop show with some theatrical elements, loads of costume changes throughout the show and different sets and scenes throughout the concert,” he said.
“I worked really hard through the summer to put on a show that I can bring with me everywhere and pretend it’s an arena show. I just want to have fun. It is a piece of theatre and pop music, but also a rock show. It’s set in an abandoned theatre and is quite peculiar. The show itself is quite high energy and powerful.”
Beyond that, Black has a new single coming in October, will be televising a concert from Ukraine, releasing a film soundtrack and has high hopes for more releases and entering the gaming world.
“I have so much in the vault of music and now Eurovision has opened the door so I can finally bring my songs to life,” he said. “I’m just making sense of things at the moment. I never had this many fans. It’s not overwhelming, I think it’s something that should have happened before but slower, but I’m definitely not going to disappoint them or the new fans.
He added: “Also, I had a dream before I joined Eurovision that I was going to become a skin in Fortnite. Hopefully we’ll get to that next year!
Luke Black performs at The Lower Third in London on Wednesday September 13. Visit here for tickets and more information.
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