Luke Sital-Singh has announced details of his third album ‘A Golden State’ and released new single ‘Los Angeles’ along with its evocative accompanying video which was filmed in Los Angeles and Weston-super-Mare, and directed by Chris ‘MUG5’ Maguire. “I had a choice to keep Weston-super-Mare as my local beach or change it to Malibu, California,” says Luke. “Tricky one! They could have flown me to LA for the video shoot, but I’m not Duran Duran. So I got the train to Weston and filmed my bits there.”
‘Los Angeles’ is the third single from ‘A Golden State’, which is out on April 5, following the 2018 singles ‘The Last Day’ and ‘Love Is Hard Enough Without The Winter’.
Recorded in Portland’s Jackpot Studios, famously set up by Elliott Smith and where alumni include R.E.M., Stephen Malkmus, and The Decemberists, ‘A Golden State’ was produced by Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, Soak), who also produced Luke’s last album ‘Time Is A Riddle’ (2017).
Luke and Tommy headed to Portland in August 2018, and were joined in the studio by a small group of musicians. Whereas the last album was largely recorded live, ‘A Golden State’ was the opposite. “We wanted it to be big and warming,” says Luke. “So we used vintage ribbon mics, which give this really smoky, husky sound. The vocal was the most important thing, I wanted it to feel like it was jumping out the speaker.”
Last April, Luke was invited to give a TED Talk at the official TED conference in Vancouver, and the event proved the catalyst for Luke to finish set of the songs he’d been slowly, painfully writing for the new album. ‘A Golden State’ he says has been the most difficult of his three albums to write. “Even though I think I say that every time,” he admits, convinced he also said it about his 2014 debut ‘The Fire Inside’. “But this one did seem to take absolutely forever.”
At its most basic, ‘A Golden State’ is album of California dreaming. The songs therein reflect a new chapter, and a new mindset for Luke. “Overall, there is this ethereal, positive vibe, without being too cheesy,” he says. “There is an Americana fantasy, of wanting to escape to this gorgeous place, but also about what I’m escaping from.”
The cover artwork, a four-colour lino cut of the Venice Beach canals created by Hannah, is taken from her upcoming art book, Coastline (pre-order at www.hannahcousins.com), which chronicles a two-week road trip Hannah and Luke took down California’s iconic Pacific Coast Highway between San Francisco and LA.
Pre-Order here http://radi.al/AGoldenState