kurzweil-ICH: Lukas Graham

It certainly was send by your marketing agency, but you seem to be into social media. No wonder, a career started via YouTube – can you believe how fast things are going for you?
We are very much into social media, but our career didn’t start on YouTube. We started our career in a Jazz club in Christiania, but yes, our videos received a lot of views very quickly! And I guess, that if we didn’t give a good live show every time, it wouldn’t matter with the YouTube views!

How would you describe the modern ways of technic and the chances for musicians?
I think modern technology makes it easier and harder for new acts to get known, because there are so many new acts all the time! And let’s face it; there is a lot of crap out there. Or we can call it stuff I don’t understand personally.

You have a pretty fresh mix of musical genres. How would you describe your sound yourself?
I named it GhettoPop, because it is, as you said, a mix of genres. Pop, soul, r&b, jazz, funk, a bit of blues and some punk rock when we perform live. I call our style ghettoPop because I don’t think we fit into a box.

What are your influences in music?
That’s a tough one. I guess just good music in general. We all listen to and get inspired by hip-hop music, especially 90’s gangster rap. Other that that is the soul classics and a lot of 50’s and 60s rock and roll. But most of all, I think we get inspired by each other in the team. We push each other to our limits and make each other play better!!

Do you know or even like any German bands?´
Well, I have sung a lot of Bach and Händel in my day, and there are yet more great German composers! Maybe I should mention that I am a classically trained soprano soloist from a boys choir.

„We don’t often drunk dial“

Why are you as a band called “Lukas Graham” and not something like “Lukas Graham and the awesome swingers” or another band name? Do not get a lot of people confused by this and do often announce you in a wrong way?
Because it is my stories, and my songs, and a “band name” would be way to 60’s hahaha. And it is ok that people get it mixed up, it makes it interesting and gives you questions to ask ;)

Your track “Drunk In The Morning” did certainly make the biggest impact yet. Is it written after a real story and how often is it that you drunk dial in the morning?
Hahaha, yes, it is written while very drunk in the morning, but we don’t often drunk dial ;) because we, of course, are successful in scoring when we go out :D hahahaha (bullshit)

Always my last question: what do you do when you feel bored?
Write a song or go to a nice restaurant/bar. Beer food and music can make any man happy.
And of course, female company.

Thank you for your time.