In Conversation with Luca George: London-bound Kiwi star with big dreams and big feels.
“My dreams are so big,” Luca George tells under the radar as he sits on a leather couch at The Lexington in London. “I want to tour with an orchestra and make the whole world cry.”
Photo by Cybele Malinowski
Luca is about to play the Island Records Australia showcase in north London, having just confirmed plans to move to the capital permanently from New Zealand. The 22-year-old’s excitement is palpable.
His energy is fuelled by the release of sophomore EP, Say hi to Paula, last week. A five-track project that sees Luca stamp his artistry, its heartbroken 15 minutes are a far cry from the bubbly Kiwi sat in the quiet Islington bar.
“I'm a really happy person in life, normally, but my writing is quite dark,” Luca laughs.In that moment, the singer is referencing ‘brOKen’, a track which sees him reclaim feeling ‘okay’ when at his lowest.
“I pictured myself as a porcelain plate thrown off a ten-storey building — shattered beyond repair, pieces scattered in the air,” he says. “That song was about finding a way to feel ‘okay’ through that kind of brokenness.”
It’s a standout moment on the EP and one that comes to life in Luca’s short set that evening. The rising star’s vocals soar over the sparse production.
When the singer talks about the sadness present in his writing, he isn’t lying. A highlight from the evening comes in unreleased ditty ‘I Love You, But I Don’t’, whose brooding start transforms into a pounding pop/rock chorus. “Oh god, I’m having so much fun,” Luca gushes after dancing his way from one end of the stage to the other and back again.
That track’s deceptive upbeat production masks the song’s true story with a wink. It’s a similar feeling on the radio-ready ‘Crying In The Bathroom’, another pop banger with a dark underbelly.
While Luca may disguise heartbreak with glitzy production, the songwriter has quickly earned a reputation for his candid lyricism. “I still smell your perfume sometimes, miss when your skin touches mine,” he sings on ‘Better Apart’ to set senses tingling and open the live show.
That track is perhaps the star’s most alt-pop attempt to date. “It was such a long process,” he admits.
“It sounds completely different to the original one. It took me maybe 10 studio days where it normally takes one. ‘Better Apart’ was about this relationship so many years ago but now I’ve just split up with my partner and it’s come back to life.”
Say hi to Paula centres on a break-up, the project’s title a nod to the mother of an ex-boyfriend - a story that draws an “oop” from The Lexington crowd when told on Monday evening. Yet, the EP is much deeper than just that.
‘Son Of An Angel’ sees the singer open up about a broken relationship with his father. It’s delivered under a lonely spotlight behind a keyboard in a breathtaking four minutes of live music.
“I nearly cry every time I sing it,” Luca correctly predicts, later welling up on stage. “I’ve written about my dad before. His name is Archangelos, which derives from the term archangel... which makes me the son of an angel, technically.
“The chorus spells out my name and that song is really special to me. I believe that kids either turn into their parents or the complete opposite of their parents and the song is about not wanting to turn into my father.”
The highlight of the EP and the best proof of what Luca George is capable of comes in opener ‘Flowers For You’. One of the last tracks written for Say hi to Paula, the flick sees the singer embrace the remains of love post break-up.
“It's my life right now,” Luca reflects. “All of my writing comes from very real life stories, none of it's made up. I feel like it was a good way to start the EP, but also it's my favorite song so I just wanted to start it off with something I'm really proud of.”
The singles off Say hi to Paula have all come with ambitious music videos that showcase an artist thinking well past his sonics. In the clip for ‘Flowers for You’, Luca takes inspiration from Gracie Abrams’ ‘Mess It Up’ but swaps the cake for flowers - just one broken bud making it to his ex’s place.
“‘Flowers for You’ came from the idea of showing up for someone who no longer loves you,” Luca explains. “By the end, I’ve only got one flower left — I bring it to his door, and he just slams it on the floor, unaware of how much it took to get there.”
Luca cites Melanie Martinez as an inspiration for the visual side of his work and there’s an undeniable feel of Troye Sivan’s early Blue Neighbourhood work to what he’s doing too. There’s an endearing candour to the singer’s work that suggests there’s no reason he can’t follow in their footsteps.
“I want to be one of the biggest artists in the whole world and don’t want to stop before I am,” Luca closes. It’s impossible not to believe his mission statement.