Lost in Translation – Luke Clerkin releases new single

Folk-pop musician Luke Clerkin will mark his first foray into dance music with the release of a remix of his single ‘Lost in Translation’ by Berlin-based producer Jaako.

A native of Springfield in Tallaght, Luke wrote the song while grappling with homesickness when he was studying abroad in Germany in 2019.

The past pupil of St Mark’s Community School is a two-time SCC Songwriting Competition winner and in 2015 he played over 250 gigs as a way to hone his craft as a singer-songwriter.

On the cusp of releasing the remix of ‘Lost in Translation’, Luke told The Echo about his time studying in Ballyfermot College and Germany, what it’s been like to work on a dance track, and his future plans with producer Jaako.

You’ve studied in Ballyfermot College over the past few years, what has that experience been like?

I’ve studied a few different courses in Ballyfermot. I did music management for a year in 2013, and I was also in the Rock School from 2017 to 2019. I then went back during the pandemic to get a degree in media. I’ll graduate from there in November, but I’ll start a teaching placement in the Rock School in October. I love Ballyfermot, and it’s always been an aim of mine to go back and teach there, so it’s crazy that I get the opportunity to do that in a few months’ time.

You studied at a music college in Germany, called the Popakademie, in 2019. Did this help you expand your horizons as a musician?

Popakademie really helped me expand my horizons because of how talented everybody was over there. Being there made me work on my musicianship – it made me work harder than I had ever done before. It also made me look at my music differently in terms of genres and writing style. I came back from there more open-minded about popular music. Before I went over, I would look at pop as a sort of taboo style to write in, but now I love writing pop music. I just love writing in general.

‘Lost in Translation’ was written when you experienced a bout of homesickness while on that college exchange in Germany. How did writing the song help with your homesickness?

I think it just made me process what I was going through. It helped me realise that, even though I missed home so much, there were still people there who loved and supported me. That’s what kept me there a bit longer, those friends and also the drive to keep playing music. Unfortunately, due to personal issues, I ended up leaving a month earlier than I was supposed to but, looking back, I know it was the right decision.

The remix of ‘Lost in Translation’ by Jaako marks your first foray into dance music. What was your reaction when you first heard the remix?

I was so excited, to be honest! My friend had told me before that it would be a great song to remix, and without that advice I don’t think it would have happened. Of course, it’s always a bit of a risk trying something different, but Jaako is a genius, so I knew I could trust him. Then when I heard what he did with it, I knew we had something special. I’m very excited for people to hear what he came up with.

Have you always wanted to do a dance track?

I grew up listening to pop dance producers like Avicii, David Guetta and Calvin Harris and loads of others, so I’ve always had a respect for music of that kind. I did a little demo with a Northern Irish producer when I first started out, and then another one with someone from Germany last year, and nothing came from either. But it was those experiences that showed me that my voice sits well in those kinds of songs. It gave me the encouragement to experiment more. It made me want to work with more producers of that style.

What was it like to work remotely with Jaako?

As you can imagine, it was strange not having him there in person, but I had my mate Shane Barry with me in the room for this song. He acted as engineer so I could focus on my vocals. We recorded them in what can only be described as a walk-in wardrobe belonging to my housemate. Shane also acted as a sounding board, encouraging me to keep going. This experience helped me gain the confidence to eventually record on my own without needing anybody there with me. I recorded a few more songs on my own after this, and Jaako was always there on WhatsApp or Zoom to guide me through anything that I was finding difficult.

You hinted on Instagram that this is just the beginning of your work with Jaako, can you share any other plans that are in the pipeline?

As I said before, we recorded a few more songs. These will be released individually over the next year but I won’t say much about them now – except that our best work is still yet to come.

The Jaako remix of ‘Lost in Translation’ is available on all streaming devices.