Wow, Wow, Wow and Orpheus: Luke Clerkin releases new song from upcoming album

TALLGHT’S very own Luke Clerkin is known for his euphoric live performances, deep and infectious music, and his extraordinary work ethic, reports Ryan Butler.

With a career that has seen him famously play over 250 gigs in 2015 and gain international recognition through multiple tours, festival appearances, and chart-topping singles, Luke is showing no signs of giving up.

Throughout his career, he has played at festivals such as Electric Picnic, Body & Soul, Stendhal, and Edinburgh Free Fringe, and he has headlined venues all over Ireland, including Whelan’s, The Workman’s Club, The Cobblestone, Hole in the Wall Kilkenny, and John Lee’s in Tullamore.

In addition, Luke has also toured Germany on multiple occasions and has also toured Ireland with The Circle Sessions and Cycle Against Suicide.

Throughout his career, Luke has been invited to perform for government officials at both Leinster House (Irish Government Buildings) and The Mansion House (Dublin City Council Buildings). His song “Home” was used in Dublin’s bid for the 2020 Capital of Culture.

Luke served as the inaugural North Clondalkin Library Musician in Residence, where he recorded and released his “Live From The Library” EP in 2023.

There were sold-out performances after that in Ireland and the UK, including one at London’s Camden Chapel.

Luke also performed at major summer festivals such as Electric Picnic, All Together Now, and The Works Festival.

After an exceptional show in Workman’s Cellar in March, 2024 is shaping up to be an even more incredible year with the release of his debut album ‘Orpheus’ set to release in October.

Luke has just released his first piece of music in over a year.

‘Wow Wow Wow’ is the first song to be released from Luke Clerkin’s upcoming debut album, ‘Orpheus’.

Gavin Doyle, a frequent collaborator and close friend of Luke, produced it in Gavin’s Clondalkin home studio. It was mixed and mastered by Martin Quinn (Heroes in Hiding, Aine Cahill) at Jam Studios in Kells.

This week, we sat down with Luke to discuss his career, ‘Wow, Wow, Wow’ and ‘Orpheus.’

What motivated you to make this album a reality?

I really think it was a ‘if I don’t do an album now, I never will’ kind of thought that drove me to start it.

I’ve been doing music for over a decade, and I’ve released multiple singles and EPs, and there’s only so many of both that you can do until it just becomes monotonous and expected.

I feel the challenge of an album also motivated me, but I didn’t think it would be as challenging as it was.

A few months after we started recording, I picked up a bad repetitive strain injury, which meant I couldn’t play guitar for over two months, but it was the album that led to my recovery. It encouraged me to keep moving forward, no matter what.

Are there still nerves involved when gearing up to perform live or when preparing for a single release, such as now? If so, how do you work through these nerves?

Yes, absolutely! Playing live is my favourite part of what I do, and to be honest, I still get nervous about it because I care so much about it, and there’s a lot of anticipation mixed in with those nerves.

Over the last year, I’ve found myself getting even more nervous than before, and sometimes this can affect my sleep, but I’ve found that different things, such as mindfulness and meditation, can help with that.

When it comes to releasing music, it’s a different story.

I’m a lot less nervous now with these releases than I was before because I’ve given up trying to control the outcome of it all, and my attitude is ‘whatever will happen will happen’.

To be honest, it’s helping a lot, as I’m not as glued to my Spotify account as previous releases, and I’m also not feeling disheartened if it doesn’t perform well.

I also try to have no expectations for my releases, which has also worked in my favour this time as ‘Wow Wow Wow’ was picked by the Spotify algorithm last week and it’s suddenly gaining thousands of streams, which has been a massive surprise.

You have performed at many venues and events. Are there any performances that you are particularly proud of, and why?

Last year, I played the Village Hall Stage at Electric Picnic, and I managed to fill the tent with people, and it was incredible!

I remember saying to my friend before the gig that I didn’t think people would show up at all, and then within seconds of us starting, people came flooding in, and I didn’t know most of them, which made it even more special.

They were singing and clapping along from the beginning, and I loved every bit of it.

I got to share this moment with my girlfriend and some of my other good friends too, as they joined me on stage for some songs. It was a really beautiful moment for me.

I understand that this is your first single release from ‘Orpheus’. Is there anything more planned before the album release in October?

I’ll be releasing three more singles before Orpheus is released in October. They’ll be coming out in July, September, and early October.

I’ve also been invited to play at The Work’s Festival in CIE Inchicore Sports & Social Club on August 24th, and I’ll be heading over to Bulgaria in October to play at the Sofia Singer Songwriter Festival, so I’m very excited about those two gigs.

I actually did a secret garden gig in Tallaght on Saturday, July 6th. It was hosted by my friend Kieran Kelly, an incredible supporter of original music.

You can find out everything about this on my Instagram page: @lukeclerkin.

It was a special one for me because I haven’t played in Tallaght in a long time, and there’s nothing like a hometown gig, so I’m very happy to do it.

The amazing Taylor D was my special guest on the night as well.

Finally, I understand that this album has been in the works for eight years, with the last year or so being the recording and production end of things. Can you tell us more about that?

I started my solo career in 2015, and I released my first single, ‘Stones’, in 2016, so this year marks eight years since that release.

I feel that the ultimate goal since then has been to record an album, but there were a lot of other avenues that I had to explore first before I did that.

Some of the songs on the album have been released before, but they weren’t really where I would have liked to be, both sonically and musically, and by doing these recordings and by working side by side with Gavin Doyle and the other incredible musicians that played with me, I was able to do that.

I also feel I’m much more confident in my abilities than I was when I released the first few singles and EPs, and it shows in these songs and recordings.