Love, new beginnings and peace.
Cape-Town-based singer/songwriter Luh’ra welcomes a new EP titled Nice, that builds on subtle notes of soft jazz, silky R&B and smooth beats. The seven-track EP harnesses a purity of sound and story that reveal an artist on the cusp of reaching a wider, global audience. Recorded with a six-piece band, the EP features Luh’ra (vocals), Robert Scott (guitar), Nobuhle Ashanti (keys), Tiana Marwanqana (Bass), Asher Gamedze (drum and percussion) and Robin Fassie (trumpet). With the album opener, Falling Apart, expected to drop today, we sat down with Luh’ra to get her take on the experiences leading up to the full EP’s expected release date of 22 July.
I’m naturally drawn to writing love songs. Obviously, we all love the feeling of love, and often we look for it in a romantic sense. But, in other languages there are multiple words for the word love
1.) Briefly tell us about working on the album, when did you start putting it together and how long it took you?
I started recording Nice at the end of 2020. I spent about 2 full days in studio with my band and then a couple of months adding things and finalising the mixes into 2021. Only once the music was finished did I allow myself to think about the visual language of the project. That possibly made the process take longer. But as a visual person, I’ve made the mistake of creating visuals before the music was finished and didn’t want to do that again. All the visuals finished early 2022, yikes! I knew it took a while but I’ve not thought about it in so many words.
2.) You have shared that the album is a story of self-love, which takes on a journey of coming to terms with honouring connections and finding deep respect for friendship. What inspired this storyline?
After repeatedly falling through the same storyline of heartbreak I decided to take a step back from my obsession with romantic love. I had a lot to be grateful for in terms of other connections, relationships and passions. I wanted to walk through what those things looked like for me.
Nice is the title track of the EP. It’s personally one of the most special songs I’ve written. It was inspired by a story my friend told me about spending time with her sister. Having sisters myself, it made me reflect on the connections I have in my life. I wanted to make a conscious effort to appreciate non-romantic relationships more
3.) What would you like listeners to take away from the album?
I would like for people to find a deeper respect for loving themselves and the non-romantic relationships in their lives.
4.) How would you say the songs on this album differ from some of your previous work?
I’ve learnt so much about making recorded music since my last EP. During this, I’ve also learnt so much about myself as a musician and artist – and how I want to put music out. I invested a lot more into this project. It’s definitely a big step up in terms of sound quality and production. Musically, I really tried to expand on my songwriting and the arrangements of each track.
5.) Lastly, which song from the album is your favourite and why?
Falling Apart is probably the song I personally would listen to the most because I am a sucker for a heartbreak track. Feels Like would be the song I am most proud of because it’s probably one of the best guitar parts I have written and it really grew in a way that I could’ve never imagined.
Released by The Good Times Co., Luh’ra full album release is expected for 22nd July. Keep updated by following Luh’ra on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Spotify and Linktree.
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