I AM SPARTACUS ON A MISSION
by Stephen Murphy
Luke Telford, a.k.a. I am Spartacus, is a man on a mission at the moment. Gigging furiously, launching singles here, there and everywhere, airing on various radio channels and he is launching his debut album, At Home with the Devil, on May 30. Luke is an original, someone who takes to the stage with his heart on his sleeve and lays it on the line. Do you like the vibe? Do you like the tunes? The answers to those two questions are totally irrelevant because the fella doesn't want you to like his songs any more than he wants you to like his shoes. All he wants you to do is to listen to them, feel them and think about them. It is this evocative, honest openness that sets him apart from many. Luke is probably the hardest working musician in Cumbria? One of Whitehaven's very own, Luke has been gigging for a number of years throughout Cumbria and across the UK. I am Spartacus is original, fresh, quirky and, lyrically, he is switched on.
SM: Your style of playing is off the wall and unconventional; do you even know a G chord?
LT: I fiddle about on the guitar, I have a love for playing with various tunes, melting down my own tunes and mixing and mashing my own songs and chords and then I tend to come up with something different.
SM: Musical influences?
LT: I don't listen to anyone that resembles what I play, my musical tastes lie in the despondent like Jeff Buckley - Joy Division, it's down and dark and full of melody, my music is emotional, listening to Jeff Buckley can break your heart and make you feel invincible and that's what I would like my songs to sound like.
SM: Lyrically where are they coming from?
LT: A lot of songs I haven't thought though. The words choose themselves. There are other songs my girlfriend and I have written. I have hundreds without words. Laura is my lyricist- collaborator who encourages and makes me finish songs through the art of persuasion.
SM: You are signed to Size Record label which is run by Workington's Simon Mattinson, how did that come about?
LT: I'd recorded a few tracks in the house and a few people had told Simon about me. One of my mates told Size about me again and again and again. I landed at his house with a demo and within a few days he was singing my songs at work and it went from there.
We recently recorded my debut album At Home with the Devil. That too was recorded by Johnny Sinhg, from Kontiki Suite. He is an absolute wizard at producing and I'm really happy with the end result.
SM: What's the ultimate aim this year?
LT: To play to as many people as possible and to and enjoy myself.
I've no massive ideas of grandeur; I just, ideally, would like to play for a living.
I am Spartacus is playing at various festivals this Summer, including Solfest - Kendal Calling - CockRock - and Album launches in Camden, Newcastle and Manchester and look out for his big gig back home in the autumn.
The album will be available from HMV Workington and all good download sites and to
Order from: iamspartacus music.bandcamp.com.
