Iona Luke – “From Dust”
Photo by Maia Walker
UK-based indie artist Iona Luke returns to us with “From Dust,” the title track from her new EP.
If we’ve learned anything about Iona Luke over the past several months, it’s that her songwriting veers quite deeply into an existential plane of existence. Combine this with the idea that she’s heavily influenced by PJ Harvey and you’ve got yourself one hell of a musical cocktail.
“From Dust” opens with a lullaby-like picking pattern on a clean electric guitar, her vocal performance soon emerging to draw her listener in. Atmospheric waves of ambience swell in the background as she delivers effortless climbs into her falsetto and dynamic, controlled emphasis on her vibrato. In short, Iona Luke was obviously born to sing.
At about the one-minute mark, the entire band shows up for an epic sense of elevation, beholding such power that we are able to witness the full authority of Iona Luke’s voice. A relentless beat holds the arrangement together, with layers of synths filling the soundscape. At the midpoint, some distorted guitar textures emerge, complete with glorious moments of feedback, allowing listeners to imagine it scorching from the stage.
Iona Luke adds that “From Dust” “explores our relationship with the world around us, and how life can feel both overwhelming and unsatisfying at the same time. It captures the wonder and fear of being truly seen by another person beyond the dust we are all made of, while reflecting on the human tendency to rewrite, inherit, and interpret our own identities, histories, and flaws. It’s all dust and dirt, material and imaginary, a parade of who we are and who we try to be.”
From Stevie Nicks to Brandi Carlile, lovers of good music are bound to find something they love here. You can now stream “From Dust” and the rest of the EP wherever you get your music.
Stream “From Dust” in our Top 100 playlist:
-TM