The songwriter LUKAS STAUDINGER was actually quite successful with his project WE LOVE SILENCE a few years ago. His music received a consistently positive response, and the tour in support of the well-known songwriter AVEC in particular drew some attention to him. After this tour, which took place in 2018, it was over for the time being. Somehow it didn’t seem to fit anymore, especially LUKAS STAUDINGER couldn’t do anything with the musical direction in which WE LOVE SILENCE was developing. He retreated in resignation. With his new EP “Forever Sky”, the sensitive songwriter can now be heard again after years of silence. In an interview with Michael Ternai, the native of Upper Austria talks about the deep hole that his musical developments pushed him into, how he found his way out of it and how important it is to remain yourself.
Your last EP was released in 2018. Why did it take almost five years for a new one?
Luke Staudinger: You could say that a personal crisis stopped me. In November 2018 I was there as support WITH on tour to promote my then new EP. For me, the EP marked an attempt to go in a slightly different direction musically, namely more towards electronics. If I had been on stage with a seven-piece band back then, the execution of the music would certainly have been great. But since that wasn’t the case, I was forced to make some compromises. Among other things, I switched from the acoustic guitar to the electric guitar, which was unusual for me. Halfway through the tour I realized that while what we were doing was cool, I wasn’t really into it. I had the feeling that the sound at the time was taking me too far away from what actually defined me musically. In retrospect, that was a real setback that I didn’t get over for a long time. I felt like I had somehow betrayed myself and listened too much to other people’s opinions. I didn’t get out of that hole for a while.
“I realized that my creative abilities were coming back to life.”
Then what helped you get out of that hole and how did that happen?
Luke Staudinger: Basically it all started with the song “Five Stars”, which is also the first single from my EP. That was the first song I wrote after a long dry spell. This happened during the pandemic, when I, like many others, had a lot of time on my hands. I used this time to write new songs and try out a lot of things. Before I knew it, I suddenly had ten to twenty new songs. I realized that my creative abilities were coming back to life. Somehow my belief in my abilities returned.
During this time, a children’s song project that I started alongside my school work certainly helped me. Through this project, the joy of making music returned more and more. It was this free way of making music that wasn’t influenced by any constraints or expectations that gave me a lot of joy.
Ultimately, the feeling grew day by day that it was time to go out again. All these experiences gave me the boost to go on stage and play concerts again. The really positive response to my first performances in the spring showed that I was on the right track. That was really good for me psychologically. It was just important for me to do what I love so much.
Your music represents a calm and minimalist tone that offers a lot of space. To what extent do you link up to the time before 2015 with your new EP?
Lukas Staudinger (c) Veronika Sterrer
Luke Staudinger: I certainly do a little. Over the last few years I’ve just realized that this calm sound is my style. This depth and silence also have a certain spiritual level for me. Loud and blatantly produced pop, which can of course also be great, is simply not my thing. It just doesn’t reflect me and my character. My music is one that goes deep and expresses a certain connection with myself and a grounding. I tried to implement exactly these aspects on the EP, which wasn’t always easy. But I’m currently in the process of finding my way back more and more to this sound, which I fully support.
What are your musical inspirations? What music led you to your style? I read that classical music also has a big influence on you.
Luke Staudinger: The funny thing is that I didn’t really get started musically until quite late, even though music was always very important in my family. We really sang often and a lot. But in my childhood and teenage years, sport determined my life even more. I did judo from the age of 8 to 21 and almost at a competitive level. I didn’t start playing the guitar until I was 19, when I was on my way to high school. Later, during my community service, I tried to learn it as best I could. After moving to Vienna, I also joined a choir.
At some point I came across Bach’s chorale “Komm, o Tod, du Schlafes Bruder” through the book and film “Schlaffes Bruder” and from that point on I was totally hooked by it. With the music of Bach I also discovered the classical guitar. Bands like Radiohead and Pink Floyd, which I was introduced to through my father, also had a big influence on me.
A trademark of your music is your voice. When did you realize that your voice had these qualities?
Luke Staudinger: After moving to Vienna, I soon sang in a choir, something I had always wanted to do. I also began taking singing lessons, first with a jazz student and then with a Korean choir director, from whom I received classical singing lessons. In 2012, I sang at a friends’ acappella concert, where I felt for the first time that I could touch people with my voice. That was a very special experience that ultimately motivated me to continue in this direction, which I did. During this time I also wrote the first songs for my debut.
You definitely touch people with your music and voice. Was this something you were aware of before?
Luke Staudinger: Without wanting to seem arrogant, I somehow had the feeling that I could appeal to people. That was simply because I experienced this again and again in small circles. I have received a lot of positive feedback on my music from the people around me. I realized that my music has the potential to touch people.
When you sit across from you, you actually seem exactly like your music: calm, thoughtful, reserved and yet also emotional. To what extent does your music actually reflect you?
Luke Staudinger: I can also be louder, which is sometimes necessary in my job because I am a social worker in a school. But that reaction isn’t really my main driver. Especially on stage, I’m just myself. I don’t portray a specific character, although I may still have to learn how to be one. Basically, I don’t want to have to pretend too much. In social education it is like in music: you are most authentic when you are yourself. If you pretend too much, people will notice immediately. This realization also made me say that I don’t have to try to imitate Radiohead one-to-one. They already exist. I’m Lukas Staudinger and I do what I do.
What topics do you deal with in your texts?
Luke Staudinger: These are very personal topics. The song “Five Stars,” for example, deals with the feeling of constantly being judged by others and therefore starting to listen to other people’s opinions. “Together” is a love song that does not drift into melancholic love, but into affirmative love. The song is about trust and a shared vision. So the songs are very closely connected to me, my feelings and experiences.
Thank you very much for the interview.
Michael Ternai
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We Love Silence live
10.11. Aera, Vienna – EP release with band
November 16th Cafe 7*stern, Vienna
November 24th Salzquelle, Vienna – Duo – limited number of places, reservation by email
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Links:
We Love Silence
We Love Silence (Facebook)