Luster | Interview | “Medieval krautrock”
The fantastic Belgian folk drone rock sextet Luster recently released their debut album on Morc.
Cello, flute, harmonium and violin blend in with the traditional guitar-bass-drums trio – making them land on a unique spot at the crossroad where ancestral doom folk, heady drone rock and spacious pop seamlessly meet. Kind of the missing link between Mazzy Star, Pentangle, Broadcast and Enhet For Fri Musik.
“Medieval krautrock”
Tell us about the initial idea behind Luster?
Lobke: I guess it was the best excuse to get together with friends (and away from babies).
Julie: Our front woman, Annelies, is very good at approaching people at the best moment. She can also be very convincing and this is how Luster gradually took shape.
Annelies: Thanks, Julie! Actually, I did not want to be a “front woman” anymore – haha – and I wanted to play together with other people. I love playing on my own, but sometimes it gets a bit lonely in several ways.
I love the name…
Elisabeth: Luster contains the word Lust and Ster, two beautiful words in Dutch meaning Lust and Star. It’s also the word for a chandelier. Or for “listening” in a certain Dutch slang.
Annelies: I remember Julie came up with the name. It took us a long time to come up with a name – I think the split 10 inch was actually ready, and we still did not have a name. The release was almost delayed because of our indecisiveness.
You’ve been active for years resulting in many interesting releases and work with bands such as Distels, FEAN, Zent One. What makes Luster different?
Annelies: First, I would like to add some bands we’ve been/ are involved in: Joe Speedboat (Jelle & Lobke); Mote (Lobke); Best Parts (Lobke); Mollenhauer (Elisabeth). In the past & present, I have mostly been involved in duo’s like Distels (with Steve Marreyt), Zent One (with Olivier Driessens) and Hydromedusae (with Jessica Bailiff). Playing with one other person is quite different from playing with five other persons. Rehearsals with two are definitely more quiet and probably also (quite) a bit more focused on making music. With duo’s, all seems more deliberate and planned in a way (and nothing wrong with that, I am kind of a control freak), while with Luster music grows more organically and results are more unexpected. Our rehearsals are not all about making music, they are also – well – social gatherings. (There is a good hangout!)
“I’ve always been keen to explore unknown sound”
Would you like to talk a bit about your background?
Lobke: My parents used to throw a lot of parties at our home, my mom being a dj with cassettes, I loved it, The Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Melanie,.. and the 80’s dance music.
Elisabeth: Nineties grunge & polyphony.
Jelle: In my teenage years I was involved in the local hardcore scene and this triggered my interest in other DIY music; I’ve always been keen to explore unknown sounds.
Julie: Some of us, myself included, are classically trained. But it was mainly the modest underground music scene of our home city of Ghent that brought us in contact with each other.
Annelies: I’m also classically trained (piano, and much later, ‘cello). My first musical memory was being amazed by (the acapella version of) ‘Tom’s Diner’ by Suzanne Vega. I thought it was quite mind-blowing that it could just be as simple as that. I must have been 8 or so. Then I got into 80ties new wave and 90ties indie. An interest in experimental, contemporary classical and traditional music came later – early 2000’s I guess. Organizing shows definitely played a big part in this.
Luster has been active for several years now. How come it took so much time for this latest album?
Elisabeth: Life, babies, depressions, members moving to different countries, Covid and perhaps also getting to know each other, getting over shyness, getting into each other (this sounds dirtier than it is). Improv now comes easily, while it took me some time to get in tune with the other aura’s.
Lobke: When we come together to play music, we talk for like 2 hours, and half an hour we play a little music.
In 2016 you were part of the split with Hellvete.
Lobke: Yes…
Jelle: I joined Luster when they were recording their take on the ‘Are You Going To Leave Me?’ traditional track, when Annelies asked to provide a violin drone. The recording had been on the shelves for a while until Wim asked to put it out as a split with Hellvete. Something we all agreed on of course. The recording of our side of the split was done by Hellvete by the way.
Cello, flute, harmonium and violin blend in with the traditional guitar-bass-drums trio. How would you describe your sound?
Lobke: Someone once said: medieval krautrock.
Annelies: I like that!
Elisabeth: The voices are not angelic or sweet, but evocative, perhaps esoteric and underlined by some kranky choirs. The acoustic instruments give a folky layer, but whilst playing we aim to be darker and deeper. Our songs have matured a decade. We’re good wine.
Would you like to share some further words about how the record got together and what can you say about the songwriting process?
Elisabeth: Annelies (and Jelle too) come up with great little pieces of music and then we improvise. We love a lot of bass. Lyrics are by Yumi & Annelies. For the cello I keep things simple.
Jelle: When the plans for the record materialized, we had enough recordings to choose from so we stuck our heads together to choose the best songs to make a balanced and cohesive record. Most of this though we re-recorded with Hans (de Portables) and were mixed by Annelies to make a coherent and refined sound as we were not fully satisfied with the previous recordings.
How important is improvisation for you?
Elisabeth: It’s the core of Luster, no? Listeners are invited to get into the vibe with us and connect their aura’s to ours.
Lobke: I can’t read music, so improvisation is even more important to make the songs. But for concerts we do repeat and rehearse, and we mainly only improvise when someone forgets the structure of the song.
Jelle: I like the crystallization process to get to something concrete – but your own – by improvising and/or playing free.
Annelies: I am totally terrified of improvisation and am pretty much rubbish at it. It is too quick for me. The others are better at it – I usually take the repetitive part.
Julie: Some songs require a tighter structure than others. Especially with the flute you can quickly get out of tune. But I also like our songs that leave a little more space and where a few intersections determine our direction.
You are all involved with other bands and have active side-projects. Tell us about it.
Elisabeth: I’m not really.
Jelle: Me neither at the moment as I lack the time, but who knows?
Lobke: Best Parts is my other current band with my loverboy Hans and Stijn and Tomas, I would call it nice poppy slow rock.
Annelies: I mentioned the side-projects above. The Hydromedusae album is at the pressing plant. Hopefully it will be released in Fall. Jessica (Bailiff) and I recorded it about ten years ago. Yes, slowness plays a part here, too. With Distels we are working on new material as well.
Are you planning to play some gigs in the near future?
Elisabeth: Yes! working on that right now. Send us a message if you want to book us.
Lobke: In Ghent at Badlands in October.
Let’s end this interview with some of your favourite albums. Have you found something new lately you would like to recommend to our readers?
Elisabeth: Just saw Kikagaku Moyo on their goodbye tour and loved it. And I love the new Builenradar cassette on the School of the Arts label.
Lobke: It’s been too long since I got moved by music. Last time I remember was Peter Broderick playing in a chapel, and my niece, Deborah Cachet, who is an opera singer. I played her song 6 times, and I cried 6 times. I guess getting older makes it less easy to be astonished.
Annelies: I do listen to new music (love the new HTRK and Laura Cannell for example), but I often listen to the same records over and over again. The Bristol band Movietone has definitely been a “game changer” for me. And their Peel Sessions LP on Textile Records is exquisite as well.
Jelle: Not very actively exploring but some things I like of late are the new Stroppies album and CIA Débutante (also live).
Thank you. Last word is yours.
Elisabeth: That’s always Love.
Klemen Breznikar
Luster Official Website / Facebook / Instagram
Morc Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
‘Angst’ by Luster | New Album Via Morc
