Luke Cusato

LUKE Cusato pushes each boundary physically possible within the music industry. Each track he creates is so endearing and ingenuitive, you have to admire every single multi-various theme and genre he incorporates within his art-form.

Hailing from Chester, the 18-year old thrives for music, it simply has taken over and from his work. You can see how much enthusiasm and admiration he has by just listening in and taking the time to compute. Truly an outstanding performer and has that sharp ability to capture an audience in awe over his presence.

I gave a listen to his track, Blueskies, it is pitch-perfect, softly portrayed and gripping from the word go. Holding a listener on the very edge, making them join a journey of the piano-keys, carefully dancing around your imagination. The vocals add this alternate smooth-feel complete with those dreamy gold-tipped flicks finalising each note, the calming presence felt  traces the moving notion that accompany the verses. The cracking finale is as dynamic and all the more a fitting ending for this roller-coaster ride that you have boarded unintentionally. Angelic and influential is Cusato's music and this track is evidence to my case.

Unforgettable, an adeptly named track. I can never usually listen to this style of music but my oh my, am I proved wrong. It is ever so powerful and holds an fantastic edge to hold authority over whoever attempts to argue differently, completely clashing with the other track of which he created. An upbeat tempo almost contradicts the lyrics and the meaning but still working incredibly well, undoubtedly in fact. Any listener will feel nothing but admiration for the music, this is what you need to prove to everyone how fantastic every genre and sound of music is no matter if you are an avid fan or not.

Luke Cusato is an incredibly versatile and powerful musician, once in a blue moon do you find an artist as talented and passionate about the music he or she creates. Cusato has it all and I hope I have proved this to you in such a brief article about a musician who is destined to go far. I grabbed an interview with the artist to find out more about him, it's a great read, so if you have got this far, carry on...


Firstly, how did you start to realise music was what you wanted to do?



Ever since I started learning to play Piano really... About 4 or 5 years ago I realised that music in movies is what usually stimulates the audience’s feelings towards scenes in film; take ‘American Beauty’ for example. Every time I watched that film it would always grab me by the heart, it wasn’t necessarily the scenes which touched me (of what I can remember) but more so the music. The main theme song for the film was so powerful and moving, as crazy as it sounds, it’d send me into almost some sort of trance. After seeing the film, I had to go find the theme song and it took me ages to find but I eventually found it on YouTube.

Due to that song I wanted to learn how to play the Piano, I had in my head that once I knew how to play; I would write and compose music for film just like the music for ‘American Beauty’. So I guess that film and the music influenced where I am today and this is what made me realise that Music is what I want to do.
Gradually, after progressively developing my piano playing through tutorials on YouTube and through experimentation I started to engage in more musical activities. About 2 years ago, my mate Cal, and I created the duo called ‘Out By Sunday’. We have busked within Chester City 100’s of times, played a countless amount of gigs and we also gained a residency at The Queen Hotel at the age of 16 through busking.

Since February 2012 I decided to set off onto my own journey as a Solo Artist, I released my debut EP onto iTunes. Spotify and the likes in September/October 2012. I've collaborated with many Artists and Producers since and I am now currently writing more music. Just last month I supported ‘Cosmo Jarvis’ at Mello Mello in Liverpool and I’ve recently been asked to Support Frankie Cocozza at The Liverpool O2 Academy. Music is what I want to do, I have realised this for sure through being a Singer-Songwriter.


Who inspires you when writing music?

Everyone who is part of my life I guess; friends and family mostly. Events that have happened in my life involving people and how I feel usually is a great recipe for my song writing. Sometimes I inspire myself when writing too, just by reflecting on who I am as a person. Also a lot of artists inspire me to write, for example: Maverick Sabre, Ben Howard, Matt Corby, Paolo Nutini all help me to write songs too.

Most importantly a wide range of Genres, bands and artists influence me regarding creating music, I think this is extremely important as I believe that having a large spectra on styles of music helps influence more creative ideas for myself.



How do you know when a track sounds good, in your opinion?

For me, a track ‘sounds good’ if it feels good. When I write music I make sure I put my soul into it, and I like to hear that in other Artists music too. I think that’s what makes a good song in my opinion, for the song to sound true. For there to be good lyrics and an interesting meaning, message and story behind the song. Instrumentation plays a huge part in making a song sound good or bad. Good songs to me have to have a great use of dynamics also.


What is the big 'dream' for you?

The big dream for me is to have a very successful and exciting music career... That for me is to be signed to a major label, to have a massive fanbase, to have experienced successful world tours and to record and release many successful albums. I’d love to have my music published onto film and commercials and even games. A big dream of mine would also be to perform at Festivals like Glastonbury, The V Festival and a massive dream of mine is to win awards like a Brit Award. For my music to get in the charts and for my music to be played on massive radio stations and music channels, that being the most common ‘dream’.

Who would you compare yourself with in the past or present music industry?

That’s a hard question, because a wise person once told me to never compare myself to anybody other than myself haha... So that’s just what I do, which can obviously be hard at times but I try to stick to it. If I were to describe who I am although in the music industry then my answer would be; I’m an unsigned and independent Singer-Songwriter, Musician, Pianist and Vocalist. People have compared me with Artists such as; Alex Clare, Maverick Sabre, Paolo Nutini, James Morrison, Labrinth and Jeff Buckley. Which I guess is pretty cool because all of these artists really inspire me.


What and Where do you think holds the most opportunities?


I believe that the internet holds the most opportunities, as it’s the most important promotional tool ever! You could spend the day at home online reaching 1000 people with your music in comparison to actually going out, spending money for travel and only playing in front of about 30 people at a small gig. I believe that open mic nights are great for holding opportunities and busking also, but nothing really compares with social media sites on the internet.


Being only young, do you feel as if there is many aspects of music you'd like to cover in your career rather than sticking to a specific feel or sound?

Most definitely yes! There are many genres of music I would love to touch and experiment with. For me, I believe that collaborating with different artists who specialise in different styles is important. Although I know that as an artist I will always be developing my own sound but it is very good to take part in many different aspects of music as different experiences help you develop and grow as an artist.

How important is using multi-media (the internet, radio, etc.,) within the journey of spreading your music?

Extremely important, without networking it can be almost impossible spreading your music... Multi-media has a massive impact on my music as it’s helped me get heard. I’ve spent 1000’s of hours using the internet to my advantage, by researching and contacting people and companies. As an artist in this modern day society the internet is a necessity just like radio. I believe without the internet, radio or magazines most independent and unsigned artists won’t be able to get discovered or heard, let alone even successful artists.

Finally, how much more are we going to be hearing from you this year?

Hopefully a lot, as I’ve been working on many plans, projects and collaborations already. For the next few months my main focus is to keep writing and recording new material, also to keep my fans interested and keen on my music, therefore I have to keep my social media sites active and my listeners engaged. Like I previously mentioned, I recently supported Cosmo Jarvis in Liverpool last month and through that gig I’ve been asked to support Frankie Cocozza at The Liverpool O2 Academy on the 20th of March, so that is something to look out for. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more from me this year either way.

I'd like to thank Luke for this fantastic interview and if you have a chance, get down to the O2 Academy Liverpool to see him support Frankie Cocozza, 20th March.

http://www.facebook.com/LukeFrancescoCusato

https://soundcloud.com/luke-francesco-cusato

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