Luke Marzec

Describe your style in three words?
Rough, soul, electronic.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
I stumbled into Caribou’s show at Bestival in 2014. I had lost my friends and planted myself right in the middle of the crowd. I was wearing these sunglasses that messed with the amazing light show, and in the state, I was in it was a mad experience. The band was so tight, and it was the first time I had seen a live band play with such an electronic set-up. The fact that they were all wearing white coupled with the frankly bizarre stage presence and incredible music really stuck with me.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
Maybe the Rolling Stones and Bob Marley. It would be a weird musical line-up, but it means I could see them back-stage. I get the impression Stones just had the sauce and rocked up on stage - I’d love to experience that transformation and swagger up close. But I heard Bob Marley ran a very tight ship that involved prayer. He ran his band like a military platoon or sketching. After his shows, he would sit down with the band and listen back to the set, and stop it at every mistake. After critical analysis, they would pray and then smoke. If I shared a line-up with them, then I might catch a glimpse of this backstage.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
Back in 2009-2012, I went to a lot of dubstep and DnB raves. Me and my friends went to loads of DMZ nights, and it was the first time I felt bass like that. They were my first experiences raving, and it was amazing. Later I moved onto techno nights - the raves in little York that were put on by Freakin’ were some of the best nights of my life - a crowd of 200 people who pretty much knew each other, world-class DJs who had played to that crowd for near two decades. The nights would end in five-minutes’ applause before moving onto one of the many house-parties.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I’m really fascinated by Grimey Victorian London so I’d love to speak to a criminal from that time... maybe Jack the Ripper. If he was busy, then it would be amazing to meet Jesus or the prophet Mohammed. Or the MP Dennis Skinner - he’s been in parliament for so many years and would know much about the last half-century’s politics and the personalities inside it.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
My favourite gig was a short set at an SBTV poetry night at The Jazz Cafe. The talent was incredible, and the audience were beautiful - they applauded by clicking their fingers. The best venue was this place in Balham with a round-theatre round the back.

Luke Marzec is a Polish-British multi-instrumentalist who self-financed the recording of his EP, 'Chances' by working for minimum wage in his local pizza restaurant. Working to a tight budget and timescale, using only the eight channels available in the demo version of the recording software, Luke embraced the constraints of the process to create a raw, minimalist experimental sound.

Listen to 'Chances' here.