My guest in this episode is Will Lulofs. The observant amongst you will notice that there is a connection to my previous guest Tim Lulofs, as Will is his son.
Dad would be the first to say that what is more significant than Will's parentage is that over the past 13 years he has released six critically acclaimed albums (with a seventh on the way) under the name of Will Stratton.
Born in California in 1987, mostly raised in New Jersey and currently an upstate New Yorker, Will has a family background steeped in Americana and is the great-grandson of a travelling preacher. He started playing piano at the age of 4, guitar at 12 and did his first song writing and recording while at high school, before going on to study philosophy and music composition.
In 2016 Will signed to one of the best independent labels there is, Bella Union, after its founder, Simon Raymonde, discovered his music on Bandcamp. The first release on Bella Union was “Rosewood Almanac” in 2017 which was described as:
“a work of fragile magic, a hypnotic combination of beautifully breathy voice and exquisite lyrical imagery, gorgeous melodies and similarly soft-spun instrumentation, centred on his thrumming acoustic guitar and the verdant presence of velvet strings.”
Will takes us through his story, talks about his influences and gives some fascinating insights into the creative process , the things that challenge and fulfil him, and some of the practical issues of being a recording artist.
Will has a deep love and connection with the British "Folk movement" of the early 70's - Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention, but his taste and influences are wide ranging. They go from Debussy, Chopin and Erik Satie through ambient and electronic music to the film music of Max Richter and Jonny Greenwood . All of this and more is included in the Spotify Playlist below. It's one of the most eclectic we have had on the show and its all the better for that - enjoy :-)
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https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7Lwm0Af64D34LreNXyGCTG?si=QszIsi4lSHCRZLXcGUmVIg
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