Leek and The War Wick Tragedy

Leek and The War Wick Tragedy

Think Melbourne, think summer, think fun… emerging artist Leek and The War Wick Tragedy have released the catchy debut single 'Running" from their forthcoming album 'One". Hailing from Melbourne, the duo has emerged from the studio with this fun post summer track complete with horns and a happy driving melody. Leek & The War Wick Tragedy are Luke Humphries and Scott Blackman.
See it here: www.YouTube.com

Emerging artist Leek & The War Wick Tragedy have been in lockdown in their personal studio (Flower Press) in outer Melbourne working their magic and perfecting their dark compositions.

Emerging with -One', the first full album instalment of their triple debut album, the duo made up of Luke Humphries and Scott Black, both 21 years of age has seen the boys writing, producing and recording their raw sounds - laying down the foundations for their debut triple album. Conceptual in its design, the album features a journey from the light side to the dark.

Their recent signing to Centrifuge Music Publishing and successes from earlier releases, Leek & The War Wick Tragedy have a steady platform from which to launch. Leek's 'Prophet In A Parking Lot" received airplay on Triple J and independent radio stations across Australia.

Under the mentorship of Hugo Race, who features on the album, Luke Humphries describes -One' as being - 'related to life's journey and [that] the aim across the three discs is to create an absolute definition of light and dark in an ambitious and almost cheeky manner. Complete with big horn sections and strings and choir voices, in order to make as big a statement as possible.... The upbeat side of things shows the light that is in life and that there is always happiness, but that there is also complete darkness".
www.ffacebook.com/leekofficial

Interview with Scott Blackman

Question: How would you describe One?

Scott Blackman: 'One' is actually our first full-length album. Originally we were planning to release a triple disk debut album, but certain factors lead us to alter that plan. Now we are releasing three separate albums with 10 to 12 tracks each - titled 'One,' 'Two' and 'Three' - approximately a year apart from each other. The theme we are trying to capture - across not only the entirety of 'One', but the three albums as a whole - is a representation of the journey of life. Every up and every down, every triumph and every tribulation... we want to try and represent it all through a musical journey.


Question: How does Running fit into the EP?

Scott Blackman: Our first single 'Running' is one of the earlier tracks in the album's track-listing. Its upbeat, catchy and fun. We used a four-piece horn section and a lot of 'happy' guitar sounds that we thought would nicely capture the energy of Summer in Australia. Within the flow of the album - and within the theme of the music being a representation of life's journey - we see this fitting in somewhere around the transition from childhood to adolescence, and how the way you view the world seems to change every day at a beautiful and rapid pace. There's a kind of daring and curious innocence in it.

Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Scott Blackman: Most of the songwriting in the early days was done by our singer Luke Humphries (aka 'Leek') under the eye of his mentor and father David at their family studio, Flower Press Studios. The three of us co-produced 'One' from Flower Press and drew a lot of influences from The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Oasis and The Verve. In recent days Luke has been demoing for 'Two' on his lonesome at his new apartment in the city. I've helped collaborate on a few ideas, but Luke is a creature of comfort who enjoys forming his ideas on his own, at first, and then coming together with the other producers, engineers and musicians when he feels the time is right.


Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Scott Blackman: With all of us being from quite strong musical backgrounds, our influences and interests stretch far and wide. Singer Luke has always been strongly into Nick Cave, Tom Waits and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Guitarist James is a big Muse fan and I've drawn a lot of influence from bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Doors and Stereophonics. As a band, we all share a really strong interest in the Britpop scene of the 80's/90's/00's - with The Stone Roses, Oasis, The Verve and Baby Shambles all getting some pretty constant airtime when we're together. And, of course, there's The Beatles.


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Scott Blackman: We're looking to release another single before the album comes out later this year and there's a high chance that it will be released with a couple of B-Sides, which we've never done before. We're looking to setup a strong tour to support the album's release later this year, but there will also be some warm up shows around Melbourne in the not-too-distant future. As I mentioned earlier, we've already started demoing for album 'Two'... so we're keeping quite busy.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Scott Blackman: The music industry is definitely a tough place to work. Despite a few drunken conversations about running away and working at a bar in The Whitsundays, I don't think any of us have seriously considered giving up on music... it just means too much to us all. Even if we don't make it as a band, we will always want to engineer/produce music because it really is a lifelong passion for all of us.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Scott Blackman: Being from a Sound Engineering background, Luke and I have always been advocates for the studio life... but you can't deny the happiness you experience from playing a really good gig. Ultimately we will probably always prefer to be studio hermits, but we've had some great times out on the road, and we don't plan to give that up anytime soon.

Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Scott Blackman: I think the decision to follow your dreams of working in the music industry has to come from the way you were brought up. Everyone knows how tough it is to become even a little bit successful with Music, so to actually give it a shot can really only come from knowing you have the support of your family (and they were probably the main role models that sparked your interest in a lot of music anyways). Specifically speaking, reading Anthony Kiedis' (Red Hot Chili Peppers) auto-biography when I was 15 completely changed the way I saw the music industry - his story gave hope to people like me, who didn't think they could possibly fit into a band unless they played guitar really well.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Scott Blackman: I don't think we ever stop facing challenges; there's so many factors involved in keeping a band functioning, every day something new and challenging pops up. I think, generally speaking, the biggest challenge is knowing that you want to do this for the rest of your life, but not feeling like it's progressing anywhere... sometimes it can be hard, but you just have to stick to your guns.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Scott Blackman: Luke and I are quite erratic, so I don't think there's such a thing as a typical day for us! On a day that we're meant to be working on music, we generally get a nice breakfast on Chapel Street, catch a tram to Brunswick (which is where our new studio is located), grab some food and drink, put in a couple of hours with our studio partner Gerry, and then head out for a nice drink somewhere on Sydney Road. Not a bad life, hey!?


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Scott Blackman: Being able to travel the East Coast of Australia as a touring musician is simply amazing. There aren't many greater feelings than spending the day in the 25 degree Queensland sun (in the heart of winter, whilst Melbourne was around 15 degrees) and knowing that you're playing a gig that night. Its relaxing, exciting, scary and invigorating all at the same time... and it sort of feels like a paid holiday. Not to mention Australia is such an amazing country, so just being able to travel (and take in the sights) is amazing in itself.

Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Scott Blackman: There are so many to choose from, it's hard to pick one. If any of Richard Ashcroft, Nick Cave or Noel Gallagher gave us a call, we probably wouldn't be getting much sleep that night.


Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Scott Blackman: We will be launching our official website closer to the album's release, but in the meantime people can catch us at www.Facebook.com/LeekOfficial.


Question: Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable life?

Scott Blackman: 1. Passion (for what you love)
2. Ambition (to follow your passions)
3. Inspiration (to fuel your ambitions)
4. Balance (between seeking what you want, and keeping what you already have)
5. Rum.


Question: What message would you like your music to say to your fans?

Scott Blackman: The beautiful thing about music is that it's ambiguous. What we mean when we write it can be very different to the meaning that a listener gets when they hear it, and neither of those interpretations are more important than the other... If our music affects anyone in a way that makes them want to hear more, then we have done our job well.


Question: What is the story behind the band's name?

Scott Blackman: For years, singer Luke Humphries performed under the pseudonym 'Leek,' but upon surrounding himself with a backing band, the name was extended to include 'The War Wick Tragedy.' This term was derived from the title of a Shakespeare play which was laying around in the Humphries' home studio 'Flower Press Studios' in Central Victoria - 'The Tragedy of Julius Caesar (The Warwick Shakespeare)'...


Interview by Brooke Hunter