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An indie folk singer/songwriter whose songs have a haunting, intimate quality that quickly drew comparisons to artists like Bon Iver and Jeff Buckley, Luke Sital-Singh emerged with his debut EP, Fail for You, in 2012. He charted just outside the Top 40 in his native U.K. with his lusher first album, 2014's The Fire Inside, then stripped back arrangements for 2017's Time Is a Riddle. A newly purchased rubber-bridge guitar was the centerpiece of his fourth album, 2022's Dressing Like a Stranger.
Raised in the southwest London suburb of New Malden, Sital-Singh and his two older brothers were encouraged to play music as children, with Luke taking up the violin. He switched instruments after picking up his brother's guitar. Sital-Singh went on to earn his first performance slot at Glastonbury in 2010, while in his early twenties. His debut EP, Fail for You, arrived in 2012. Produced by veteran Irish producer Iain Archer (Snow Patrol, Jake Bugg), it earned him considerable airplay in the U.K. He released a second EP, Old Flint, in April 2013, which opened the door to several tours and key spots on the U.K. festival circuit, and eventually landed him a deal with British major Parlophone Records.
Tornados, his third EP and first for Parlophone, found him again working with Iain Archer and was released in late 2013. The EP expanded upon his usually spare sound with the introduction of a full complement of backing musicians, bringing a newfound complexity to his music. He then appeared on the BBC Sound of 2014 long list, and soon after confirmed the details of his debut album, The Fire Inside, which saw release midway through the year. It peaked at number 43 on the U.K. album chart, also charting in the Netherlands.
By 2016, Sital-Singh had split from his major label and set about recording what would be his sophomore album. Heading to the remote Attica Audio in Donegal, Ireland, with producer Tommy McLaughlin (Villagers, SOAK), Sital-Singh stripped things back, employing just a small backing band to help deliver the personal and reflective Time Is a Riddle in May 2017. Another EP, Just a Song Before I Go, arrived the following year, before his third album, the McLaughlin-produced A Golden State, appeared in April 2019. He again followed up with a solo EP (April 2020's New Haze) before issuing the collaborative EP All the Ways You Sing in the Dark with Old Sea Brigade. It featured the streaming hit "Call Me When You Land." Around this time, Sital-Singh relocated to California.
"Rather Be," a duet with Christina Perri, was released as a single and included on the songwriter's fourth album, September 2022's Dressing Like a Stranger, which he co-produced with singer/songwriter Dan Croll. With songs largely inspired by the sound of a new guitar, it marked his debut on Nettwerk Records. ~ Timothy Monger & Marcy DonelsonAlbums, EPs, Collections
