A Popjustice reader is representing Serbia at Eurovision.
His name's Luke Black. Let's have a chat with him
Luke Black’s Samo Mi Se Spava is a brilliant, rumbling industrial pop moment, and it’s the song Serbia have selected for this this year’s Eurovision.
Due to a combination of a) the song being quite good and b) Luke choosing a tremendous photo involving a lobster for the artwork, I thought it’d be good to get him on a Zoom and see what was what. Turned out he’s a Popjustice reader, so that was nice.
Hello!
Hi! Hello! How are you? I’m baking something. It’s a baguette. It’s in the oven so I hope it doesn’t burn.
How long have we got until the baguette is ruined?
I’m supposed to take it out in ten minutes.
If at any point you need to attend to the baguette, let me know.
I’m sorry. This is a great opportunity: I will let it burn. Is this interview recorded — do you want me to go into a different area? Or do you like this decaying communist building?
It’s just written, but tell me about the decaying communist building.
It’s quite warm, those buildings were built to contain the heat. It’s my friend’s apartment — I live in London so I don’t have an apartment in Serbia at the moment, but I need to be here for Eurovision, so I’m sleeping on her couch. I’ve been here for a month. The couch is very small, it’s like a cradle and I’m a baby.
What were you doing on Christmas Eve, 2015?
That’s a good question. I don’t remember. I think I released a Christmas single? And I was probably with friends, and drunk.
Shall I tell you what you were doing?
Er, yes?
You were sending me an email.
What?
When I decided I wanted to interview you I searched my inbox to see if any press releases had come in. And there was an email from Christmas Eve 2015: “I’m Luke Black and I’m an electropop musician from Serbia, it’s a tough crowd here in the south east part of Europe, so much help would be appreciated.” I didn’t help; I didn’t even reply. Although to be fair, it was Christmas Eve.
Do you know what, in Serbia our Christmas is on January 7, so I probably didn’t even have Christmas on my mind when I sent it. But I’ve been a big fan of Popjustice for a long time. I wasn’t really emailing everyone back then… I was signed to a label so I thought they were gonna do it. But I think I must have got a bit drunk and decided: “I’m going to take matters into my own hands, message my favourite website and try my best.”
In a way, if I had replied at a point when Popjustice still just about had some sort of influence, then the series of events set in motion by that could have put you in a place where you never ended up doing Eurovision, so…
I think it was good for me at the time. I don’t think I was as interesting in 2015 — on Christmas Eve — as I might be in 2023.
How do you see yourself as being interesting now?
Maybe I’m not that much interesting now… But I don’t consider myself too seriously now, not like I did back in 2015. I’m not as emotionally invested so I guess that brings out more of an intuitive approach to everything. More of a sense of humour, more of a relaxed personality… But it’s mostly because I spent loads of time in the UK. I think London definitely shaped me to be a better artist; there’s so much I’ve learned from living there. I went to every gig, from an unknown artist in a dingy bar, to concert halls where I could go and see people like Lorde. I felt really miniature in London and that was the best thing. I don’t think I was as interesting when I thought more of myself.
So you benefitted from a sense of feeling miniature?
Yes, I benefitted from… Well, I was an only child and I spent most of my teens doing music and being a bit ‘interesting’ on social media when it was in its conception — with MySpace and Facebook — and I got so much praise, and I wasn’t stuck up, but I thought more of myself. And I think my artistry suffered because I was thinking: “Whatever I create, that’s enough.” Whereas in London I saw you needed more discipline, more passion and more spirit in everything. This whole Eurovision thing is putting a crown on the stuff I wanted to do back in 2015, but I just didn’t have the chance.
What was it like taking part in the Serbian national final?
It was my first performance after so many years. I always performed in small venues of around 350-500 capacity, and the only time I played to more was when I toured China in 2016 and it was about 1500 capacity. But back then there were no lights, no production, I was doing a show for two and a half hours, and there’s no… Well, it wasn’t polished. It was—
Sorry, hang on, how long was the performance?
Two hours and twenty minutes.
What?
I know! I was like: “This is my arena performance.” Hold on please, I need to take my baguette out of the oven. I’m sorry for being so unprofessional.
[Luke disappears for roughly as long as it takes to open an oven door]
How was the baguette?
I’ve opened the oven door. I should point out it is not my baguette, my friend put it in there and told me I needed to take it out. I was like: “I have a very important interview! I can’t do this!!”
I’m interested in this idea of people going “you’re brilliant” for most of your life, then after five minutes in London and have to rethink everything.
I was full of it. (Laughs) It was such a tumultuous journey, to be honest. So, I was really popular on Facebook. Pre-Instagram, I did Tumblr-style posts into Facebook, and I had fans because of that, then going into music, because I was singing in English and had a concept, people were like: “Oh my God, this is such an epiphany for music in Serbia.” And I started thinking: “Alright, I’m really good.” I was just lazy. I was thinking, “okay, I won’t do singing lessons, I won’t learn this and that.” Us in Serbia, in our twenties we’re much less mature than people in their twenties in the UK. People I’ve met in the UK are really hard working. And London, because it’s a big city, was a humbling experience but a learning curve for me.
Was it university that brought you to London?
Yes it was uni. In 2018 I was done with music. I was really disappointed with my reception here in Serbia and the inability to go any further. So it got to 2018 and I’d quit music and I remember I was with my friends, and I was sitting by my piano, and I created an album solely inspired from the back of my brain by David Bowie, The Beatles and Elton John. I made thirty songs then I realised I’d made an album. This is one of those instances where I’m doing something, but I’m not really aware of it.
Where did you study?
My master’s was at BIMM, and the undergrad was with Point Blank Music School. But I forgot about the rock album as soon as I got to London and started going to hyperpop parties, collaborating with people and rediscovering my passion for electronic music.
How does one end up representing your country for Eurovision?
So, there was an open submission on the national television station’s website. I came to Serbia to submit my song because I thought maybe I needed to be in the country to submit it? I’d never really thought of Eurovision as a place for me but last year one of my closest friends and collaborators entered [the national contest] and won, and then went to Eurovision and came fifth, and I suddenly felt very connected to Eurovision. I had a lot of stage fright in the past — there’s a little demon who doesn’t allow me to perform for some reason, and I wanted to beat it by doing a huge thing. It was a big challenge for me mentally and physically. But I entered, and I won, and now here I am.
You’re scheduled to perform in the first semi-final. How do you feel about it?
I feel really good. In Liverpool it’s going to be really, really great because I think the audience is going to be really supportive to all the artists, including me when I take my baby steps in the arena.
Have you been to Liverpool before?
No, I didn’t go much outside London when I was in the UK. I went to Kent…
Where did you go in Kent‽
Broadstairs, I went to see the beach. And I went to Bicester Village, but only by accident. I didn't want to go there but I missed my stop and then I was in Bicester. But the shops were good.
The main thing you need to know about Liverpool — and I’m mentioning this now because for some reason they treat it like a secret and they really don’t like to mention it, and you really need to drag it out of them in Liverpool — but…
Is this about The Beatles? The thing is, you can’t NOT talk about The Beatles. I don’t really listen to them now but I was spoon-fed The Beatles by my parents. I don’t know how to explain this to someone who’s not from Serbia but I was disenfranchised in this country for many reasons, and to be really heavily inspired by British music and then to go to Liverpool to represent my country in the cradle of The Beatles? That’s a big thing.
I need to ask about the lobster photo. Is that like when I hilariously entertain my kids by going, “What’s that noise? Can someone hear ringing?” And then I pick up, for instance, a banana, and hold it up like a phone, and listen to it for a bit, and then I go: “IT’S THE BANANA POLICE!!!” Is that what the lobster is about?
I think this is the first time I’m saying it but the lobster was a drunk, 3am Amazon purchase. You know sometimes you’re browsing Amazon and you decide you need something, and that it’s essential for you? And then when it arrived I’d forgotten I’d ordered it, so it was such a shock to me and I was frightened. I left it in the hallway for a couple of days because I couldn’t touch it. It wasn’t me being overdramatic! My flatmate was afraid of it too. But I ended up wondering if perhaps it had been a process in the back of my head, because I love Salvador Dali and he had a lobster phone, but also in my song I say “HELLO?” and I want to reach reality by picking up my surrealistic lobster phone. Also, lobster is apparently a symbol of regeneration, and lobster is a symbol for the trans community, so I was like: okay, these are things close to my heart, so maybe it works.
Also, and I’m going to share my screen here…
Right.
…this photo.
Yes?
Where is that jumper from?
It’s a jumper from Ragged Priest and it’s actually a very colourful jumper but because I can’t afford new clothes all the time I Photoshopped it, so now it looks black and white so it can appear new. I Photoshop clothes all the time. Every white shirt becomes black, pink becomes blue, just because I can’t afford clothes.
Well thank you for dressing up smartly today.
I have a very important interview after this.
Hang on is this interview not important?
Well of course this is most important, but two birds with one stone… Is that the saying? Although I don’t support any animal cruelty. But I have an interview about film after this, with one of Serbia’s biggest film critics, and it’s a very serious show and they’ve told me to dress smart. So I hope I did. But thank you so much for this! I swear, this is a dream come true. I don’t know what to say, it’s surreal.
How about we make a deal: whatever happens at Eurovision—
A fiasco!
Well whatever happens, let’s speak afterwards and talk it through.
That’s a deal.
Luke’s performing in the first Eurovision semi-final on May 9. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.
Editor’s notes:
Was the interview arranged and conducted solely to get an ID on a quite nice jumper? NOT FOR ME TO SAY, DEAR READER. Not for me to say.
Bicester Village, where Luke accidentally ended up, is a designer shopping outlet centre. Which is why the shops were good: it’s literally just a load of shops.
I’m sorry but is “I forgot about the rock album as soon as I got to London and started going to hyperpop parties, collaborating with people and rediscovering my passion for electronic music” not the greatest sentence in the history of the English language? Beautiful.
You can get a decent fake lobster on Amazon for about thirteen quid. Money well spent!
YAY!
"Well whatever happens, let’s speak afterwards and talk it through."
Sooo how about that!