Luke Janela

Luke Janela paints epic landscapes of sound using an emotive cello as the primary muse with his wild and passionate voice as its compliment. The music is urgent and innovative, moving from punk to classical to electronic as a cohesive, contemporary whole. From the woods of Northern California, to the drizzly streets of Portland, OR, to the bright dry lights of Los Angeles, he has barefooted (literally) hundreds of stages around the country. Using his toes to provide rhythm and distortion (drum machine), his voice as an emotive soundscape, and his shivering pull of the cello, his performances show a complex harmony between serenity and angst. In Janela's hands the cello acts as a fully formed baroque buzzsaw, as at home in the roar of a rock club as it has been for centuries in cloistered concert halls. In moments of sweet sonic revery, hints of Bach will float over deep and resonant beats.