Musical bio

An archetype of the Bard, his story telling gifts coupled with his music brings an empowered message for the upliftment of humanity & touches on the very edges of what it means to be a human being on the earth right now.

With a diverse range of vocal harmonies and lyrical dynamicism, his depth is likened to the late Jim Morison meets a fusion of contemporaries like Matisyahu, Kendrick Lamar & Eliot Moss.

Luke’s voice blends worlds, showcasing his unique ability to both rap & sing. With genres ranging in classic hip-hop & Neo-soul, to future folk. Lo-fi and diverse collaborations with other artists & producers across a broad range of music, making Luke’s expression not easily boxed in.

“I’m constantly trying to push the edges of my creative expression and love so many genres I’ve always found it challenging to adhere to some kind of niche, not only as an artist but also as an entrepreneur. In fact I’m all for breaking out of the myth of needing niche audiences, I think we truly need to learn to just be ourselves”.

Born and raised in NYC, Luke started his hero’s journey in 2006 after a full healing crisis, leading him to take a road less traveled. Luke spent the last 16 years dedicated to healing himself, helping others and pioneering a path of exploration through world cultures, multiple different modalities & deeply immersive apprenticeships with world renowned mentors. His hero’s journey informs a lot of the soul-infused content he shares with the world.

On the musical side of luke’s journey all started with hip-hop and free-sytle cyphers in his youth while growing up in New York City. Deep in that scene, galavanting across the five boroughs consumed by the culture, writing graffiti, running with gangs & being a misfit. After his healing crisis, life brought him down a different path, one that would lead him out of self-destruction, health challenges, depression, codependency and addiction.

As Luke’s lifestyle became more holistic & heart centered his relationship to music transformed as well, bringing him into the study of Kirtan, medicine songs and traditional healing songs from the lineages he became connected with. During this cycle in time he was known to his community and following as ALOKA, a song carrier, ceremonialist, community builder, activist & singer songwriter.

When he moved to California in 2012 Luke became the front man of a band “Suns of the Earth” with his best friend at the time Elah Scott, and producer Duke Mushroom of EarthRise Soundsystem forming a dynamic trio, pioneering a unique genre of folk-hop-medicine music.

After the band broke up in late 2015 Luke, went solo as ALOKA, a touring and recording artist, releasing two albums & helping curate a series of culture-changing events. In 2019 Luke retired his “tribe” name as ALOKA, which now serves as a side-project focused specifically on folk, medicine and sacred music.

Luke is now primarily focused on his full circle return to hip-hop, expanding his expression into neo-soul, future folk, lo-fi and other genres, as well as continuing to share his gifts as a storyteller, spoken word poet and content creator.