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With the exception of so-called “industry plants”, it’s pretty rare for a superstar to hit their biggest stride during their first project. Think about Kenny Rogers with The First Edition, Danny Elfman with Oingo Boingo, or even Beyoncé with Destiny’s Child. Lena Luca had a classical background in oboe performance and music education before relocating to Austin in 2015 and becoming a centerpiece vocalist for art-funk outfit Bourgeois Mystics. That only lasted about a year before Luca jumped ship and launched a new project, a darkpop band in the vain of ’90s industrial post-grunge rock called Elevaded. Well, turns out even that wasn’t enough to scratch Luca’s creative itch.
Right around the start of the pandemic, they re-emerged under their current moniker, introducing Austin to an unapologetically-queer producer-singer-synthesist solo sensation. Disco, funk, R&B, indie, dance, and pop have all been up for grabs in Lena Luca’s upbeat, melody-anchored formulas since 2020, with a 4-track EP on the way. So if you’re checking out Remi Wolf this Sunday at Stubb’s, be sure to stick around ’til after 10 for an official after show performance by Lena Luca. If not, enjoy Lena Luca’s official selection from this year’s Austin Music Video Festival that accompanies one of L.L.’s most rousing bass grooves to date, an expertly-executed disco-funk phenom that gives Dua Lipa a run for her money, “Rosebuds”.
