ILUKA

Renowned for her signature retro pop sounds and a voice that at once commands attention with fierce ballads and oozes softness with restrained whispers, ILUKA stands strong as one of Australia’s home-grown revolutionaries. Wearing her heart on her sleeve and owning collective defiance like a badge of honour is her forte.

Releasing her debut EP ‘Paper Doll’ in 2013, ILUKA introduced herself as an artist worth remembering, and backed this up with the wildly successful Blue My Soul, released earlier this year. Shimmering with dynamic authenticity and influenced by her nomadic travels, Blue My Soul saw huge momentum. The EP’s first single, ‘Blue Jean Baby’ was a force to be reckoned with, debuting on triple j’s Home and Hosed, added to rotation on Double J and ABC Local Radio, and owning a spot on Spotify’s ‘New Music Friday’ playlist in both Australia and Germany.

Taking the recorded magic of ‘Blue My Soul’ to the live stage for a stellar headlining East Coast tour, the Sydney artist also played shows with the likes of Alex Lahey, Dan Sultan, Mama Kin Spender and supported local legends Killing Heidi on their national tour. The festival world was also graced by her enigmatic flare with jaunts across Australia for performances at Caloundra Music Festival, sideshow exclusives with Trevor Hall (US) for Bluesfest and a trip across the seas, performing at both Fete de la Musique and Fete de la Ville in New Caledonia.

Refusing to slow down and suppress her desire to ‘give a damn’, ILUKA became a voice for some of 2017’s most important social movements. Guest performing at Vivid Sydney’s event for Women in Music, ILUKA also became an ambassador for the Women’s March Sydney. Furthering her influential, outspoken artistry, 2017 also saw an exclusive collaboration with Wrangler for her single ‘Blue Jean Baby’.

Fast-forward to the end of 2017 and ILUKA is ready to kick off another year of interminable success. Her latest offering, ‘Sympathy’, is a nod to recent outcries within society and a gentle push for today’s generation to wake up, take a stand and raise their voices. She draws musical influence from Motown’s rhythmic grooves, while maintaining her intrinsic retro pop vibes, swirling synths and lyrical potency.

The new EP Ritual focuses on the here and now, with each song paying homage to her great loves and burning visions of an old soul desperately present. It’s her most honest body of work to date - portraying empowerment, liberation and the desire to fight for something bigger, something more. With live shows in the works and the release of Ritual in April 2018, ILUKA is both an artist of conviction and determination. And she’s only just getting started.