Artist: Luca Fogale
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Latest Album: Challenger (out January 30, 2026)
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
I’m really inspired by cinema and have loved movies ever since I was young. As someone with a very limited set of creative skills outside of music, I find so many elements of the craft of filmmaking so impressive. I am very grateful for how many beautiful films I’ve been able to watch in my life; to see our humanity reflected in such a diverse and dynamic way.
Whether intentional or not, I know that there are always a handful of movies that have inspired songs and albums of mine (It’s a Wonderful Life was one of the starting points for my song “Youth,” about recognizing the passage of time and having dreams of life turning out differently. And Arrival [informed] my song and album Nothing is Lost, in beginning, thinking about time and language not as linear, but circular.)
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do they impact your work?
Water seems to always be what I’m called towards. I’ve spent a lot of my life near lakes and the ocean, and I recognize how much peace and solace I feel near bodies of water; to be able to watch the world flow and breathe through the rivers and tides. I think it has informed my process in the slow intentionality with which I try to work, as well as given me a deep reverence for the natural world.
How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?
While I don’t know for certain if I hide behind the characters in my songs, I definitely step outside of myself often and view myself in the third person in order to try to get a glimpse of something objective; to look at my life from a bit of a wider angle. I spend so much of my time inside my own head that when I can use music and lyrics to see myself and my current reality from another vantage point, it always helps me to understand myself a bit better.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
At this moment, fueled by my current obsession with chairs, if I wasn’t working in music I would love to take a swing at designing and building furniture. I often crave work that is more physical, while still being creative, and the time I spend as a hobbyist carpenter making (very crude) prototypes of chairs and tables has been some of the deepest peace I’ve felt, and something that feels separate but parallel to making music, resulting in a tactile and immediately useful outcome of time spent.
What would a perfect day as an artist and creator look like to you?
I feel lucky to have experienced a couple of different versions of answers to this question. As a songwriter, I would spend some time reading, followed by having a friend come over to my little home studio to write some music, share a meal afterwards, and perhaps some time spent writing solo afterwards.
As a touring artist, it would look like the day I had today as I type this. My band and crew and I had some breakfast together after a day of rehearsal yesterday, got on a flight to LA, arrived, had a beautiful dinner, and are now heading to bed at the hotel before our show here in town tomorrow. All I could ever ask for.
Photo Credit: Brandon Artis