Luka Bloom
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Luka Bloom, born Barry Moore, is an accomplished Irish folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is also the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore.
In order to avoid the pressure of being related to Christy Moore, Bloom adopted his pseudonym. "Luka" is taken from the title of Suzanne Vega's song about child abuse and "Bloom" references the main character in James Joyce's Ulysses. Bloom is, however, very forthcoming about being Moore's brother and does not hide behind his stage name.
Luka Bloom's style of guitar playing is very distinctive and is generally referred to as "electro-acoustic". In his early career as Barry Moore, Bloom used a fingerpicking style. However, tendonitis in his hands forced him to adopt a strumming style which is the one he still uses and is often credited with his success.
Released in 2000, Keeper of the Flame was an album of cover versions, featuring renditions of ABBA's Dancing Queen, Bob Marley's Natural Mystic and the Hunters and Collectors' Throw Your Arms Around Me among others. Bloom had previously covered LL Cool J's I Need Love and Elvis Presley's Can't Help Falling In Love on the album The Acoustic Motorbike. Bloom is often heard to remark in concert about Natural Mystic that "...there are considerable similarities between Jamaicans and Irishmen".
Bloom's most recent Album, Before Sleep Comes, was recorded while Bloom was recovering from tendonitis. Bloom stated the purpose of the album was "to help bring you closer to sleep, our sometimes elusive night-friend."
Luka Bloom's live performances are prolific and highly entertaining, often featuring the singer playing songs on request from the audience - regardless of their presence in his set list.
Discography
- Luka Bloom (1988)
- Riverside (1990)
- The Acoustic Motorbike (1992)
- Turf (1994)
- Salty Heaven (1999)
- Keeper of the Flame (2000)
- The Barry Moore Years (compilation) (2001)
- Between The Mountain And The Moon (2002)
- Amsterdam (live) (2003)
- Before Sleep Comes (2004)
External links
- Official Luka Bloom website (http://www.lukabloom.com/index.htm)
- Everything about Luka Bloom (http://home.knuut.de/e_r_bergholz/lbloom/music.htm)