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Favorite ThisLuke the Knife to Cut Up Denver Tonight

Published: December 19, 2012
By: KT Biaz

Getting ready tonight to step out on the scene is Luke the Knife, the stage moniker of Luke Miller, guitarist and keyboardist for Lotus. A sampling of mixes on SoundCloud and a social media push are bringing music junkies a taste of what to expect from this new project. The Untz, of course, is right there to tell you all about what's fresh and on the cutting edge (you just might have to forgive a knife pun or two, ok?)
 
This solo project is certainly a different animal from what listeners get with Lotus. As Luke the Knife, Luke delivers a funky fresh, high energy collection of tunes that sounds more funk and disco than jam or livetronica. Some tracks are purely disco. It's a refreshing change of pace, and not really a sound that's been embraced everywhere…yet.
 
Some of Luke's mixes can get repetitive and feel a little worn while listening on SoundCloud.  This is booty-shaking music, though. So a SoundCloud listen won't necessarily do it justice. We can already picture what the dance floor's going to look and feel like when Luke the Knife is unsheathed in Denver. We can also see ourselves throwing this on for that shower, dress, get ready for the night hour, or on our iPods for a snowboarding mix. 
 
If you want to be a part of the dance party that's sure to erupt when Luke the Knife takes the stage, check out a full set TONIGHT at Cervantes in Denver, Colorado, which will feature live performances on guitar, keys as well as Chuck Morris from Lotus on percussion. The night will also feature Beard-o-Bees (Jesse Miller of Lotus) and Cosby Sweater.
 
Luke has six mixes up on SoundCloud. Our favorite tracks, though, are the soulful, classy mash ups and re-rubs. Maybe we're just suckers for soul and motown?…and Stevie Wonder, always suckers for Stevie. “V Neck Sweater Re Rub” and the “Boogie On Reggae Woman Re-Rub” get us going and make us want to boogie on all night.


As far as the mixes go, Mix 4 "Ride the Shark" is a solid and interesting little journey. It starts with a distinctly disco intro, goes into an EDM build and then returns to the disco groove after the drop.
 
We'll be loading this mix onto our iPods with fingers crossed for a powder day in the not too distant future. In the SoundCloud comments, someone refers to this as "shreddable disco" and we could definitely rock these tunes in the ear buds for a day on the snow. About 20 minutes in you get a dose of Daft Punk grindy space sounds and a building wind. It's got that fun, floaty vibe and the mix is a good length for a sesh. 
 
The refrain of "you are so excellent" 30 minutes into Mix 1- “Million Dollar Disco,” as well as the mash up midway through, makes this one of our new faves for pump up tunes. If you're looking for a pick me up you can definitely reach for this one, or Mix 2 – “Hot Butter Disco.”  These tracks area solid, straight up, unabashed disco, and they are just as sexy as they are campy. On Mix 6 – “Diet Coke & Mentos” the disco gets cut with a new wave feel. The vocals have that 80’s vibe. At 35 minutes the mix gets real wobbly, a funky change up for the close out that we enjoy.


Just as the weather turns in Denver and the cold sets in, Luke the Knife is getting ready to heat things up and really carve out a place (see, only a few puns) on the Colorado music scene. If you're looking for a dance party, for something that doesn't take itself too seriously, that will just get you boogie-ing….then Luke the Knife is just the tool for the job.


Tags: LivetronicaElectroHip HopHouseTechnoDrum and BassDubstepGlitch