Composition

Writing has been a big part of Luke's life for a long time. He wrote his first song when he was thirteen years old. Since then, they have become more and more complex, and more in-depth. Here's the story behind them.

​Prairiefire

Prairiefire is the first album that Luke ever made, when he was 15 years old. It was recorded on a small 8-track Boss BR 900 in his living room. The album has eleven songs, mostly guitar, that Luke wrote after he had finished his first song ever. Although that song is not on here, the second he wrote, "Summertime Minstrel" is on the record. Only featuring guitar and voice, the song is a testament to the travelling musician and to the dreams of home they have. The other songs on the album feature stories of other places (El Cid, and Here at This Place), while some tell stories that Luke was a part of: being caught in a tornado while hunting in Kansas during Prairiefire season. Who doesn't like some grass-fire now and then? Fly talks about the legends behind the northern lights, but also about the sight of them flickering above Alligator Hill in Glen Arbor. 
It was Luke's first go at recording, and at mixing. The music from this record set the groundwork for every other song that Luke went on to make. He's planning on doing a re-recording of the album with his band down in Hillsdale soon!
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The Fog Dance: An Instrumental Collection

This album was recorded shortly after the release of Prairiefire, and uses the Boss BR 900, and a new addition at the time, the Boss BR 1600. As he was still exploring the many things one can do with a guitar, Luke wrote the music for this instrumental album. It features a native american flute that he bought at an art fair in Kalamazoo, and some piano as well. Both would soon become a large part of his repertoire, and Luke always likes to tell the story of the flute at concerts. This record was recorded in the top floor of a cabin in Glen Arbor, MI over the course of a month. 
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Constellation

Constellation is the largest album that Luke has ever done, at fifteen songs. It took a little over thirteen months to record, and it marked the first time that Luke also mastered his music. "Ship of Souls," the first song on the album, was recorded just after a performance at Plainwell's Performing Arts Center with Luke Sienko. The rest was recorded on the Boss BR 1600 in Luke's home studio in Plainwell. The title song, Constellation, was a song that Luke wrote in memorial of his grandmother who passed away late in 2015. The passing also greatly extended the time it took for him to produce the album. "I ended up spending a solid 5 hours a day in the studio for about three months straight. No weekends baby!" Abby Ernst was a guest vocalist on the song. The recording session they had was about 30% work, and 70% eating pizza. Just after graduation, Luke was able to get back into the Plainwell Performing Arts Center to record "Lighthouse Watchman" on the mini grand there. The custodians had no choice but to listen.... It took two days of playing to get a good run through of the song. The rest of the music, being fully written, recorded, and mixed was then mastered, and burned to disc for manufacturing. In June of 2016, at eighteen years old, Luke had finished his third album. He then took a four minute break from recording and writing, and began recording on his next record, while moving in to Hillsdale College.
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Solos and Stories

​Solos and Stories was the most unique recording that Luke has done so far. Part of it was recorded at Thoreson Farm in Port Oneida Michigan, part of it was recorded in a practice room at Hillsdale College, and part of it was recorded at Luke's home studio in Plainwell. In the album, Luke tries to explore many different genres of music: bluegrass, rock, acoustic folk, alternative. Along songs that have lyrics, there are also 6 instrumental tracks, five with guitar, and one with the native american flute. "The Illuminati Song," the last song on the album was one that was never meant to exist. It was written on the fly during a jam session with Luke, Carter Zemora, and Seth Woltanski. The three wrote the song in five minutes (strangely while the lights in the house began to flicker), and recorded the song in ten (after they had stopped recording, and shut down the recorder, the lights ceased to flicker). While recording "The Friendly Spirit" at Thoreson Farm, Luke was interrupted by a woman who wandered into the house. She then told him about the ghosts who lived there, and then left. As Luke was playing the final version of the song, a rocking chair across from him began to rock, and he felt very cold, and not alone. It was kinda spooky! One song that makes mention of ghosts, "The Corner of Main Street," was recorded in a practice room at HIllsdale College during final exams. Luke, and Blake Estep both ran to the room in-between two exams, and took five takes of the song. The last take is the one that went onto the album, and immediately afterward, they ran to their exams, and made it! Along with Luke, Paul Keenan plays violin, Michael Whitman plays saxophone, Carter Zemora plays drums, and Blake Estep plays banjo. The songs they recorded were recorded mostly in a practice room in the music building at Hillsdale College. "Perry's Lake," and "North Winds" were partially recorded at Thoreson as well. Luke took care of the mixing and mastering on this album - on top of writing - and finished it, with Blake, Paul, Michael, and Carter, in just under eight months. 

Recording and Producing

Luke records not just his own music, but also music for other artists using his Boss BR 1600. The Boss is a 16 track mixer board that he has been using for four years now. Instead of using effects to get the sound he wants, Luke prefers to use the location's unique characteristics to influence the sound. His favorite places to record are in old farm-houses. Being able to hear feedback while recording is also critical, and this is also done by Luke. From the display on the mixer, he can tell when certain places of a song may need more or less volume, and can give creative advice. If you are interested in having Luke record you, please email him, and send him a sample of your work. Don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfect! "Music itself finds it's perfection in the fact that it is imperfect: it will never be complete."