Luka may refer to:

People

Luka (given name), a popular South Slavic given name cognate of Luke

* including a list of people with the given name Luka

Places

Luka is a common South Slavic toponym, meaning "port".

Luka (Prague Metro), a station on the Prague Metro

Luka, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, a village near Ston, Croatia

Luka, Zadar County, a village near Sali, Croatia

Luka, Zagreb County, a village and a municipality near Zaprešić, Croatia

Luka, Vrbovec, a village near Vrbovec, Croatia

Luka Pokupska, a village near Karlovac, Croatia

Łuka, Podlaskie Voivodeship, a village in Poland

Łuka, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, a village in Poland

Luká, a village in Czech Republic

Lúka, a village in Slovakia

Luka (Česká Lípa District), a village in Czech Republic

Luka (Ilijaš), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Srebrenica), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Bosansko Grahovo), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Konjic), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Gacko), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Srebrenik), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Nevesinje), a village in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Luka (Bor), a village in Serbia

Other

"Luka" (song), by Suzanne Vega

''Luka'' (film), a 1992 film by Tomislav Radić

See also

Luca (disambiguation)

Lukas

Category:Slavic toponyms

be-x-old:Лука bg:Лука (пояснение) bs:Luke (čvor) cs:Luka de:Luke (Begriffsklärung) eo:Luko fr:Luka hr:Luke it:Luka nl:Luka ja:ルカ (曖昧さ回避) pl:Łuka pt:Luke ru:Лука sk:Luka sl:Luka sr:Лука (вишезначна одредница) tr:Luka uk:Лука vo:Luke

name	Suzanne Vega
background	solo_singer
birth name	Suzanne Nadine Peck
birth date	July 11, 1959
Birth place	Santa Monica, California, United States
origin	New York City, United States
instrument	Vocals, guitar
genre	Alternative rock, folk rock
occupation	Singer, songwriter, record producer
years active	1982–present
label	A&M;Blue NoteAmanuensis Productions
website
notable instruments	}}

Suzanne Nadine Vega (born July 11, 1959) is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.

Two of Vega's songs (both from her second album ''Solitude Standing'', 1987) reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner". The latter was originally an a cappella version on Vega's album, which was then remade in 1990 as a dance track produced by the British dance production team DNA.

Early life

Vega was born July 11, 1959 in Santa Monica, California. Her mother, Pat Vega, is a computer systems analyst of German-Swedish heritage. Her father, Richard Peck, is of Scottish-English-Irish extraction. They divorced soon after her birth. Her stepfather, Ed Vega, also known as Edgardo Vega Yunque, was a writer and teacher from Puerto Rico.

When Vega was two and a half, the family moved to New York City. She grew up in Spanish Harlem and the Upper West Side. At the age of nine she began to write poetry; she wrote her first song at age fourteen. Later she attended New York's prestigious High School of Performing Arts (now called LaGuardia High School). There she studied modern dance and graduated in 1977.

Career

While majoring in English literature at Barnard College, she performed in small venues in Greenwich Village, where she was a regular contributor to Jack Hardy's Monday night songwriters' group at the Cornelia Street Cafe and had some of her first songs published on ''Fast Folk'' anthology albums. In 1984, she received a major label recording contract, making her one of the first ''Fast Folk'' artists to break out on a major label.

Vega's self-titled debut album was released in 1985 and was well-received by critics in the U.S.; it reached platinum status in the United Kingdom. Produced by Lenny Kaye and Steve Addabbo, the songs feature Vega's acoustic guitar in straightforward arrangements. A video was released for the album's song "Marlene on the Wall", which went into MTV and VH1's rotations. During this period Vega also wrote lyrics for two songs on ''Songs from Liquid Days'' by composer Philip Glass.

Her next effort, ''Solitude Standing'' (1987), garnered critical and commercial success including the hit single "Luka", an international success. "Luka" is written about, and from the point of view of, an abused child—at the time an uncommon subject for a pop hit. While continuing a focus on Vega's acoustic guitar, the music is more strongly pop-oriented and features fuller arrangements. The a cappella "Tom's Diner" from this album was later a hit, remixed by two British dance producers under the name DNA, in 1990. The track was originally a bootleg, until Vega allowed DNA to release through her record company, and it became her all-time biggest hit.

Tom's Diner

Vega's song "Tom's Diner" was used as the reference track in an early trial of the MP3 compression system, thus earning her the distinction of being named "The Mother of the MP3". Because it is an ''a cappella'' vocal with relatively little reverberation, it was used as the model for Karlheinz Brandenburg's sound compression algorithm. Brandenburg heard “Tom's Diner” on a radio playing the song and was excited and at first convinced it would be “nearly impossible to compress this warm ''a cappella'' voice.”

"Tom's Diner" takes place in Tom's Restaurant at 112th Street and Broadway in New York City. Exterior shots of the same restaurant appear in the television sitcom ''Seinfeld'' as Monk's, which is the eatery where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hang out. The DNA remix of the track was so popular that it inspired many cover versions—the best of which were eventually collected by Vega on an album titled ''Tom's Album''. The remixed version of "Tom's Diner" was later sampled by hip hop artist Nikki D in her single "Daddy's Little Girl". Rapper Tupac Shakur sampled the track in "Dopefiend's Diner".

Luka

On a 1987 Swedish television special, Vega said this about her song "Luka": in real life I don't think he was. I think he was just different.}}

Also, in an ASCAP interview, she responded to a question about "Luka":

"Luka" was covered by The Lemonheads on the 1989 album ''Lick'', shortly before the band was signed by Atlantic Records, and was a minor college-airplay hit.

1990s

Vega's third album, ''Days of Open Hand'' (1990) continued in the style of her first two albums.

In 1992 she released the album ''99.9F°''. It consists of a mixture of folk music, dance beats and industrial music.

Her fifth album, ''Nine Objects of Desire'', was released in 1996. The music varies between a frugal, simple style and the industrial production of ''99.9F°''. This album contains "Caramel", featured in the movie ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs'' and, later, the trailer for the movie ''Closer''. A song not included on that album, "Woman on the Tier", was featured on the soundtrack of the movie ''Dead Man Walking''.

In 1997 she took a singing part on the concept album ''Heaven and Hell'', a musical interpretation of the Seven deadly sins by her colleague Joe Jackson, with whom she had already collaborated in 1986 on "Left of Center" from the ''Pretty in Pink'' soundtrack (with Vega singing and Jackson playing piano).

In 1999, Avon Books published Vega's book "The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writings Of Suzanne Vega"; a volume of poems, lyrics, essays and journalistic pieces.

2000s

September 2001 saw the release of a new album, ''Songs In Red and Gray''. Three songs deal with Vega's divorce from first husband Mitchell Froom.

At the memorial concert for her brother Tim Vega in December 2002, she began as the long-term subject of a direct cinema documentary, ''Some Journey'', by director Christopher Seufert of Mooncusser Films. This has not been completed.

In 2003, the twenty-one-song greatest hits compilation ''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'' was released. (The UK version of ''Retrospective'' included an eight-song bonus CD as well as a DVD containing twelve songs.) In the same year she was invited by Grammy Award-winning jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, to play at the Century of Song concerts at the famed RuhrTriennale in Germany.

In 2003, she hosted the American Public Media radio series ''American Mavericks'', about 20th century American composers, which received the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting.

On August 3, 2006, Vega became the first major recording artist to perform live in the Internet-based virtual world, ''Second Life''. The event was hosted by John Hockenberry of public radio's The Infinite Mind.

On September 17, 2006, she performed in Central Park, as part of a benefit concert for The Save Darfur Coalition. During the concert she highlighted her support for Amnesty International, of which she has been a member since 1988.

In early October 2006, Vega took part in the Academia Film Olomouc (AFO) in Olomouc, the Czech Republic, the oldest festival of documentary films in Europe, in which she appeared as a main guest. She was invited there as the subject of the documentary film by director Christopher Seufert, that had a test screening at the festival. At the end of the festival she performed her classical songs, and added one brand new piece called "New York Is a Woman".

Vega is also interviewed in the book ''Everything Is Just a Bet'' which was published in Czech in October 2006. The book contains twelve interview transcriptions from the talk show called ''Stage Talks'' that regularly runs in the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre) in Prague. Vega introduced the book to the audience of the Švandovo divadlo (Švandovo Theatre), and together with some other Czech celebrities gave a signing session.

She signed a new recording contract with Blue Note Records in the spring of 2006, and released ''Beauty & Crime'' on July 17, 2007. The album was produced by Jimmy Hogarth, which won a Grammy for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. Her contract was not renewed and she was dropped in June 2008.

In 2007, Vega followed the lead of numerous other mainstream artists and released her track "Pornographer's Dream" as podsafe. The song spent two weeks at #1 during 2007 and finished as the #11 hit of the year on the PMC Top10's annual countdown. Vega joined the 10th annual Independent Music Awards judging panel to assist independent musicians' careers. She was also a judge for the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Independent Music Awards.

2010s

A partial cover version of her song "Tom's Diner" is used to introduce the 2010 British movie ''4.3.2.1'', with its lyrics largely rewritten to echo the plot. This musical hybrid was released as "Keep Moving".

Vega is included in the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse/David Lynch collaboration "Dark Night of the Soul". She wrote both melody and lyrics for her song, which is titled "The Man Who Played God", inspired by a biography of Pablo Picasso.

Vega is rerecording her back-catalogue, both for artistic and commercial (and control) reasons, in the ''Close-up'' series. Vol.1 (Love Songs) and Vol. 2 (People & Places) appeared in 2010 while Vol. 3 (States of Being) was released in July 2011 and 4 (Songs of Family) is planned for the near future.

Vega sang lead vocals on the song "Now I Am an Arsonist" with singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton on his 2011 album, ''Artificial Heart''.

Theater

Vega co-wrote (with Duncan Sheik) a play “Carson McCullers Talks About Love”, about the life of the writer Carson McCullers. In the play, which premiered in 2011, Vega alternates between monologue and songs.

Personal life

On March 17, 1995, Vega married Mitchell Froom, a musician and a record producer (who played in and produced 99.9F° and Nine Objects of Desire). They have a daughter, Ruby Froom (born July 8, 1994). The band Soul Coughing's ''Ruby Vroom'' album was named after her, with Vega's approval, though she requested a slight change. Recently Ruby sang with her mother on a couple of occasions. Vega and Froom separated in 1998.

On February 11, 2006, Vega married Paul Mills, a lawyer and poet. They originally met each other at Folk City on West 4th Street when singer-songwriter Lucy Kaplansky, a friend of both, introduced them. In the words of her website, "The couple met at Folk City on West 4th Street in 1981. Mr. Mills proposed to Miss Vega in May, 1983, and she accepted his proposal on Christmas Day, 2005."

Discography

Studio albums

!Year	!Album	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="40"	!width="35"	!width="35"
1985	style="text-align:left"	11	91	23	9	54	-	-
1987		2	11	7	1	6	-	8
1990		7	50	74	24	16	-	19
1992		20	86	56	38	27	-	24
1996		43	92	-	-	43	25	23
2001		100	178	-	-	53	36	47
2007		127	129	-	-	81	52	79
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2010		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2011		-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2012		-	-	-	-	-	-	-

¹ Days of Open Hand made #2 in Norway albums chart

² Nine Objects of Desire made #20 in Finland, #23 in Switzerland, #39 in Sweden

³ Beauty & Crime made #9 in Estonia, #13 in Finland, #37 in Czech Republic, #49 in Poland, #74 in Italy

''Close-Up Vol. 2, People & Places'' Number 2 Top Purchased Album (Amazon.com) 11th October-13th October

Compilation albums

''Tried & True: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 1998 – UK #46, AUS #96, GER #58

''Retrospective: The Best of Suzanne Vega'', 2003 – UK #27 !width="25"|GER !width="25"|SWI !width="25"|AUT !width="25"|NZ !width="25"|CAN !width="25"|SWE !width="25"|FR !width="25"|NL |- |rowspan="3"| 1985 |"Marlene On The Wall" |85 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Suzanne Vega'' |- |"Small Blue Thing" |65 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Knight Moves" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="3"| 1986 |"Marlene On The Wall"(re-release) |21 |— |39 |9 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |27 |- |"Left Of Center"Feat.Joe Jackson |32 |— |35 |28 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— ||''Pretty in Pink (soundtrack)'' |- |"Gypsy" |77 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''Solitude Standing'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1987 |"Luka" |23 |3 |21 |11 |— |— |9 |8 |5 |2 |24 |40 |- |"Tom's Diner" |58 |— |— |26 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Solitude Standing" |79 |94 |91 |— |— |— |— |45 |— |— |— |— |- |rowspan="4"| 1990 |"Book Of Dreams" |66 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="3"|''Days of Open Hand'' |- |"Tired of Sleeping" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Men in a War" |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Tom's Diner"(DNA remix) |2 |5 |8 |2 |1 |1 |1 |8 |— |— |16 |4 ||''Taste This'' |- |rowspan="3"| 1992 |"In Liverpool" |52 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |rowspan="4"|''99.9F°'' |- |"99.9F°" |46 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- |"Blood Makes Noise" |60 |— |61 |— |— |— |— |42 |27 |— |— |— |- || 1993 |"When Heroes Go Down" |58 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |- || 1996 |"No Cheap Thrill" |40 |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |— |24 |20 ||''Nine Objects of Desire'' |}

"Rusted Pipe (DNA remix)", promotional, 1991

"Caramel", 1996

"Birth-day", promotional, 1997

"World before Columbus", 1997

"Headshots", promotional, 1997

"Book & a Cover", 1998

"Rosemary / Remember me", 1999

"Widow's Walk", promotional, 2001

"Last Year's Troubles", promotional, 2001

"Penitent", promotional, 2001

"(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May", promotional, 2002

"Frank & Ava", promotional, 2007

"Ludlow Street", promotional, 2007

"Unbound", promotional, 2007

"Pornographer's Dream", podsafe, 2007 – PMC #1

Other contributions

''Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'' (1988) – "Stay Awake"

''One World One Voice'' (1990) – "One World, One Voice"

''Deadicated: A Tribute to the Grateful Dead'' (1991) – "Cassidy" and "China Doll"

DNA: ''Taste This'' (1992) – "Tom's Diner (DNA Remix)" and "Salt Water"

Hector Zazou: ''Songs From the Cold Sea'' (1994) – "The Long Voyage" (with John Cale)

''Grammy's Greatest Moments Volume III'' (1994) - "Luka" (live version)

''Tower of Song'' (1995) – "Story of Isaac"

''Dead Man Walking'' soundtrack (1995) – "Woman on the Tier (I'll See You Through)"

The Smithereens: ''Blown to Smithereens'' (1995) – "In a Lonely Place"

''Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro'' (1997) – "Buy and Sell"

"Perfect Day" (1997)

Joe Jackson: ''Heaven & Hell'' (1997) – "Angel (Lust)"

Mitchell Froom: ''Dopamine'' (1998) – "Dopamine"

''Celebrate the Season'' (1998) – "Coventry Carol"

''Bleecker Street: Greenwich Village in the 60's'' (1999) – "So Long, Marianne" (with John Cale)

Dan Zanes: ''Rocket Ship Beach'' (2000) – "Erie Canal"

''Hear Music Volume 7: Waking'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''107.1 KGSR Radio Austin - Broadcasts Vol.10'' (2002) – "Widow's Walk"

''WYEP Live and Direct: Volume 4 - On Air Performances'' (2002) – "(I'll Never Be) Your Maggie May"

''Vigil (album)'' (2004) – "It Hit Home"

''WFUV: City Folk Live VII'' (2004) – "Penitent"

''The Acoustic Album'' (2006, Virgin) – "Marlene On the Wall"

Dar Williams: ''Promised Land'' (2008) – "Go to the Woods"

''Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse Present: Dark Night of the Soul'' (2009) – "The Man Who Played God"

''Pioneers for a Cure: Songs To Fight Cancer'' (2011) – "Streets of Laredo"

References

External links

Suzanne Vega on A&M; Records

Suzanne Vega documentary clips

Love Songs Review – Love Songs Review by SLUG Magazine

Suzanne Vega recording of 'Streets of Laredo' for Pioneers For A Cure

Category:Fast Folk artists Category:American female singers Category:American folk singers Category:Songwriters from California Category:American female guitarists Category:Barnard College alumni Category:Musicians from New York Category:Female rock singers Category:Feminist musicians Category:People from Santa Monica, California Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:1959 births Category:Living people Category:A&M; Records artists Category:Blue Note Records artists

ca:Suzanne Vega cs:Suzanne Vega cy:Suzanne Vega da:Suzanne Vega de:Suzanne Vega es:Suzanne Vega fa:سوزان وگا fr:Suzanne Vega gl:Suzanne Vega ko:수잔 베가 hr:Suzanne Vega io:Suzanne Vega id:Suzanne Vega it:Suzanne Vega he:סוזן וגה csb:Suzanne Vega hu:Suzanne Vega nl:Suzanne Vega ja:スザンヌ・ヴェガ no:Suzanne Vega pl:Suzanne Vega pt:Suzanne Vega ru:Вега, Сюзанна szl:Suzanne Vega fi:Suzanne Vega sv:Suzanne Vega zh:苏珊娜·薇佳

name	Olivia Ong
background	solo_singer
birth name	王俪婷, 王儷婷
alias	オリビア・オン (Japanese)
birth date	October 02, 1985
origin	Singapore
instrument	Vocals
years active	2005–present
label	S2S Pte. Ltd. (Japan) H.I.M Music (Taiwan)
website
notable instruments	}}

Olivia Ong (; born 2 October 1985) is a Singaporean singer. She sings mostly in English but developed her career singing in English and Japanese. In addition, she has released rare tracks, recorded in Mandarin, and Cantonese which can be found on limited edition albums.

Biography

Likened to Seiko Matsuda, she won a singing contest and was signed to a Japanese recording company S2S Pte Ltd at the age of 15.

After taking her O-level examinations in Singapore, Ong moved to Japan to further her studies as well as her career as a solo artist. In Singapore, Ong, along with 2 other Singaporean girls formed the Japanese pop (J-pop) group, Mirai. Their first single, "Open Up Your Mind", was one of the theme songs in the Japanese anime ''Gensoumaden Saiyuki''.

She released her bestselling début, ''A Girl Meets Bossa Nova'' at only 19. With her sultry, soulful, pristine and innocent vocals, she reinterprets Frank Sinatra's hits such as "Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars", among other jazz and pop numbers. She is one of the new wave of Singaporean talent being exported internationally. So far, Ong is the only pop sensation exported exclusively to Japan; previous stars such as Mavis Hee, Kit Chan, Tanya Chua, Joi Chua, Stefanie Sun, Michelle Saram etc., have been promoted mainly in the Greater Chinese market.

In 2009 Ong was signed to Taiwanese record company HIM Music and became a big hit back in Singapore after she sang the theme song of the peranakan-themed drama serial, ''The Little Nyonya''. She has stated that her paternal grandfather is Peranakan.

Her first record under HIM Music was released on 5 March 2010, entitled ''Olivia''. In 2011, Ong recorded a duet, "最後一眼" (Just One Look), with label mate Aaron Yan of Fahrenheit, which was released in his debut EP ''The Next Me''.

Olivia has recently released her latest album entitled 'Romance' on 22 July 2011

Discography

Albums

!Date of release	!Title (English)
March 24, 2005
October 26, 2005
August 9, 2006
	November 22, 2006
July 6, 2007	''Fall In Love With''
November 21, 2007	''Touch in the Sky''
March 20, 2008	''Kiss in the Air''
August 20, 2008	''Best of Olivia''
March 5, 2010
May 11, 2010	''Olivia'' (SACD)
August 11, 2010	''夏夜晚風Live影音專輯''
November 1, 2010	''Just For You''
July 22, 2011	''Romance''

EP/Singles

!Date of release	!Title
December 2008	''如燕''

Movie Debut

Olivia appeared in the movie ''It's a Great, Great World'' (大世界) as Ah Min, a young fashion photographer who stumbled across a set of old photographs taken by her late grandmother (Yvonne Lim). She brought the photographs to her grandmother's old friend, Ah Meng (Chew Chor Meng) who might have connections to the people in the photographs.

Ah Meng then proceeds to tell 4 different stories based on each photograph, each telling a story from different generations.

Awards

Years	Awards
2011		*Singapore Hit Awards 2011, Best Local Artiste Award

References

External links

Olivia's personal website

H.I.M Official website

H.I.M Official forum

Olivia王俪婷Ong personal Weibo Microblog

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Singaporean people of Peranakan descent Category:Singaporean female singers Category:Singaporean Mandopop singers Category:Singaporean people of Chinese descent

es:Olivia Ong ko:올리비아 왕 it:Olivia Ong ja:オリビア・オン pt:Olivia Ong zh:王俪婷

name	Luka Bloom
background	solo_singer
birth name	Kevin Barry Moore
alias	Luka Bloom
birth date	May 23, 1955
origin	Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
genre	Folk rock
occupation	Singer-songwriter
label	Big Sky RecordsShock RecordsV2/BMG RecordsSkip RecordsCooking Vinyl USAReprise/Warner Bros. RecordsBar/None Records
website	http://www.lukabloom.com }}

Luka Bloom (born 23 May 1955, in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland as Kevin Barry Moore) is an Irish folk-rock singer-songwriter. He is the younger brother of Irish folk singer Christy Moore.

Early life

Kevin Barry Moore was born on 23 May 1955 in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. His parents were Andy Moore and Nancy Power, who had already raised three daughters and two other sons. Moore attended a Patrician Brothers primary school, and later studied at Newbridge College, run by the Dominican Order. In college he formed the group Aes Triplex with his brother Andy and a school friend. He later attended a college in Limerick, but he dropped out after a couple of years to pursue a music career.

Early career as Barry Moore

In 1969, fourteen year old Barry Moore embarked on a tour supporting his eldest brother, Christy Moore, at various English folk clubs. Since then, he spent all of his time practising and writing music. In 1976, Christy recorded one of his songs "Wave up to the Shore". In 1977, Barry Moore toured Germany and England as part of the group Inchiquin.

In 1978, he released his debut album ''Treaty Stone''. In 1979, Moore, who normally played guitar using a finger-picking technique, was afflicted with tendonitis—forcing him to learn to play with a plectrum (or "pick"), which altered his guitar style. That year, he moved to Groningen in the Netherland. In 1980, he recorded and released his second album ''In Groningen''. In 1982, he released his third album ''No Heroes'', which contained songs all written by Moore himself. For three years, between 1983 and 1986, Moore was the front-man for the Dublin based band Red Square. During this time, in 1984 - his son Robbie was born.

Musical career

In 1987, Moore moved to the United States and began performing using the stage name of "Luka Bloom". He chose the name "Luka" from the title of Suzanne Vega's song about child abuse and "Bloom" from the main character in James Joyce's ''Ulysses''. Initially he lived and performed primarily in Washington D.C., but in 1987 he moved to New York City. The following year, he released his first album under the name "Luka Bloom".

In 1990, Bloom recorded the album ''Riverside'', which included the song "The Man Is Alive". The album was recorded in New York, with its lyrics reflecting his experiences living and performing in that city. In 1991, Bloom returned to Dublin to record ''The Acoustic Motorbike'', which included a cover version of LL Cool J's "I Need Love". The cover song was reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine, noting that "the prospect of a folksy Irish rocker covering a rap ballad may seem strange, but experimenting with different forms is precisely what keeps established traditions vital."

In 1993, Bloom again returned to Ireland to record the album ''Turf''—this time with producer Brian Masterson and sound engineer Paul Ashe-Browne. The album attempted to capture the sound of a live performance, and was recorded in front of an audience that was asked to remain as quiet as possible. In 1998, Bloom released ''Salty Heaven''—an album inspired by his return to Ireland.

Bloom's early albums showcased his frenetic strumming style, including "Delirious" the debut track on Riverside, and his penchant for thoughtful cover songs, an affinity that he maintains even in more recent work. He 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''.

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's 2004 acoustic mini-album, ''Before Sleep Comes'', was recorded while he was recovering from tendinitis. He stated that the purpose of the album was "to help bring you closer to sleep, our sometimes elusive night-friend."

In 2005, Bloom released the album ''Innocence''. Some of the songs feature a new-found interest in Eastern European Romany music and other world music. The album features Bloom playing classical guitar, and the resonant plucking associated with that style of instrument. In his previous work, Bloom relied almost exclusively on steel-stringed guitars that created his distinctive style.

In 2007, Bloom released the album ''Tribe'' —a collaboration with County Clare musician Simon O'Reilly. O'Reilly composed the music and sent the recordings to Bloom for him to complete with lyrics and singing.

In February 2008, Bloom released a DVD titled ''The Man is Alive'', featuring footage filmed in Dublin and at his home in Kildare, a question and answer session with fans, the documentary ''My Name is Luka'', and a CD of music taken from the two performances.

In September 2008, Bloom released the album ''Eleven Songs'', which featured an expanded ensemble of instrumentation, giving the album a distinct sound within his catalogue.

Discography

''Treaty Stone'' (1978, as Barry Moore)

''In Groningen'' (1980, as Barry Moore, with Eamon Murray)

''No Heroes'' (1982, as Barry Moore)

''Luka Bloom'' (1988)

''Riverside'' (1990)

''The Acoustic Motorbike'' (1992)

''Turf'' (1994)

''Salty Heaven'' (1998)

''Keeper of the Flame'' (2000, compilation)

''The Barry Moore Years'' (2001, compilation)

''Between the Mountain and the Moon'' (2001)

''Amsterdam'' (2003, live)

''Before Sleep Comes'' (2004)

''Innocence'' (2005)

''Tribe'' (2007)

''The Platinum Collection'' (2007, compilation)

''The Man Is Alive'' (2008, CD/DVDs)

''Eleven Songs'' (2008)

''Dreams In America'' (2010)

''This New Morning'' (2012)

References

External links

Official Luka Bloom website

Luka Bloom MySpace

Everything about Luka Bloom

Luka Bloom guitar music (tabs)

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:People from County Kildare Category:Irish singer-songwriters Category:Irish songwriters Category:Irish male singers Category:Reprise Records artists Category:V2 Records artists

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