Luka Bloom

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Luka Bloom
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Kevin Barry Moore
Alias = Luka Bloom
Born = 23 May 1955
Origin = Ireland
Genre = folk-rock
Occupation = singer-songwriter
Label = Big Sky Records, Shock Records, V2 Records, Skip Records, Cooking Vinyl USA, WEA, Bar/None Records, Shanachie Records, Evolver
URL = http://www.lukabloom.com

Luka Bloom (born 23 May 1955 as Kevin 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 "Luka" about child abuse and "Bloom" refers to the main character in James Joyce's "Ulysses". Bloom is, however, very forthcoming about being Christy'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, tendinitis in his hands forced him to adopt a strumming style which is the one he still uses and is often credited with his success. He usually plays in the DADGAD tuning.

He began his career in the United States playing small clubs in Washington DC and later in New York City. He was a frequent performer in New York's Greenwich Village-at the Red Lion, where he played with Eileen Ivers backing him on fiddle, during his "Irishman in Chinatown" tour. (Ivers would also appear on the "Riverside" album.)

He toured America frequently through the Nineties, although his contemporary touring schedules take him mostly to Europe. He remarked during his 2006 US tour that he has grown fond of playing in Eastern Europe, "now that I don't need a work visa."

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

Bloom released his album "Innocence" in 2005. Many of the songs feature a new found interest in Eastern European gypsy music and other World music. In his previous work, he relied on steel-stringed guitars that created his distinctive style. His aubergine and yellow guitars were often introduced by name at gigs. The album features a more classical guitar and the resonant plucking associated with that style of instrument.

In 2007 he released Tribe, a collaboration with County Clare musician Simon O Reilly, with O Reilly composing the music and sending the recordings to Luka for him to complete with lyrics and singing.

A DVD entitled "The Man is Alive" was released on February 20, 2008. It features concerts 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 culled from the two performances.

"Eleven Songs" was released in September, 2008, featuring an expanded ensemble of instrumentation, giving the album a distinct sound within his catalogue.

Discography

Barry Moore albums:

*Treaty Stone (1978)
*Barry Moore & Eamon Murray - In Groningen (1980)
*No Heroes (1982)

Luka Bloom:

*Luka Bloom (1988)
*Riverside (1990)
*The Acoustic Motorbike (1992)
*Turf (1994)
*Salty Heaven (1998)
*Keeper Of The Flame (covers project) (2000)
*The Barry Moore Years (compilation) (2001)
*Between The Mountain And The Moon (2001)
*Amsterdam (live) (2003)
*Before Sleep Comes (2004)
*Innocence (2005)
*Tribe (2007)
*The Platinum Collection (compilation) (2007)
*The Man Is Alive (2 dvd + 1 cd set) (2008)
*Eleven Songs (2008)

External links

* [http://www.lukabloom.com Official Luka Bloom website]
* [http://www.rbergholz.net/ Everything about Luka Bloom]
* [http://www.themanisalive.com/ The Man Is Alive]
* [http://www.myspace.com/lukabloom Luka Bloom] at MySpace
* [http://home-3.tiscali.nl/~gelten/bloodyfingers.html Luka Bloom guitar music (tabs)]