We profile 10 of the hottest
artists who are climbing the
charts, breaking the Internet
or just dominating our
officestereos...SOUNDS LIKE: Soulful rock songwriting
with a shake of old school reggae seasoning
FOR FANS OF: The Clash, Bunny Wailer,
King Cannons
WHY YOU SHOULD PAY
ATTENTION: Ghosts, Luke Yeoward’s debut
solo record, could’ve easily never hap-
pened. He walked away from his last major
project – the formidable and locally-adored
King Cannons, who gave Springsteen-sized
singalongs a Strummer-sharp treatment – in
2013, and soon after gave up music com-
pletely (even selling his guitars and records).
“I was expected to keep pouring my time and
money into it when I couldn’t even pay the
rent,” says the Melbourne-based Kiwi. “I was
fucked.” But it wasn’t long before Yeoward
rediscovered the punk records he loved as a
kid and, soon after, rekindled his penchant for
penning songs.
HE SAYS: Yeoward set up a crowdfunding
campaign to help him bring Ghosts, which
was to be written and recorded in the U.S.
with a dream list of key players, to fruition.
He raised the cash, hit the road and teamed
up with producer J. Bonner (ex-Aggrolites),
who encouraged Yeoward to use analogue
gear and record straight to 8-track. “That’s
now defi nitely my favourite way to record,”
explains Yeoward. “It’s just simple, it’s soulful.
It’s reinvigorated my confi dence and my pas-
sion. With this album, being a solo operator,
I fi nally got to execute what I’ve wanted to
for a very long time. This whole process has
solidifi ed to me what I’ll be doing now until
I’m dead. This is me. I can’t quit me.”
HEAR FOR YOURSELF: Heavy dub and
reggae sway give “Cool Water” a strong un-
dercurrent, while Yeoward’s rich vocal makes
waves on the surface. You could almost dive
right in. OLIVER PELLINGLuke
Ye o w a r d
42 | Rolling Stone | RollingStoneAus.com
The Future
Is Now
Ju ne, 2017