Musician to Musician: The Indie Music Rise-Up Edition: “Lurk”

Hello Pitt-Greensburg community! I am Sophia Gatti. I am currently a student here at Pitt-Greensburg, and I am a staff member at “The Insider.” When I’m not in classes, I spend my time as a musician. My current project is “Carmela Donna.” I am a singer, songwriter, and I play the ukulele. This new Musician to Musician (M2M) column is something I thought would catch the eyes of many of you. I will be discussing music with other indie artists and getting a deeper insight into their path to success in music.

For our forth M2M, I got the opportunity to chat with Lurk, a bedroom indie, hyper-pop artist from Connellsville, Pa. 

Lurk has over 88,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. His breakout song, “I don’t want,” has over 588,000 plays. I caught up with him to talk about his rise to fame, his inspirations, and his hopes and dreams for the future. He experiments with many different sounds within his music, and he is only just beginning this journey into the music world. 

M2M: When did you first know you wanted to become a musician? 

Lurk:  I remember saying I wanted to do music as a child. In elementary school, we would take turns saying what we wanted to be and I always said ‘a musician.’

M2M: How long have you been making music? 

Lurk: Ever since I can remember I tried to make my own songs on my piano and guitar as a kid. As I got older, I started to make lyrics to instrumentals. This started around freshman year of high school. I didn’t officially release anything until my senior year.

M2M:  How would you describe your sound?

Lurk: It took a long time to develop the way I sound today. I’d say that my sound is a melting pot of my biggest genre inspirations such as ‘metal,’ ‘emo rock,’ ‘dubstep,’ ‘pop’, and lastly ‘rap.’ I feel like the grunge of my vocals in the cadence of a pop or rap song incorporated with the glitches I add make a unique and distinctive sound.

M2M: Where do you see/want your music headed next? 

Lurk: This is difficult to answer. I believe having goals accomplished may make most people feel comfortable, and therefore not work as hard at their passions. That being said, I try to stay away from goals for myself in music. I want to just be successful and because there will never be a defining moment of success for myself, I’ll always feel the need to create and push my own boundaries.

M2M: What is your creative process?

Lurk: My creative process for my harder projects comes solely from video games, movies, and anime. My creative process for my emo-ish music is often a reflection of my own life and insecurities.

M2M: What does it feel like to look at a crowd and see people singing your lyrics? 

Lurk: I’m still trying to figure this feeling out. It’s the best feeling when it’s for my more personal songs. I’ll sing a song about my struggles and worries and it’s like they are connecting to what I’m creating. That to me is the ultimate, ‘I understand, I’ve been there, too’ kind of feeling. The fact that people in a room who don’t know me, but instead know an alter ego I’ve created, connect with my inner emotions. I’m being heard, and they are being heard. It’s such a beautiful thing to experience and I wish every song lasted a second longer.”

M2M: Have you had a moment of ‘wow i’ve made it’ yet? If so, what was it, and how did the feeling feel in your body? 

Lurk: I’ve had many. When I did both of my shows in Los Angeles in 2022, I felt so successful and accomplished. Or when I get followed on social media by people I’m inspired by. There are so many examples of personal successes like this. However, nothing will beat the feeling of my most recent show that sold out (plus 15 tickets past max capacity), and a crowd of people singing my last few songs of my set for me. That feeling will never subside. The feeling of ‘I am here, and I am heard.’ The realization that I am what I imagine.

Lurk is only just on the come-up in the music world. Keep a look out for Lurk’s  local shows and check out Lurk’s music on any streaming platform today.