Emerging from the desire to create something different, Lumiera is the innovative musical project of singer/songwriter Sara Brooke and producer Myke Ireland.

Their previous work with group Red Bee established Sara and Myke as two artists not to miss. In 12 short months, Red Bee quickly climbed the Melbourne ladder of success to support names like Dave Seaman, James Zabiela, Hernan Catteano and Nic Fanciulli, under the UK’s Renaissance banner, and play alongside local rockstars Dan Mangan, Luke Chable, Jono Fernandez and Mark James. Their sets received rave reviews from punters and industry heavyweights alike.

Lumiera picks up where Red Bee was left by continuing to push boundaries and offer a new experience for dance floors and electronic music lovers. Charlee caught up with Lumiera in the lead up to their second Tickled Pink appearance.

What does Lumiera mean?

Sara: It’s actually something we made up. After struggling to find a name to represent us that we both loved, we started getting a little creative. Lumiera is a mash up of our star signs, Gemini and Libra, and a variation on Lumiere, which is the french word for Light.

How did you the two of you come to work together?

Sara: We met late 2004 through a mutal friend of ours, Dan Banko (Darkbeat/Rollin Connection). Myke had been on the look out for a vocalist to collaborate with for his downtempo/trip-hop material. So Dan introduced us. We clicked instantly, and have been working together and good mates ever since. We both share similar tastes and ideas on music and life, whilst maintaining a high level of trust and respect for each other, so the partnership works very well.

For the readers who are not familiar with your work can you give us a brief run down on what is involved in one of your performances?

Myke: Sara sings live vocals while I play an Abelton set off a G5. Depending on the size of the venue our sets contain an array of MIDI controllers, A Koas pad, and when space permits keyboards as well.

Sara: Musically we develop a set based on where we are playing. For Tickled Pink there is lots of phat basslines, funky beats and twisted effects. We play a mix of covers, originals and vocal remixes. Myke loves dropping in random samples from lots of different sources, so its quite amusing seeing people’s faces when they try to work out what it is.

All girls dream of becoming a singer when they are young. Sara, when did you first realize that your voice was appealing to others?

Sara: I have always loved singing, but never considered doing anything with it until a few years ago some of my close friends sat me down and told me it was something I should pursue. I loved dance music and knew that was where I wanted to focus my attentions initally. So I put together an extremely rough demo and gave it to a few local producers that I knew; Adam Kallergis, Keltec and Jono Fernandez. With their encouragement, advice and support I got stuck into it. I commenced writing my own songs and got lessons from an amazing vocal coach Tina Kopa who really helped me develop my voice and realize my potential. That said, I don’t think it was actually until my debut performance with Red Bee last year at Darkbeat that I really started to believe myself that people enjoyed listening to me sing. It all still very much feels like that little girl dream. I love it.

Who are your biggest musical influences?

Myke: Megadeath, Massive Attack, Arrested Development, Drive, Tool, Pearl Jam and Live.

Sara: I love strong, unique female voices and lyrics that come straight from a persons soul. Rosin Murphy, Beth Gibbons (Portishead), Lou Rhodes (Lamb), Sarah McLachlan, Imogen Heap, Harland, Stephanie Vezina, Sade, Paula Cole and Stevie Nicks are all major influences for me.

You perform covers as well as you own unique vocal remixes. How difficult is it to write new lyrics for a tune that you are already familiar with?

Sara: Not that difficult actually. It all comes down to choosing the right track to work with. I find a lot of the time that if I love a track, it inspires me to write a vocal. The main concern is making sure that the vocal that I write compliment the track, that it’s are adding something to it; rather than cluttering or taking away from what’s already there. Last thing I want is for people to go, oimigod, that chick just butchered that tune with a vocal. So far – so good. We have gotten such a great reaction from crowds for a few of them, that we are going to mix them down in the studio and submit them to the original artists to get their feedback, fingers crossed they like what they hear and we get some of them released.

The music industry seems to be flooded lately with electro sounds mixed with repetitive female vocals. Do you feel this has a positive or negative effect on the sound you are pushing?

Myke: We’re not really trying to push a sound, the focus for our club shows are more on taking what people already know and enjoy, and playing it in a maybe not so familiar way. Sara has an awesome array of vocal styles that keep it interesting and I’m doing what I can to design new plug in’s and effects that give the set a bit more ear candy, as well as throwing in some loops and samples from just about anywhere. We try and make the crowd our focus, big trustworthy tunes, new and classic, stuff that always makes your night when you hear it. We want people to sing along, jump around, go crazy, whatever…as long as their lovin it.

Sara: There is unfortunately a lot of dance music out there with female vocals that all sound the same, and poorly written lyrics. Not just in electro, but also in plenty of other dance genres. Its a pet hate of mine, so I would like to think I am offering something different from that sound as a positive point of difference.

Your debut performance at Tickled Pink was such a success that you have been invited to return for their next installment. How did it feel to finally share your work with the public? Were you as the artists pleased with how the performance went?

Myke: We had performed together a few times under the Red Bee banner, alongside some handsome local and international names too. But this time felt much more personal. We’d taken a different direction in what we wanted to be about, and the response from the crowd was fantastic. Instead of the “educate the crowd” approach we started designing the sets around the tracks we knew they would love. The response was overwhelming, we are so excitied about getting back there!!

Sara: I couldn’t be more pleased with how the last performance went, its easily the best gig I have ever done. Tickled Pink would have to be one of the most enjoyable nights out in melbourne, so we are so honoured to be asked back by Danni and the girls. This time is going to be extra special for me because my younger brother James has scored the set of warming up for us. So its a family affair.

What is the most difficult part of a live performance?

Myke: For the club gigs squeezing all our eqiupment into the console. It can be quite hard sometimes getting everything set up and sounding right in an environment that’s set up for DJ’s, not a live act.

Away from the club scene you have been creating downtempo/trip-hop songs to perform in traditional live music environments, incorporating other musicians. Has this been you goal from the beginning or something that has evolved over the time you have worked together?

Myke: Actually that’s what came first. I have always been into Trip Hop, and was working on a track with some of the guys from Symbiotic Sound System for which I got Sara to write a lay a vocal for, I loved it and it started there. The club scenario came a bit later. I would probably have to say that performing in a club has to really be about the patrons, whereas a traditional show reveals what you are all about. It satisfies a different part of you.

Sara: What I adore about the whole Lumiera concept is the fact that Myke and I are getting to explore two different worlds. As performers we are really getting to stretch our wings. We get to go have an absolute ball rocking with a club dance floor, and then we are very soon going to be able to also perform a full set of original downtempo material with a band. It’s mad.

Do either of you play a musical instrument that may be utilized in future performances?

Myke: I wouldn’t say I am a concerto pianist, but every now and then the keyboard does come out in our shows. In our original shows this will become the primary focus. In the club environment it really is hard trying to fit everything in, if you are a DJ you can barely fit your records in on a good day. But we will definitely adopt more elements as the venues permit.

Sara: Myke is good mates with a wicked guitar player called Toni Lozanovski who I am itching to get more involved with our performances too. However to echo what Myke has said, it really depends on the gig and venue we are playing, but its definitely something on the cards.

What plans are in calendar for summer 2006-2007?

Myke: I’ve just graduated Uni so there is definitely some partying to catch up on, but we hope to be gigging as often as we can whilst spending a lot of quality time in the studio working on our original material, which we hope to be out and playing by the end of summer.

Sara: Studio shenanigans-a-plenty! The main focus being on our original productions, but also a few collaborations with some local producers too. We will be posting up our original material as soon as its finished on our myspace page www.myspace.com/lumiera, and also updating our gig listing as future slots get confirmed so make sure you add us a a friend and check it out.