Meet Lukas D’Aqui, a folk-pop singer/songwriter from Bunbury, Western Australia, whose musical journey has produced three independent studio albums. From his early days strumming a guitar to drawing inspiration from artists like Jack Johnson, Bob Marley, and Pete Murray, Lukas has crafted a signature sound that radiates positivity and warmth. His latest release, ‘Her Treasures’ (July 2023), continues the uplifting, acoustic-driven style that has defined his work since his debut album, ‘Hope, Faith & Dreams’, in 2007 and its follow-up, ‘The Journey’, in 2013.
In addition to his music, Lukas cohosts The Italian Australian Podcast alongside his sister, Josie D’Aqui. My introduction to Lukas’s music came through being a guest on their show, which serves as a vibrant celebration of the Italian heritage that remains an important part of life for so many Italian Australians, myself included.
Can you tell us the story of how you first fell in love with making music?
Always a big music fan from a young age! Started guitar lessons around the beginning of primary school and continued throughout most of my primary school years until I had a pretty solid foundation on the guitar. Throughout high school I kept playing and experimented covering lots of different genres including playing a lot of electric guitar. Always being more of an acoustic fan, upon hearing Jack Johnson for the first time after his first album release I felt like I had heard the style I knew would best suit me and shortly after here I was able to put pen to paper and start writing lyrics! After a couple years of writing and realizing I had enough songs for an album although I was young (19) and not regularly gigging yet I decided to record ‘Hope, Faith & Dreams’ which had 16 tracks and from here I knew I was going to continue to write and perform when I could!
How do you like to paint a picture of your music for people who haven’t heard it yet?
I’d like to think my overall style is happy & upbeat whilst still on the chill side! Every artist has some variation and I feel it’s important to give every song its own feel though I like sticking true to a happy/easy listening vibe!
What inspires your lyrics or themes. Are they drawn from personal experience, stories, or pure imagination?
I could talk about this stuff all day, I love lyrics and find it fascinating listening to people speak about how they’ve put songs together! For me, some songs I’ve written are very personal, others are based on things I’ve heard from other people and stories from them and then sometimes similar to writing a fiction novel, the words just seem to come to me from nowhere!
Which artists, genres, or even non-music influences have shaped your work?
I always credit Jack Johnson as my main inspiration! Hearing him definitely sparked something in me to want to write songs and deliver them in a laid back but catchy way – even if the lyrics were sometimes deeper than the chill vibe may first let on. Other influences on myself include Bob Marley, Pete Murray, John Buter Trio, Xavier Rudd, Ben Harper & John Mayer. Whilst I was always a big Powderfinger fan too though more influenced by the more mellow artists, I think Bernard Fanning’s debut solo album ‘Tea & Sympathy’ could be the best album ever!
What’s the latest chapter in your music story? What are you working on right now?
Supporting myself for several years now from live performances which is awesome! Have been more focusing on that over the last couple of years rather than studio time though you can guarantee it’s just a matter of time until I am hitting the studio again! There will be a new album to add to my existing three at some stage! I have some other ideas too that could be fun like perhaps re-recording some tracks from my debut 2007 album when it hits it’s 20th bday – just to breathe some new life into these older tracks! I still play them a lot live but I feel like they have grown also and could be revamped in the studio these days for sure! I also have lots of new material so watch this space!
What do you hope listeners take away from your music as you grow as an artist?
I just love to hear that something I’ve created has put a smile on someone’s face and helped them feel some positive energy to have a good day! In a similar way that I can put on Jack Johnson or Bob Marley and know it’s going to brighten my mood, it really is awesome hearing things like this from people taking the time to listen to me!
What’s one thing about you, as a person or artist, that your listeners might be surprised to learn?
Most people who meet me through the music industry very rarely (though often ask me) pick Italian as my background though I am born in Australia to an Italian born (Rome) mother and a father also of Italian (Calabrian) heritage.
