In 2019 Luke Spiller found himself in a state of self-inquiry. For over a decade, he’d made a name with the formidable British rock band The Struts — enlisting his retro sonic inspirations, singular vocals, and anthemic songwriting to help boost the group to the top of the charts. But three albums and multiple world tours later, Spiller started to wonder what it would be like to shift in his own direction. The dramatic, avant-garde music he’d grown up with and the unbridled, large songs he wanted to write didn’t seem like a fit for his current project. “It’s been a long time in the making,” he says. Spiller began to dive deeper into his songwriting, turning his typical writing process on its head. Starting with only lyrics and a title, he crafted material written as poetry – self-expression in its purest form. The resulting songs became his forthcoming debut solo record, Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes and Wine – an epically cinematic sonic expedition that mirrors a James Bond score and documents all the love, heartbreak, and beauty Spiller first experienced when he moved to Los Angeles.

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Kendra Morris recalls singers who straddled soul and rock during the early ’70s, such as Ruth Copeland and Chaka Khan, while her contemporaries include the likes of Mayer Hawthorne, Alice Russell, and Leela James. Morris’s musical taste was developed through her parents’ record collection, a library heavy on late-60s and early-70s soul and funk. During her childhood Morris’s main companion was her karaoke machine, which she also used for the sake of recording. While enrolled in college in Tampa, FL, she became so involved in performing with bands that she decided to leave behind her studies and take on music full time. She took up the guitar, as well as songwriting, and eventually involved herself with a band, Pinktricity, which moved to New York in 2003 and split shortly thereafter. Morris took to recording songs on her own, and self-released a pair of EPs: This Won’t Hurt a Bit (2007) and Milk and Cookies Never Lie (2008). Her first proper recording, a self-titled EP (2010), was recorded with producer and multi-instrumentalist Jeremy Page (of That Handsome Devil). After touring with legendary guitarist Dennis Coffey and releasing a series of singles which included “Concrete Waves,” whose b-side was remixed by DJ Premier, Morris released the album Banshee (2012) on Wax Poetics. In 2013, Morris returned with the covers album Mockingbird.

Both Banshee and Mockingbird received critical acclaim and a cult following, with several film + tv placements. The title track “Banshee” was used prominently in the Showtime hit series Ray Donovan, while her cover of Pink Floyd’s “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” found itself in the trailer for major motion picture Dead Man Down.

In between extensive international touring and promotion for Banshee throughout 2013 and 2014, Morris worked on a small side project band with friends Scarlett Johansson, Julia Haltigan and Holly Miranda, releasing one single called “Candy.”  After taking some time to write and record her follow up EP titled Babble, Kendra Morris will return with its release scheduled for late spring of 2016.