Interview with NZ musician Will Luhrs

Like how all great things start, we came to know Christchurch-based singer Will Luhrs when his friend Cam who owns Dunstan Photography slid into our DMs about taking some shots for Tsrang Label.

We of course said yes, and was introduced to Will, a young singer-songwriter from Christchurch.

Will had amassed over 150,000 plays on Spotify and was featured in Jesse Mulligan's Afternoon show prior to changing up his sound this year. With his drive, we are sure Will is headed for a huge future.

Will Luhrs in Christchurch, shot by Dunstan Photography

What got you into music?

Thank you so much for the interview opportunity!

My parents used to play Etta James CDs on road trips we would go on when I was little, and I think that definitely sparked something. Then when I was around 7 my parents started me with a piano tutor and I’ve loved doing music from then on. It wasn’t until the start of high school when I got into contemporary/jazz and that’s what I’ve been doing ever since.

Who are your musical inspirations?

At the moment I look up to people like Laufey, Daniel Caesar, Cosimo And The Hot Coals because they aren’t worried about making music that people will be easily digestible by everyone. They stay true to their own sound and create music that has life and soul and I think that is vital in a saturated industry.

I also draw inspiration from the people around me, and the incredibly talented friends I have. Every other day they teach me something about music that I didn’t know before, and I am very lucky to be surrounded by a lot of like minded people who are passionate about the same things as I am.

What role does music play in your life?

Music plays a huge role in everyone's life in different ways, for me it can mean anything from relaxation, to being stressed over learning a song, but music is a universal language that can be understood by everyone and interpreted in different ways.

The thing I love about music is that it’s all subjective, so no one decides what’s good or bad and everyone has their own unique tastes.

What’s your favourite place in Christchurch?

My favourite place in Christchurch is the Port Hills! The views from the top at nighttime are the prettiest views anywhere in NZ (In my opinion), that coupled with having lots of fond memories there makes it my favourite place.

Tell us about your latest release and your plans for the year.

On Friday May 12th 2023, I released a song with Just Monet called “Our Masquerade”.

In early January she and I messed around for a few hours and we came up with a catchy idea, very reminiscent of old soul music, which is where the inspiration for the album cover and photoshoots came from.

The word “Masquerade” is defined as “a false show or pretence” and we wrote the song around the idea of being free and letting go of things you can’t control, hence the line “baby don’t cry, good things take time”, although the lyrics can be interpreted in many different ways and a lot of the lyrics are metaphorical.

I have previously had music on Spotify accumulating over 150,000 collective streams as well as being featured on Jesse Mulligan's Afternoon Show, but as I got into my later teens my voice changed and I thought it was best to remove all previous releases and start professionally.

Monet and I met through high school and she is one of my close friends, and an amazing person to work with. Not only that, she is a phenomenal singer and musician, winning national Jazz awards with her band “Chicks From Corea” as well as many other competitions and doing shows on her own.

In terms of my plans for this year, about six months ago Monet told me about an audition opportunity for a five week intensive at Berklee College Of Music in Boston, so I applied and received a partial scholarship and so did she!

If anyone is looking for something that is a bit different from most songs being released nowadays I would definitely recommend checking out “ Our Masquerade”.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

It’s hard to say where I see myself in 5 years. The goal is to be doing music full-time in whatever way shape or form that is. Every musician's dream is to have a successful solo career but all I want to do is keep releasing music, play more gigs and have as much fun as I can.

The sort of people you meet from playing live and being in bands/groups is priceless and is worth way more than anything money could buy. I’m not sure where I’ll end up but I’ll keep putting work in and we’ll see what happens.

Follow Will on Instagram and listen to his latest single 'Our Masquerade' with Monet here.