Private label recordings are always a little unusual. Sometimes the artists are sponsored by a hotel (or other tourist attraction), but most record and self release records themselves. And it's not for the same reasons that indie artists do (artistic control, not getting ripped of by record labels, etc.). They usually do it because they're determined to get their music heard, by any means necessary. Seldom does this process have an entirely happy ending. For lounge entertainer Luie Luie, though, it appears that it has. His cult-like fame has been percolating for years, prompting Companion Records to not only collect all of his works, but track down the man himself, receiving his blessing to reissue all of his decades old recordings.
Luie Luie is a one man band act, and he's been plying his trade in lounges and restaurants for thirty-plus years. But that doesn't really say it all. His music is so out there that it is hard to describe. "Herb Alpert on acid" might be as close as you get, but that doesn't even get it. Let's just say if you like Sun Ra, Captain Beefheart and Wesley Willis, you would probably like Luie Luie. In addition to his music, he does these spoken word introductions to his songs, with everything from his view on the world, to instructions on how to do his versatile "Touchy" dance (of which, he relates several variations). Everything about him is so heartfelt, that it's hard not to like him. He just seems like a really genuine sort of...oddball. There, I said it. A genuine oddball, but an oddball nevertheless. That is not a bad thing.
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Luie Luie - What a Wonderful World mp3 at WaxidermyLuie Luie - Touchy mp3 at Doklands (Link removed)
Luie Luie bio, photos and sample clips at Companion Records
(NOTE: For instructions on how to do the Touchy, listen to sample of "Touch Me With All Your Heart")
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