Luke LeBlanc - Places (2023)

Minneapolis, MINNESOTA – Music is a connecting force. The art form can forge a common bond between seemingly disparate people. That’s because music taps into memories of time, space, and place, which provide the colors of human evolution. All of us as human beings experience the same basic transformations. The details may be different, but the journey is largely relatable.

Singer-songwriter Luke LeBlanc carefully explored those personal-to-universal intersections on his last two albums, 2021’s Only Human and 2022’s Fugue State. With Places, his fifth studio album to be released October 27 as his debut recording for Minneapolis-based Real Phonic Records, LeBlanc crafts a thoroughly thematic collection of 10 songs focused on accepting and embracing the physical and emotional places that shape us.

“‘A Place,’ the lead song from this upcoming record, Places, revolves around a practice I’ve found to be essential for performing live: accepting the place you’re in and then living in it fully. In the studio, a song you demo’d at home, just how you like it, might not sound the same way once the actual band is there recording. You might hit one wrong note on the guitar during the best take of the song, leaving you to decide whether to wear everyone out by doing another take or accept the imperfection, sacrificing ‘perfect’ for that authentic ‘feel,’ realizing that the perfect take doesn’t exist, anyway. While challenging, learning to accept, embrace, and love when things don’t go to plan while recording live unlocks new ways for songs to live and breathe.

“Outside of recording processes, ‘A Place’ is a song that takes a stab at analyzing this search for the ‘perfect place’ of being, both emotionally and physically. The way we’re inundated with ads encouraging us to ‘work on ourselves,’ ‘feel healthier,’ and ‘live better’ are all well and good, but they make it easy to forget that it’s okay to pull up a chair in whatever place we’re in, whether it be good or bad, and feel it. After all, sometimes the easiest way to get through turbulent waters is to just ride the wave.” – Luke LeBlanc