You would be hard pressed to discover an artist as empathetic, courageous and cosmopolitan as Israeli-born Lukah. The 26-year-old singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter from Tel Aviv has used her personal struggles and family tragedy to fuel messages of empowerment in both song and everyday life. She pushes a world of sexy pop into a darker direction, branding her edgy personality through her music by combining deep messages with contrasting compositions.
Describing Lukah’s personal journey as inspiring would be an understatement. Born in Petach Tikva, she spent her early years playing in fields near her home without access to modern-day conveniences like computers and cell phones. But life took a drastic turn with the divorce of her parents when she was twelve years old … and with the shooting of her father one year later.
“My dad was shot in our front yard,” says Lukah. “From that day, everything went south. I spent most of my days in the streets. My mom was always troubled and working because she was trying to support four children. My dad spent two years in recovery, we were poor and from that time I had no parental support.”
With the family experiencing so many struggles during her formative years, Lukah sought escape in her biggest passion: music. She taught herself how to play guitar, began writing songs when she was sixteen and gravitated toward music which offered lyrics with emotional depth.
“One of the bands I followed extensively was a rock band from Israel called The Jews,” she remembers. “Their music spoke to me because I was lonely at the time. I had friends, but I was lonely. I felt like I was lost in adolescence, and I was looking for somebody to explain my emotions to me.”
Only a few years later, Lukah’s talents landed her in the spotlight when she decided to participate in the television show, The Girls, which was focused on finding music’s next big girl group. Lukah’s group ended up winning the show, but problems within the group left her questioning whether a career in music was really what she wanted. Making matters worse, Lukah found herself battling bulimia … a struggle that came to a head when she collapsed at work.
“I was 24 years old at the time, and I had stopped eating, and I had to ask a friend to make an appointment for me to speak with a therapist,” she recounts. “Bulimia is like being in a relationship that you know is bad for you but don’t know how to end it and worse, you don’t want to end it.”
“And the process of combating it makes you feel like a child learning how to look at life and feel emotions in a manner that is different from what you have known before. I’m healthy now. I ended up replacing my addiction to bulimia with an addition to personal fitness.”
It is inspiring to see that these struggles and tragedy have forged such a passionate and loving human being. Lukah’s authenticity and courage are apparent in the first few minutes of conversation, and it is obvious how aware she is of how her statements and actions impact other people.
“The world is such an unfair place and what you contribute to it is what people will connect you with,” she explains. “What people do on a daily basis is so important, and I’ve always felt being polite, even to those who aren’t polite to you, sends a message. Sadly, most people in society don’t travel, and they don’t see different cultures. I think it makes it harder for them to connect with people around them.”
Away from music, she loves spending time with her two dogs, Lilly and Louis, and riding motorcycles. Lukah is multi-lingual, able to speak Hebrew, English and Spanish … and is currently studying French.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINKS:
http://lukahmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/lukahmusic
