L. Martin's "Playful Enemy" is the triumphant product of necessary evils and hard-to-swallow pills
L. Martin, courtesy of Luke Olson
Luke Olson, or L. Martin as he's started calling himself professionally, has had a whirlwind year. After suddenly leaving Chicago-based indie rock group The Walters in 2017, Olson has had a lot of time to think and recreate himself as a newfound solo artist. Preceding the release of his August 2018 EP, "Playful Enemy," he needed to take the time to figure out who he is, now that he has the freedom to write what he wants, exactly how he wants it.
After a year of intense writing, experimenting, recording, and even touring, we got to talk with Olson about the progress he's made, post-breakup, and how he's coped with the untimely change, the result of which was a solo EP.
The conception of "Playful Enemy" didn't begin once Olson was on his own, however.
"I wanted to use some of these songs for The Walters. So 'Anymore' was one of them. I've had that for a while, and I started working on 'Broke' last summer. But all the years with The Walters - you just take risks and you want to use some songs and everyone is going for a certain, sometimes different, thing. And after it was obvious that The Walters were going to stop, I started recording right away. I just want to make songs, and they don't all have to be the best songs in the world. But I would have these riffs and melodies and basically when I'm ready to start recoding it's a different process every time. With lyrics, sometimes it's just me putting them into an iPhone recorder and then just playing the song and freestyling. It's just taking in the random stuff to see what works."
Olson had the help of engineer Luke Otwell in Chicago while putting together "Playful Enemy," and the collaboration couldn't have been a more perfect match.
"We would just have fun and record and not think too much about it. That's the most freeing life for me. It's the doubting that makes it feel like 'why am I even doing this if I'm not going to put it out?' And it's fun because people are down and excited to help and it's like, man, that's all you need. When you're in the studio and it's enthusiastic and it's not like there are competing egos or anything. It's just, 'Oh this is your song.' So it's been fun making them."
The lack of doubt and advantage of all the freedom that comes with working on your own is far from overwhelming. If anything, it's the best part. Olson has really developed his own voice with this project, and that's something so invaluable and perhaps if he hadn't left The Walters, he never would have truly found it. But where is the line? Is solo work lonely or is it liberating?
"Leaving was a curve ball and it was heartbreaking and it's something that I think about every single day of my life. But how could I feel like it wasn't what needed to happen? I feel really strongly intuitively about what I do and sometimes it could be overbearing to those guys because I really just believe, and it's like now this is my chance to prove that yes, that's in me. I can make, and I can find people to help make the songs come to life, and they're out there. I love The Walters and I loved making music with them, but I don't know. I love being able to write a song by myself. I still record with other people, I'm not one of those guy's who's like 'I have to do this all alone.' And now I can do things quickly because there isn't that thing where it's like people are having certain feelings on it, or they feel like they need to change it to be a certain way. I can record it as much as I want and it's really exciting that I've been able to do this. I got to tour with my younger brother and now he's playing guitar and he's just getting so good so fast and I know this never would have happened. God works in mysterious ways."
This new chapter of Olson's life has led to an incredible amount of self-discovery. "Playful Enemy" is undeniably his work. Nothing about it is overdone. It's real. And the best part? He's getting recognition for his originality from the people who matter most.
"I was at back home in Wisconsin, and my mom is my number one fan, and she would text me every morning when she'd take the dog out by the lake. She just got these new headphones and she texts me every morning just to talk about these songs. Like, 'I love it so much. God bless you.' Like just, you know, really the thing you need. Yeah, And so I was home and my aunt was there and she hadn't heard any of the EP yet so my mom played it and I'm sitting there and my aunt is liking it. It was like, 'Okay, this is it.' It was the day before I released it and it made me feel - it was a lot. That was good."
What matters most to Olson is the freedom to create without boundaries, and to create with people who will grow him, and it seems to me like he's found it. "Playful Enemy" is a testament to making the best of a blind-siding change, and whether or not you're strong enough to turn it into something positive. L. Martin is what happens when you refuse to give up. L. Martin isn't afraid to go it alone.
You can stream "Playful Enemy" everywhere now.