Luke Janela is a cellist/singer/guitarist/songwriter from California. He lays lush foundations of sound, utilizing his cello and guitar in tandem with his uniquely passionate vocals. The music is urgent and innovative, moving through genres and visuals like a big river.
From the woods of Northern California to the drizzly streets of Portland, OR, to the bright dry lights of Los Angeles, he has played hundreds of stages. Always self-produced, and not easily categorized, his albums have shown a fierce independence.
In Janela’s hands the cello is as at home in the roar of a rock club as in cloistered concert halls. In moments of sweet sonic revery, hints of Bach will float along among more deep and raucous sounds.
He has been featured in the Portland Mercury and SF Weekly and has collaborated with well known and underground artists including Alela Diane, Adam Carson (AFI), Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music), Mariee Sioux, Aaron Ross, and Molly Allis (Huff This!).
He also performs as Midnight Door. A blend of dreamy cello, heavy beats, aching melodies, and smart, emotional vocals.
His discography of his solo work alone numbers more than one can count on both hands. Add in collaborations with songwriters and bands and the network of associations begins to get more vast. Or perhaps, looking at it the other way around, the wide swath of influences begin to explain his singular sound.
“Elliott Smith with a cello” would be a lazy and reductionist way to introduce the music of Luke Janela, despite the parallels between the two songwriters — namely, their intimate, minimalist, melancholy acoustic elegies originally born in the bedrooms of gray and rainy Portland, Oregon. Janela’s inclusion of a drum machine and effects pedals, combined with the rich, deep, sonorous tone of his cello, gives his performances the time-collapsing atmosphere of ancient eras meeting the future. This is no mere gimmick at work, though: Janela’s welding of words to melodies is as accomplished as any erudite troubadour.” — J. Graham – SF Weekly