Student Band luhx. Maps Out Light and Shadows, and a Sophisticated Groove

The Berklee band Luhx (styled “luhx.”) chose its name as a derivation of the word lux, the unit of illumination, because of the brightness the four band members hope their music will bring to listeners’ lives.

March 16, 2017

The Berklee band Luhx (styled “luhx.”) chose its name as a derivation of the word lux, the unit of illumination, because of the brightness the four band members hope their music will bring to listeners’ lives. But when on stage, the group stands in the shadows and lets its music shine while a light show dances around them.

To make the show that appears in the band’s video for the song “No Rush” (styled “no rush.”), Collin Keller, who cofounded the electronic R&B group with Corinne Savage a couple of years ago, spent 100 hours learning how to program it with a classroom projector.

“It’s really malleable,” says Elijah Davis, the band’s bassist, synthesizer player, and sampler who is majoring in electronic production and design. “It’s almost modular in function because you can change what you want to projection map and be very specific about it. And it’s much more cost-effective than paying for huge LED walls.”

Watch luhx. perform its song "no rush." in Cafe 939 at the Red Room:

Drummer Matthew Chenery, who’s majoring in percussion performance, says that projection mapping is the next step in technology that fulfills concertgoers search for the next high: “First it was just people on a stage putting on a show … but then you get pyrotechnics and bright lights and fireworks. It’s like now, oh my god, we have 3-D images that are all up in our faces while this amazing music is happening at the same time.”

Eventually, says vocalist and keyboardist Savage, a songwriting and contemporary writing and production major who cowrites all of luhx.’s songs with Keller, they’d like to have 3-D programming become the main visual element in luhx.’s live performances as well. Davis is in the process of writing the MAX program for the set, using techniques he’s learning in his class Interactive Video Programming for Performance.

'It's a Time for Momentum'

Keller, a songwriting and guitar performance major, and Savage are planning to graduate this spring and hope to establish a foothold in New York City, Los Angeles, or London by the time their two bandmates graduate next spring. And they’ve got a good start. To date, they’ve released three songs on Spotify and have earned about 400,000 listens.

Citing influences such as Oh Wonder, Chet Faker, and Jack Garratt, the group wants to create urbane music that feels intimate and relatable. “What we kind of wanted to do with the music is bring in sophisticated and deep songwriting to a kind of pop and mainstream setting,” Keller says, later adding that he feels that there is a movement toward more complicated songwriting.

“And we’re on that wave, and we’re really excited for it,” says Chenery. “Not just because it’s a time for momentum but it’s a time for momentum with quality.”

luhx. will be playing at the Caf on April 28 and its new single, "hung up.," will be released March 30.