Luis Felber is excited about creating in the Northwest Corner. Coming of age in the British countryside, all he wanted to do as a teen was move to London, the creative heartbeat of England. At 17, he started a band called the Eraserheads and went for it. Since then, he’s been in so many bands he struggles to list them all. But on Saturday, Oct. 3, he’ll be taking the stage at the Cornwall Music Bowl all by himself.
Felber has always felt more comfortable on stage than interacting with people. There’s a sense of purpose in being at a concert. Everybody in the room is there for the same reason: to witness the act of making music. So whether he’s on the stage or in the audience, he feels at home in a venue.
For Felber, a venue doesn’t have to mean a traditional setup with a stage and bar and all the other trappings of clubs or theaters. When he was starting out in London, he quickly grew sick of the repetitive process of working with managers and promoters, trying to get booked. In response, he and his friends started their own club nights, where they and other local acts could play music, have fun and forget about the constructs of established society. Those club nights turned into a record label called Young Turks, named after the events they hosted. Now just called Young, the label is home to acts like FKA Twigs, the xx, Sampha and modern jazz legend Kamasi Washington.
Felber’s current band is called Attawalpa, which is actually his middle name. It’s a reference to Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor. It might seem strange for a kid from the English countryside, but Felber’s mother is Peruvian, and Luis spent several years growing up in Lima, where his mother still lives.
Felber is tapping deeper into those roots on his next album. It’s a pretty quick turnaround for such a busy guy. His last album, “Experience” was released just last year. Some of those songs were featured in “Too Much,” the Netflix series he createdand is writing for with his wife, Lena Dunham. Based on a young American woman looking to turn her life around in England, the album was necessarily in English. But for the next one, he’s written — and will be singing — some of the songs in Spanish.
Felber is excited to talk about his forthcoming album. In addition to his regular Attawalpa bandmates, he collaborated with Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Debbie Googe of My Bloody Valentine. For him, collaboration is half the fun of creating art. That’s why he’s so excited about the acts he’ll be sharing the stage with in Cornwall. He raves about the familiar sound with new edge of Amelia Jackson, the low-fi indie-pop of Jess Yaffa and the indisputable talent of local singer-songwriter Simone White, whose credits and accolades merit their own article. The bill seems marvelously cohesive and intentional.
While he splits time with London, Felber is now settling into life back in the countryside — this time, the Northwest Corner. He’s enchanted by its inescapable beauty and the friendly, creative energy he sees in the people he meets.
For more info, videos and music, visit attawalpa.com.
