Interview: Cleopatrick’s Luke Gruntz on Fake Moon, new music, and heading to Australia

Longtime friends Ian Fraser and Luke Gruntz have been making music together since 2016, and in that time Cleopatrick has gone from small-town beginnings to massive worldwide stages. Earlier this year, the duo released their second studio album Fake Moon, which marked a bold step into new territory that leans more pop compared to their heavier debut record. Latest single “GUTS” dropped just last week and is already racking up streams and making waves, echoing the energy of their debut record and giving fans of their heavier sound plenty to love.

With a run of Australian headline shows just around the corner, I caught up with Luke to talk about Fake Moon, their return Down Under, and upcoming music.

Now that Fake Moon has been out in the world for a few months, how do you reflect on that album and what has the reception been like?

You know, it’s kind of the first time where we’ve put out music and I listen to it- not super regularly, but I’ll throw it on. It’s a record that brings back really fun memories of its creation and makes me feel a lot…Its reception has been really fascinating. Obviously it’s change of pace compared to our last record. But I think that there’s been a cool mix of fans- like some people are really not down with it, other people very excited about showing a different side of this band. I guess like there’s some like Cleopatrick doomsday preppers that think that this is it, this is the end, we’re just gonna only sound like this forever, but that’s not the case. So yeah, it’s been interesting in some ways it feels like it’s actually brought me like closer to understanding our audience.

It’s funny you mention that, because I was on the Cleopatrick Subreddit and could see a few people discussing that they miss the heavier edge of the first record. How do approach that feedback- does it influence the way you think about writing new music?

Yeah, when I was writing Fake Moon, I was very cognisant of the fact that it was risky and I didn’t really know what was gonna happen- well, I did know what was gonna happen, actually. Some people would vibe with it and others would have a pretty adverse reaction. And I’ve seen some of the stuff in that Reddit, it gets a little dark in there, but there’s some good supporters in there too.

But yeah, I’ve always operated in this band from the perspective that it’s always supposed to be representing where we’re at in the current moment. I don’t want to put on a character and make something because I think that’s what my facade is supposed to be. And Fake Moon was the only record I could have made at the time that we made it. It’s just how it had to be. And I’m really proud to have pushed through with that, but I also don’t look at it as a permanent thing. I look at this band as something that’s fluid. I have no idea what we do next, it’s always going to be twists and turns, and I still love heavy music. It’s just always going to be different, cause I can’t do the Peter Pan thing and get stuck in time, I’m not always going to write songs like I’m 22.

Thinking back to the creation of Fake Moon, what was the most challenging part of working on this album and conversely were there any moments in the studio that felt like a real breakthrough for you?

I think it was challenging nailing the production. I think this is the most hands-on I ever was, and so it’s just hard to know when to say when. It’s hard to know if the thing you’re hearing in your head is worth striving for or if you’ve actually got a pretty good where it’s at.

We did have a good breakthrough moment in the studio during our sessions with producer Phil Weinrobe. We were hanging with him and there’s a song, “Chew”, that I’d written and I had some vision for- I knew it was a pretty song. Phil, in one studio day, unlocked this world of production around it that ended up making it, for me, the standout of the record. It feels so grounded in itself and sure of itself. That’s my favourite studio memory.

You’ve been teasing new music, and people are speculating on a possible EP- what can you tell me about what you guys are working on right now?

I’m actually so excited about it, it started out as like something that kind of felt it was going to be a little small thing. We’re coming up on 10 years of us being in this, so I wanted to do a sort of time capsule to commemorate that. But now, it’s grown into something more exceptional and unique. I don’t know, maybe I’ll withhold some detail just for the suspense. The next thing we’re doing is a really unique little project and I think that a lot of the Reddit folks will be happy and I also think a lot of the Facebook folks will be happy so yeah that sounds like a win-win to me.

You’re coming to Australia for the first time ever and there’s even been a venue upgrade for Melbourne- what does it mean to you to play here for the first time?

I’m just so excited. First off, because people have been asking us to come to Australia for a really long time, and I always told them ‘yeah, one day’, but honestly in the back of my head, I kind of felt like, ‘I don’t know, will we? That’s really far, I don’t know if this thing will sustain itself to that point’. But now it’s happening and so I’m really excited to fulfil that little destiny there.

And then the fact that it’s doing well and there’s gonna be a lot of people at the shows just relaxes me a bit because I just know they’re gonna be quick shows and we’re putting in a lot of human energy to come down, like, it’s an intense flight and then we’re doing three shows in a row which is going to be tough and we’re flying between all those shows because your cities are super far apart just like ours. So it’ll be really tough physically but I think that the energy exchange is going to be enough to keep us going.

Cleopatrick will tour the East coast later this month, hitting up Crowbar Brisbane on September 25, and Howler in Melbourne on September 26, before wrapping things up at Crowbar Sydney on September 27. With Melbourne’s show upgraded to a larger venue due to overwhelming demand, these dates promise a rare chance to catch Cleopatrick in a more intimate setting- tickets are still available HERE.