Luke Borges may be new to Airdrie and Canada, but his musical journey began more than 20 years ago in Brazil.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Borges has an intimate relationship with music that connects him to culture, family and a strong desire to be himself as a performer.
“Music is a free expression, and you have to be free to do what you like,” he says.
As a child, he was exposed to music through a religious group his family belonged to, but his greatest influence was his father.
“My dad used to play guitar for us to put us to sleep,” Borges says of the nights when he and his four siblings were restless. “He’d play, you know, to settle us down.”
His father, who is Black, loved Black American music, especially jazz and blues, and Borges says this has impacted his musical style.
You can see and hear this when he performs.
Borges is comfortable with the guitar, weaving complex harmonies and syncopated rhythms with the strength of his smooth vocals. He sings in Spanish, Portuguese and English, and, though he mostly plays covers, he makes them his own.
“I like to put myself into them,” he explains. “I’m not changing my voice to sound like Pearl Jam, but I respect the song.”
Borges performs covers from a broad range of styles and musicians, including Michael Jackson, Nirvana and Britney Spears.
His version of Nirvana’s “Come as You Are” has the same 1990s rock subculture vibe that defined the Grunge era, but it’s definitely Borges’ version. His vocals are appropriately moody, his guitar playing hinting of Kurt Cobain’s raw sound, but the song is his, defined by years of creating his own style.
“I don’t change my voice if I’m singing a cover,” he says. “I sing the way I am.”
Borges also loves rock, pop and música popular brasileira, a mix of samba and other Brazilian regional music styles.
“I play jazz, I play pop, I’m really eclectic. I play a bit of everything,” he says.
Borges taught himself to play guitar when he was 15 and mostly jammed with friends for fun until he was 20, when he began performing in bars and restaurants.
He made a living as a musician in Brazil and by working various jobs, including as an English instructor. However, when his mother, who had moved to Canada a few years earlier, fell ill, he made the move to Airdrie.
It wasn’t long before he began to tap into the local music scene.
“I heard there were open mics happening at Brewsters and 1861, so I just started showing up,” Borges says.
At one of these events, he was introduced to Airdrie musician Steve Jevne, who took an interest in him and invited him to his house to jam. Jevne lives on a homestead and regularly invites musicians to “The Barn” to play together.
“I felt really honoured,” Borges says. “The guy barely knew me, but he thought he could trust me.”
It’s a friendship that has grown, Borges says.
“I’ve been doing this for 20 years and people make a lot of promises, but don’t walk a mile with you,” he says. “Steve is doing that without me even asking.”
Borges writes his own songs, but doesn’t often share them.
“Most of what I write is more deep than the covers,” he says. “I talk about the meaning of life, but I keep them to myself mostly.”
As for the future, Borges believes in taking each day as it comes.
“You have to have some expectations, otherwise you won’t be able to act,” he says. “Expect something, but don’t expect too much.”
Airdrie can expect to see more of Borges.
Find Luke Borges at: instagram.com/lukeborgesoficial and facebook.com/LukeBorgespocketshow.
