These days seem more divided than ever, and the current socio-political state of things prompted Trev Lukather to write the lead single off his forthcoming debut solo album, Invisible Friends, out fall of 2023.
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The arena-rock driven “The Sound” is a clear call for unity from the singer/songwriter, son of Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, during what he considers one of the most “brutal” times of division.
“We are so lost in our phones and ourselves,” said Lukather in a statement. “Lack of communication. War. Loss of freedom. Loss of human rights. Racism. Political meltdowns. Misinformation. Deadly earthquakes. We are derailing literally and figuratively. I wanted to send a message of how we are all on this floating speck in the universe together trying to find the meaning of why we are here.”
Written and produced by Lukather, “The Sound,” which also features Train bassist Hector Maldonado and Toto keyboardist Steve Maggiora, crosses the cause of disconnectedness and the effects of disunity.
Always looking down / No more looking up, sings Lukather on the track, Caught in the web of lies to interrupt.
“The reality is, no one is better than anyone else,” says Lukather. “We are on the same level. If that was more clear to everyone, we wouldn’t have so much hate in our hearts. If we knew how small we are, it would be liberating, not debilitating.”
To visualize “The Sound,” Lukather edited a montage of footage inspired by an Uber ride with a young Iranian female driver who shared all the struggles the people, particularly women, are living through in Iran.
“I couldn’t even wrap my head around it,” said Lukather. “She reached out again on social media begging me to raise awareness because I had a following. I thought to myself, ‘What can I do? I’m just a musician from LA. A post is not going to make a difference, but maybe a song with a visual explanation will.’ At the same time, we have all of the things listed above with what the song is about.”
Along with shots of Lukather singing and playing guitar, which were filmed by his wife Madison Cain-Lukather, are interspersed scenes of protest, war, and people looking down at their phones, and other digital filters clouding reality.
He adds, “The video also shows the message of unity as well. Heroic acts of people putting their life on the line to pull people out of rubble. It strikes a nerve. It hits home. To be honest, I’ve never been more proud of anything that I’ve done.”
Photo by Genesis Bonilla / Chipster PR
