Based in Austin, Texas, musician Jonny Lurie crafts a sonic universe that moves through chill psychedelic rock, deep instrumental grooves, and immersive compositions. Performing both with his band and as a solo live-looping artist, Jonny embraces experimentation, creative freedom, and emotional connection with his audience. In this interview, he reflects on the evolution of his sound, the balance between instrumental and vocal tracks, the technical challenges of live looping, and what’s next in his musical journey.
Your music moves through a “chill psychedelic rock” space with a lot of influences. How would you define your sound today — and how did it evolve to this point?
When people ask me what kind of music I do, it is always a hard question to answer. Allot of my music is very guitar driven, and I think that regardless of genre, part of my style comes out in my guitar playing. I also play bass on my songs, and there is also a certain style to my bass playing. Also regardless of genre, I think my lyrics tend to have a certain style as well. I think being a solo artist and having my own home recording studio has really given me the opportunity to explore different genres, and I’m still figuring out where I’m going, and that is part of the excitement for me.
You’re known for deep instrumental grooves. What inspires you when creating those foundations — and how do you build dynamics to keep listeners engaged without relying on vocals?
I’m inspired by all the different types of music that I have been fortunate enough to discover throughout my life. I think instrumental music is making a big comeback. It is really cool to see artists such as Khruangbin or Hermanos Gutierrez for example to gain as much popularity as they have while being all, or mostly all instrumental. I think that lyrics and the human voice are so engaging and expressive, that I think people do also really appreciate music without either of those elements. Instrumental also creates for music that has no inherent meaning which is kind of cool. I also read that playlists of instrumental music tend to get more binge listening than music with lyrics. At the end of the day, I just make music that I enjoy making, and hope that it can also resonate with others. When reflecting on some of my instrumentals, some of them build in layers or intensity as the song moves forward. Others might have an unexpected middle section, or ending. I think suprises usually work well in keeping listeners engaged.
As a solo performer, you use live looping. What’s been the biggest technical and creative learning curve with that format — and what does it allow you to do that a full band doesn’t always allow?
My live looping journey started with a fairly simple looper, and only using guitar to loop. As I began performing solo more, i kept developing my looping setup. I currently use electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and a drum machine where i play beats live in a finger drumming style. I also have a pedal by Electro Harmonix that emulates the sound of a bass guitar really well. I now have a looper where i can loop up to 6 different loops, and I can start and stop them individually. I have changed my setup several times over the past few years, and there is always experimenting happening, although I am now currently pretty happy with my setup. This approach has really turned it more into a “one man band” approach for lack of better words. Live looping gives me the ability to perform some of my originals that have lots of guitar layers for example, that just wouldn’t really work in a band setting unless there were many musicians playing with me. When i perform live with my band though, there are also some of my songs that work way better than In a solo live looping context. Also as cool and fun as looping is, once each loop is created, it doesn’t change. With a band there is constant interactions between musicians playing off of one another, and that just cannot be replicated as a solo live looping performer.
How does your mindset and performance change when you’re onstage with your band versus alone, controlling everything in real time?
When I’m performing alone, there is allot more margin for error with the looping then if i am playing with my band. Part of the performance is laying down a drum beat, then adding guitars, then singing, then taking out the bass and drums, and then bringing them back in, etc. There is allot to focus on that is outside of just playing and singing. When performing with my band, its just playing and singing and working my pedalboard, but in a much less involved way. Both are allot of fun, yet very different from one another.
Beyond instrumentals, you also release songs with vocals and compelling lyrics. What determines when an idea “needs” lyrics — and what do you like to write about?
Sometimes I have ideas of lyrics and I might write with an acoustic guitar to create a song like that. Other times i might have an idea for a guitar riff and I start writing and composing as I go in the studio. For things like that, i may know right away that the vibe is just going to be instrumental. Other times i may try some vocals and they may work, or they may not. Some of my favorite lyricists can come from any and all genres of music, but I do tend to like allot of Folk and hip hop lyricists. Those two genres often are very lyric centered. I like to write about whatever comes to me. If it excites me while writing then i just go for it. I might have to call a friend sometimes and be like, “hey be honest is this cool or is it corny?” Haha, but for the most part if it feels good to me i just go for it.
What do you want audiences to feel when they experience your live show — and what’s next: new singles, an EP/album, touring, or new onstage experiments?
I guess I want the audience to just feel inspired when they hear my live show. Usually when I see a great live show, the best part is the inspiration it brings me, so i just hope to be able to do the same for some of the people who come to my shows. I have a few new singles in the works, as well as hopefully an album of older unreleased songs. I keep wanting to dig more into the album, but then I keep getting distracted with new songs and singles. So we will see, but definitely plenty of new music to come this year in one form or another. I have some shows booked around Austin and surrounding areas both solo and with my band. I would love to get a tour in the works for late 2026 or early 2027!
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