“My friends were like, ‘Where are you going … and who are these white people?!’” Jacob Lusk mimics a startled face as he recalls his first trip to Palm Desert, California, to work with Ari Balouzian and Ryan Hope. It was the beginnings of what would become their genre-defying trio, Gabriels – who have steadily gained ground by mixing doo-wop, soul, electronica and more – but Lusk initially had his reservations. Dressed in a black shirt with a pussy bow collar and glitter-flecked sunglasses, a super-wide-brimmed black hat beside him, the 36-year-old, speaking not far from where he is staying in north London, looks every inch the dramatic pop star. It’s the ideal get-up for our meeting in a London members’ club which he reckons “looks like something out of Kill Bill”.
But, back in 2016, life was somewhat different. “Ryan and Ari showed up at my church kind of unannounced, looking for a choir for an advert they were making,” he explains. “I wanted to get it over and done with as quickly as possible … I just did it because I love music. I did my vocals in around 20 minutes and was like ‘OK, nice to meet you … ’”
