Meet the team… Luke, Creative Director

Hello Luke!

You founded Creative Listening along with your brother, James. Can you tell us a bit more about your background and the origins of Creative Listening? How has the company grown since then? 

Creative Listening grew out of an earlier venture called London Language Experience, which I started with my brother James in 2007. At the time, I was teaching English at Internexus in London and was struck by how poor the audiovisual resources were. Meanwhile, James was producing cinematic audio tours through his company, Soundmap. We joined forces to create high-quality, graded audio tours of iconic London sites, bundled with coursebooks for language schools.

Though the idea had potential, it proved hard to scale. Schools found it demanding to implement, and despite offering free training and support, it didn’t take off as we’d hoped.

Still, those early challenges led to Creative Listening. Initially an ELT-focused audio production company, we hit our stride when we pivoted to video. Audio in ELT was a saturated space, but video was just emerging. With my background in scriptwriting and James’ tech expertise, we saw an opportunity. The transition wasn’t always smooth, but it marked the real beginning of the business.

A decade in, I now run Creative Listening alongside my business partner, Gemma - someone who has fundamentally transformed not just what we do, but how we do it. Before Gem joined, I was deep in founder fatigue, running on fumes. From the outset, she made it clear she could help take the company to the next level and she has, in every sense.

We’re very different in our approaches, but that’s our strength. Where I lead with instinct and vision, Gem brings clarity, structure, and an unshakeable sense of purpose. Our styles challenge each other in all the right ways, pushing us to think bigger, work smarter, and stay deeply connected to why we started this in the first place. Together, we’ve reignited the mission and the momentum to build something truly lasting.

Can you tell us a bit more about your role as Creative Director? What does this involve? And what do you love most about your job?

My role at Creative Listening is broad and doesn’t fit neatly into a single title. In the early days, I handled everything non-technical like scripting, directing, producing while James did post-production. We were a two-man team for a while, but things have evolved significantly since then.

"Creative Director" covers some of what I do like developing concepts, pitching ideas, and shaping creative direction but I also handle sales, client outreach, and brand-building. I work closely with Aimy on marketing and stay involved in scriptwriting and content development.

I share account and project management with Gemma, our Managing Director, and Jackaby, our executive producer. Together, we tackle everything from refining processes to guiding the company’s direction.

What I treasure most is writing and producing children’s songs with our Musical Director, Tom - a creative outlet I’ve held onto. But above all, it’s the community we’ve built that means the most: the friendships, collaboration, and shared sense of purpose that have made the last 10 or so years rewarding.

You write most of the educational children’s songs alongside our Musical Director, Tom Parkinson. Can you tell us a bit about your songwriting and your love of music?

Music has always been a passion of mine, both listening and playing. I fronted several bands from Sixth Form through university, and after earning a Theatre Studies degree at Kent, I moved to London aiming to make it in an indie folk band.

I lived in Camden, working in restaurants, theatres, and briefly in media at MTV and Bravo. I even tried acting, landing a few ads, though I quickly realised I was more interested in what happened behind the camera.

While the music career didn’t take off, I kept writing. About eight years ago, Creative Listening was commissioned to develop The Magic Cat, an animated musical with eight original songs. That project blended music, storytelling, and education in a way that just clicked.

Since then, we’ve written and produced many ELT songs for major publishers and all that work inspired a book capturing the insights, experiences, and songs from that creative journey. 

More Than Words: Songs For The Language Classroom

I think everyone who knows you will 100% agree that you are an ideas person but also incredibly pragmatic. How do you stay so creative and energised? What do you think feeds your creativity? How do you deal with constraints such as budgets and timelines when developing projects?

Honestly, I’m not sure where the energy comes from - I seem to live in a cycle of creative exhaustion, but that’s just how it works for me. I once did an Enneagram test and came out as an Enthusiast, which makes sense. I get swept up in ideas and quickly get carried away by the next one before fully finishing the last. That’s where my team is essential -they help ground and carry ideas through, particularly Gemma who tries to keep me focussed on one idea at a time. 

What really fuels me is problem-solving and possibility. I love bouncing ideas around, testing concepts, imagining what could be. Collaboration is key and it’s that old “being in a band” mindset: co-creating something from chaos and curiosity.

Constraints? I welcome them. The more limits, the more creative the challenge. The question is always: can we still make something great, no matter what? Most of the time, the answer is yes or at least close.

What challenges do you love helping clients solve?

I find real meaning in working with clients who’ve lost their way whether they’ve run out of momentum, lost confidence, or feel disconnected from their original vision. It’s more common than you’d think. Creative projects, especially in education and content development, are often long and complex, with the original spark buried under deadlines, budget pressures, or endless feedback loops.

What I love is helping people reconnect with that initial sense of purpose and the excitement they felt at the start. Sometimes it means reframing the project, simplifying the vision, or just listening and offering fresh perspective. It’s a bit like creative therapy: reminding them why they started, what they really want to say, and showing them that the idea still works and that it just needs the right support.

Helping someone move from frustration back to belief, from burnout to renewed inspiration is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do.

How is Creative Listening evolving and where do you see the company heading?

The company is evolving quickly, and it feels like we’re on the brink of a new chapter. I see the future of Creative Listening in creating and owning more original content - films, animations, songs - projects we can publish ourselves or develop through strategic partnerships. There’s something thrilling about building our own catalogue, telling our own stories, and shaping products that carry our creative DNA from start to finish.

That said, our agency work - creative strategy, concept development, scriptwriting, songwriting, and production will always be at the heart of what we do. It’s part of who we are. These services will grow alongside our original IP, each side feeding and inspiring the other.

I don’t see a fixed roadmap - more a living, breathing creative ecosystem. One that will evolve, diversify, and surprise us. We’re not following a formula; we’re following ideas, experimenting, adapting, and trusting that the most unexpected paths often lead to the most exciting outcomes.

Finally, can you give us a recommendation/s. What are you listening to, watching, reading?

Lately, I’ve been listening to The Louis Theroux Podcast, ever since catching his interview with Nick Cave. That episode really struck a chord as my mum passed away recently, and since then I’ve fallen into a bit of a Nick Cave rabbit hole. His music and writing explore grief in such a raw, resonant way. I’ve also been reading and sharing a lot of poetry on grief as it’s been a helpful outlet, a way to process.

On a lighter note, I regularly tune into The Rest is Politics US and UK, not exactly a unique habit for a liberal these days, but still a solid listen.

Musically, I’m deep into a Bob Dylan revival. His songs seem to shift and speak to different moments in life. I’ve also revisited Phrazes for the Young by Julian Casablancas - an underrated gem I’ve always loved - and I’ve been enjoying Flyte, plus the kind of melancholy folk music I used to share with my mum. There’s comfort in those sounds. 

TV-wise, Severance on Apple TV+ has completely hooked me - surreal, unsettling, and strangely addictive. Streaming really has the formula nailed.

As for books, I don’t read as much as I used to - three kids will do that but I’ve been slowly making my way through The Creative Act by Rick Rubin and How Music Works by David Byrne. My wife devours books at a pace I envy. I just crash the minute my head hits the pillow, unless insomnia has other plans.

Got an idea you’d like to talk to Luke about? Drop him an email at hello@creativelistening.co.uk.