LUNA has released her new EP ‘Hello Earth’.
Recently announced to perform at Brighton’s Great Escape Festival in May, LUNA has been highlighted a rising star in the Electronia scene.
Speaking of her new EP, LUNA explained: “‘Hello Earth’ is exactly that – my introduction to the world (and the title of one of my favourite Kate Bush tracks). I’ve spent a long time working on this debut record: I’ve been cautiously and carefully finding my sound, perfecting my craft, sharpening my songwriting skills and expanding my production techniques. I’ve explored many ideas, thoughts and emotions to tell raw, honest stories within dreamy and ethereal soundscapes. It’s an introspective journey through love, loss and pain; you can definitely hear the journey from the girl who began writing the EP to the woman who’s now finished it. It’s been fun, challenging, frustrating and exciting all at different times and sometimes all at once. But we arrive at the most terrifying yet thrilling part – sharing it with you. Welcome to my world.”
To celebrate her EP release, we caught up with LUNA to uncover 5 tracks that influenced ‘Hello Earth’.
Kelly Lee Owens – 8 | Listen via Spotify
KLO’s self-titled debut album has been a constant inspiration since its release in 2017. Her sparse textures, ethereal vocals and tasteful beats resonated with me, especially knowing she produced it all herself. In particular, it’s her track ‘8’ that tipped it. The sitar drone captured me instantly and influenced my track ‘Wind’, which was built entirely around a sitar hook that I sampled and cut up on Ableton.
Otha – One of the Girls | Listen via Spotify
I was immediately gripped upon first listening to this track. Norwegian singer/songwriter Otha perfectly captures a sense of nostalgia while living in the moment. It’s the contradiction of feel-good melancholia if that can even be a thing..? I tried to recreate that sense of feeling both happy and sad at the same time in the closing track ‘Cold Coffee’. It’s about the turmoil and pain of a break-up while accepting it and seeking solace in the fact that everything ends.
Shygirl – O | Listen via Spotify
‘Hello Earth’ ultimately documents the breakdown of a relationship, so as you can imagine, writing/producing/listening to the tracks day-in-day-out became a bit weary. This is where Shygirl steps in – her abrasive, aggressive production and ‘I-don’t-give-a-f*ck’ vocal delivery certainly helped motivate me along when I needed to take a break from the emotional upheaval and dance around my room for a bit! Thank you Shygirl (and the rest of the NUXXE collective for that matter), for enabling me to channel my inner diva.
FKA Twigs – Cellophane | Listen via Spotify
If anyone can make heartbreak empowering, FKA Twigs can. Not only did she learn to pole-dance entirely for the Magdalene LP, she also lay herself so bare that you can only admire her bravery. This was something I echoed in ‘5am’, the rawest track on the EP. I wrote it when I felt at my lowest and my most vulnerable, mirrored in the stripped back arrangement to just piano and some other production bits to let the vocals tell the story. Feeling ready to share this with the world gave me a sense of empowerment, despite it exposing my innermost thoughts.
The Cinematic Orchestra – Arrival of the Birds | Listen via Spotify
I grew up playing classical piano, so classical music is where my roots really lie. I remember the first time I heard this track – my hairs stood up on end and my eyes filled with tears. I could only dream of creating a track this beautiful. I think ultimately, you can do whatever production you want, but it’s the chords and arrangements that really make a song what it is. That’s when I knew I wanted to open the EP with an instrumental track (‘Lay Like Stars’), and in particular, incorporate the lush string pad and an arrangement that is effective yet simple.
You can stream LUNA’s EP ‘Hello Earth’ via Spotify below: