Interview + Single Feature | Lunar Lagoon
On doubt, process and a local attachment to Mike Skinner of The Streets
Noah chats with Joe from Lunar Lagoon after the recent release of their single Drifting Away to hear about the band’s incarnation, influences and in-house recording style.
Hello Joe, you have recently dropped your brand-new single Drifting Away, which is your second this year following on from Miles which have both had some nice buzz around them with love from Triple R and more community radio interstate. How does it feel to have it out in the world and what’s the response felt like so far?
We’re stoked with how well the singles have been received so far & are very thankful to all of the support we’ve had from community radio, local press & the music community. It’s exceeded our expectations for the first few singles and is giving us lots of motivation to keep moving forward & releasing. Shoutouts to all of the crew at FBI, RRR & PBS for being so supportive!
Drifting Away features vocals from Emma Hall-Phillips (aw b) as the track moves toward a more pop & electronic sound paired with the moody introspective lyrics in comparison to the more post-punk feel of Miles. As you are building towards another EP release this year can you give us a bit of a snapshot of how Lunar Lagoon formed?
I began Lunar Lagoon a few years ago to release some solo stuff I had been working on and performed them with my friend Polly (who is still involved in the project today). After a period of not releasing or performing, I began to start sharing the newer demos with Luke and he was keen to get involved.
It was initially hard to begin working with a partner on these tracks as they had felt so personal for so long, but it’s been a blessing being able to flesh out the project & tracks with someone else.
Luke & I have been involved in a few different projects over the years, so it felt natural to work together moving forward.
You have recorded, mixed and mastered Drifting Away within the group as is the same with your upcoming EP. Can you tell us a bit about the set-up, where you record and who is the main driving force to get the sound you are making?
Yep, all music we have, and are releasing, is all done in-house. We both studied audio engineering and have a big interest in that field, as well as Polly. For these tracks, Luke and I produced, wrote & performed all of the parts together (with some help from our friends for performances) and Luke mixed the whole project. Polly capped it off with mastering it all too. We love the idea of having the tracks be purely created by us and are lucky enough to have the spaces & know-how to do so.
You reference Mount Kimble, King Krule, The Streets, and Cocteau Twins as the biggest influences for your sound. Can you explain your interest in these bands and if they are more points of reference and the music you listen to is something completely different?
I grew up listening to The Streets & Cocteau Twins being from a British household. I’ve always been a massive fan of dream pop, and I grew up in a similar area to Mike Skinner so that local attachment has always been a factor in my Streets mega-fandom. King Krule & Mount Kimbie would be 2 of the biggest inspirations on our songwriting as we love moody, introspective music that can resonate well with people.
I also love the different feeling you get between the recorded tracks & the live sets, which is something we find important in our own music.
We’re both big fans of UK underground rap & electronic as well, which also plays a big part in our inspiration (i.e. James Massiah, Joy Orbison, Jeshi, and Thredd).
In your words the lyrics for Drifting Away explore this idea of chasing what feels like destiny but feels out of reach. Building yourself up just to fall down, doesn’t always have to be a negative. As the song goes, ‘Owning your head takes time, I’ve got no legs to build; hovering over water, hoping my legs don’t spill.’ Can you share your inspiration for these words and how they relate to the music?
The lyrics behind this song were mostly about a struggle to create & write lyrics in the first place.
I was constantly going back and forth in my head and generating a lot of doubt. In the process of this, ironically, it helped to clear my head and produce really cathartic lyrics.
The ‘Owning your head takes time, I’ve got no legs to build; hovering over water, hoping my legs don’t spill.’ line sort of envelops this, where the internal pressure you’re putting on yourself to create the perfect lyrics can feel like you’re drowning in it, but in reality putting this down into words is pulling you out of those very depths.
Do you have any plans to launch the single at this stage or are you building towards something special when you release the EP?
We actually just did a single launch last week at the Tote for Drifting Away which we were super happy with. It was great to see a bunch of new faces we haven’t seen before at our shows, and it was a great night. We are starting to build towards a more substantial release and have already got some things in the works… watch this space!
Finally, who are your favourite local Melbourne bands at the moment and who would you like to see interviewed for Tempo?
The Belair Lip Bombs are close friends of ours and it’s great to see them doing so well. We are big fans of Idle Flowers and Babyccino (who also played at our Tote single launch for Drifting Away), you should get them on!