INTERVIEW with Luna Marble
SINCE DEBUTING IN 2021, WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST DEFINING MOMENT SO FAR, IN YOUR JOURNEY AS A BAND?
-MARIA: Being able to watch the band grow has been a very grounding experience. We feel lucky to be able to carry on and keep having such a warm welcome to everyone that is new to us. Every show is getting bigger and better and that is very exciting! However our recent tour of Denmark early this year must have been one of the most defining moments. Going abroad and playing our songs to a new audience really marked us as a band. We had such an unexpected warm welcome, Europeans really know how to rock haha! On our last day we played to a packed room in one of the biggest venues in Aarhus where everyone was dancing and interacting with us. It was amazing, they made us feel like true rockstars and that is something that we will always remember! It made us feel closer as a band.
-DAVID: The first headline gig we put on ourselves was a big moment for the band. I’d never been so involved in what goes on behind the scenes to make a show happen before, so that was really interesting. It was so great to see a venue packed out with people coming to watch us play, and for them to experience everything we’d worked so hard for. From that gig we’ve been able to really refine our live shows, and on June 8th at Night & Day Café in Manchester we’re going bigger and better than ever!
YOU NAME INFLUENCES SUCH AS LED ZEPPELIN, FLEETWOOD MAC, SOUNDGARDEN AND PINK FLOYD. HOW DO YOU RE-IMAGINE THE CHARACTER OF THESE ACTS IN YOUR OWN STYLE?
DRAGOS: I wouldn’t say that we are actively trying to reimagine the sound of these bands in our music but rather that their character naturally comes out of us when we write as these have been some of our favourite bands growing up. Now the list of influences is much much longer and wider and it’s the amalgamation of all of these that inform our musical decisions and make up our style.
SEAN: I believe we are slowly creating our own sound. Particularly in the last few months, we’ve been on quite the writing spree, with similar sounds resurfacing. We all come from different musical backgrounds. I myself, am a bit of a metal head, and I try and channel some of that intensity into our music, but sparingly.
DAVID: I feel like each member of the band has different musical backgrounds. We take different bits from all sorts of genres and styles, from classic rock to metal and sometimes jazz, and the way we amalgamate them to create new music is what makes us unique in my opinion.
OUT OF ALL OF YOUR RELEASES THUS FAR, WHAT ONE HAS BEEN THE MOST ARTISTICALLY CHALLENGING?
DRAGOS: Most certainly ‘Mad World’. This song predates the existence of the band as it was Maria’s tape recording assessment song in uni back in early 2020. I then recorded the guitars a year later. Everything was fine and dandy up until then but we were not happy with how the drums and the vocals were sounding and we ended up re-recording them a few times. We spent a lot of time and energy on this song and our ears grew so tired of it that after finishing it we weren’t even sure if it was worth releasing. It was the voices of those who had fresh ears that convinced us to go for it. The reception for it has been great so we’re happy that we were wrong!
SEAN: I found recording our debut track ‘Running’ to be an interesting experience. We hadn’t really been together very long, so as a band, we still hadn’t really found our sound and style.
DAVID: From the songs we’ve released so far I’d probably say “All of My Love”, because this was the first time we went to a producer to help us record, rather than doing it all ourselves. In the studio, we tried out a lot of different ideas for the song, from small tweaks to structural changes. They gave us some great pieces of advice, and helped shape the song into the banger it is today!
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY FOR A BAND TO "FIND THEIR SOUND"?
MARIA: I think the moment you try to fit into a box or follow trends, that's when a band gets lost or they have nothing special to say about them. We all have our influence and of course that will be put across when writing your own music. I would like to think that everyone's musical formation is a collage of all the music that they have been inspired by. However, it's our own musical sensibility which dictates what we want to do with said inspirations and being able to find your own way to express those. Everyone sees this world in different lenses, find a way to express as an artist how yours looks!
SEAN: Literally by jamming. You just have to play together over and over, and you start to create your own niche sound. I also believe getting a few gigs under your belt can help too. It helps you become more relaxed as a band, and start experimenting more.
DAVID: Trial and error. Nobody gets it right the first try, but as you hone your skills and take inspiration from all sorts of music, you’ll find yourself making your own sound before you know it. Working with other musicians can also be a big help, as you can encourage each other to explore all sorts of music you might never have considered before.
WHAT ARE YOUR ASPIRATIONS AS A BAND?
MARIA: We want to keep going, there is nothing else in the world that I would rather do and this is how I find meaning in my life. This might sound delusional but I’m not stopping until we have reached the opportunity to play in a stadium! There is something about being able to connect with a large number of people coming together for the love of music that I found so cathartic, as nothing else in the world mattered and all our differences were put aside. I think this comes across in our music where we lean towards anthemic stadium like choruses.. We want everyone to feel larger than life and make everyone feel uplifted and empowered!
SEAN: We all have the same passion for playing music, and especially playing live. We've all grown up watching our favourite bands play stadiums and tour the world. So I would say that's the goal. However, no matter how big or small we end up, I just enjoy making and playing music with the other guys. Nevertheless, I do believe we bring something a little fresh to the scene currently and would love to share it with more people.
DAVID:I want to keep improving our songwriting skills, release more songs, and keep playing bigger and better shows for more people. I love making and playing music with these guys, and I know we’re just going to keep getting better.
WHAT'S ON THE CARDS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR?
MARIA: The fun never stops over here! As a self managed band we are always looking in ways we can do things better and keep pushing forward! We have been in the studio recently recording a bunch of songs that will culminate into something very special… We are also putting our own headline gig on the 8th of June at Night & Day, for a very special outside the box experience. I feel like this year after almost 3 years of being a band is starting to make sense and we like the direction we are heading towards, stay tuned because we can’t wait to show you what we have been cooking!
Interview by Rhíona "Rhí" McPhelim - 18/5/23
