“It’s pulling from two different worlds” - Lunar June explores the making of her latest single, ‘are we really over?’
Released on November 14th, are we really over? is the latest angsty anthem by the rising indie-popstar, Lunar June. Known for her euphoric electro-inspired tracks and creative storytelling, the artists' latest single is an absolute must-add to all the dance-worthy playlists out there.
Since releasing her debut single, lean on in 2022, Lunar June has navigated the alt/electro/indie pop realms with ease, building a discography of certified anthems with catchy melodies and soft vocals. For fans of Lorde, The Japanese House and Baby Queen, Lunar June’s music is the best combination of the three: playful, uplifting and genre-defying.
We had the chance to talk with Lunar June about her latest single, discussing what it’s like to grow a fanbase as an upcoming artist, how she experiments with genre-fluid sounds, and her plans for live performances looking into the new year.
When did you decide that music was something you wanted to pursue professionally?
“I started writing music when I was about 15 - and I’m now 26 - so, a while ago! I think it was when I chose university options that I was like ‘oh, I guess I’ll study English Literature or something.’ I’d always been really into reading and writing and words but I was very much like ‘I can’t study music because I don’t want to do a traditional course, I want to focus on my songwriting.’
So, I talked to this person in my music tech class about how I wished there was such a thing as a songwriting class, and he said there was! He told me about this university called BIIM (Music Institute Brighton) which I then went to, and as soon as I found out I could do a degree in songwriting, it felt like the first step that made sense in figuring out how to do this.
None of my family are remotely musical and I had no idea how to even begin a career in music and had no creative connections or anything, so studying songwriting made music a given from that point onwards. It was all I wanted to do with my time and my life: write songs, perform them and be in the studio all the time. That’s not changed, and the core desire to make music hasn’t either.”
What was it like living in Brighton, a city that has such a renowned creative scene?
“I absolutely adored Brighton and lived there for seven years because I stayed after uni as well. I only moved about because I was craving a bit more of what London had to offer - being born and raised there.
Brighton has so many venues and I think I read somewhere that its a city that has the most pubs per square foot or something. Plus, there’s all sorts of venues around Brighton, and always some kind of open mic or gig going on! They really cater for all sorts of genres as well, with some bars suited to the more folky, intimate music as well as punk venues where there’s just walls of noise, so there’s something for everyone!”
How would you describe your upcoming single, are we really over? to those who haven’t heard it yet?
“It’s an upbeat, angsty, gritty indie anthem with a lot of dance influence. I love using driven, angsty guitars in my music because those are what I grew up listening to - I loved indie growing up and between the ages of 14-18 it was basically all I listened to!
There’s so much emotion that comes with that kind of music, but I also wanted to have something that almost felt like the polar opposite in are we really over? We brought those feelings together with sampled percussion and synths so that the result would be something that feels as if its pulling from two different worlds. I love the rawness that comes with real instruments, but there’s just something that’s so pleasing about synthetic sounds, so pairing the two together made the song angsty and indie, but also one you can dance to.”
If are we really over? were to feature in the soundtrack of any movie or TV show, where would it be played?
“I have, for so long, always wanted my music to be in Heartstopper! So many people have said to me that my songs would be great in Heartstopper and I’m like, ‘I know!’ I think it would soundtrack the show really well because its got the upbeat, romantic vibes like Baby Queen’s music - who I actually supported in Brighton a few years ago. That was such a good show, and I was so gassed to be on the line-up with her.
So, I think that would be it for me, having are we really over? featured on Heartstopper. I would die happy.”
We’re big on lyrics at VoiceNoted, so do you have any favourites from the track & what do they mean to you?
“The chorus lyrics are so simple because its just ‘are we really over’ repeated, but in the verse, I wanted to go into a story and really paint that for the listener. I wrote it with a band called HEAD BALLET (aka Danny Casio and Kiera Court), and Kiera suggested listing in the verses everything that you should do after a breakup.
I loved the image that it painted, especially in the second verse where it goes: ”Are you doing alright? I can’t ask but you live in my head / I think about Paris and your hands in my hair / I shake you off with peroxide, change everything about me till I can’t feel you there / Do my skincare, drink electrolytes but I still hear your voice from the day that you left.”
I really liked the vision of bleaching your hair, doing your skincare and trying to be healthy but also being like, ‘I still fucking love you and it sucks!’ So, I wanted to play on that idea of what humans do to try and erase being stuck on someone, and what its like having all those feelings when you know you’re meant to try and move on. You can get your haircut and go to a spin class, but you still love that person and so, those are definitely my favourite lyrics from the song. Also, I think its really satisfying being able to say words like ‘peroxide’ and ‘electrolytes’ - it’s really fun!”
Since your music is a combination of alt/electro/indie pop influences, how have you found navigating fluidity in your music & finding your sound across multiple genres?
“When I started off making music in college, it was very chill and electronic - with vibes a lot like The Japanese House’s old music. But then, when I was playing shows, I felt like the energy was quite low because you couldn’t dance to the music and that didn’t feel fun for me. I was never a confident performer and the music I played definitely wasn’t helping that, so I started making super dance-heavy music like my first EP, jaded/faded because I wanted to almost go the polar opposite direction.
I enjoyed that for a while, but I had this yearning to go back to the music I wrote when I was 16 which was very inspired by Gabrielle Aplin, Lucy Rose and Joni Mitchell. I think now, I’ve drawn the lyricism, harmonies and melodies of that kind of writing, but married it with the music that inspires and excites me which is more electronic.”
Do you think that in the current musical climate, there’s more freedom to genre-blend and experiment than ever before?
“So much more! We barely have any limitations of what we can create and even the financial limitations are becoming smaller and smaller because people can make music from their bedroom - and they don’t have to spend £500 a day hiring out a studio.
Nowadays, if an artist releases another album and it sounds quite similar to the last, people will call that out. Whereas, if you listen to The Beatles (who I absolutely love), their music does kind of all sound the same! You can tell when their songwriting evolved between each album and era, but I think there’s such a bigger palate now for artists to really figure it out. People want that, and they want to listen to things they haven’t heard before because there’s millions of songs that exist and you want new music that isn’t a carbon copy of something else.
I love it when people do different things, and albums that defy genres are easily the most impactful. They show an artists growth and that they are multifaceted, and its really cool when an artist is like, ‘I can do all of these different things!’”
We asked Lunar June about what music she’s been loving recently, and made a playlist of recommendations for her fans to enjoy!
Then, it was time for some fun questions…
In your Instagram bio, you call yourself ‘the sideshow bob of pop.’ So, if you were a cartoon villain for a day, what’s the first thing you’d do?
“I guess it depends what cartoon I’d be in! SpongeBob was always my favourite, so if I was Plankton for a day, I’d try to steal the Krabby Patty recipe, obviously! It’s what he’s always tried to do and hasn’t ever been able to, but I could do it 100%.”
If you could describe yourself as the ‘lovechild’ of two artists, who would you pick?
“I have in my head who I want to be described as, but whether I actually am or not I don’t know. I’d love to be described as the lovechild of Lorde and Holly Humberstone!”
Would you rather be able to take back anything you say, or hear any conversation that is about you?
“I’d want to know! I’m so curious, and I know it’d massively backfire but I’d want to know what people are saying about me. I’m so nosy, I’d choose that.”
We saw that you call your fans JUNEBUGS and thought that it was really sweet! What’s it been like growing a fanbase as an upcoming artist?
“That’s the golden question, because I have no idea - I’m just absolutely winging it! I was so absorbed by numbers, followers and streams for a really long time because that’s what every label says you need. Now, I’m just making music that I really love and care about, putting it out and engaging with the people that listen to it - and hopefully that number grows but at the end of the day, I just want to make music. Right now, I’m trying to avoid the pressure because really, its something that’s out of my control and ‘blowing up online’ might never happen, but I’ve made peace with that.
What’s really amazing is that the more I release music, more people are joining the club. People are listening and they’re curious and that’s great so I’m hoping that it stays a sustainable, slow build that just gets bigger and bigger - but I can’t control that, so I’m just doing my best!”
We saw that you’ve had support from BBC Introducing a few times before, so tell us how that came about.
“Its been amazing! Literally since 2016 when I started releasing under my old project, BBC Introducing in the South championed me that whole time and moving into my current project as well. I’ve done like five Live Lounges, which at one point made me the artist who’d done the most Live Lounges in the South which was exciting.
I’m so grateful for all of their continued support, and its such a good platform. Whether or not it changes things for an artist is case by case, but being able to have the BBC’s stamp of approval does help to make you feel validated and a little more legit - and other people notice it, too!”
Do you have any upcoming performances you’d like to plug?
“I have a show next week on the 21st of November at the Two Palms in Hackney, supporting an artist called Rhumba Club. It should be really fun, and that’ll probably be it for this year. Next year though, I want to hit the ground running with shows and would love to go on a tour. The dream would be to go on a support tour, and I’d really love to play up North too because I’ve never really done that before.”
Finally, what’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given as an upcoming artist that you’d like to share with others who are just starting out?
“I’m such a self-help girlie and I read so much stuff that stresses me out because I want to always be improving whether it’s like personally or professionally. But I think, the advice that’s stuck with me most from people like Rick Rubin, Pharrell Williams and Maggie Rogers is to ‘just fucking make the music.’
Don’t put all the insane pressure on yourself to ‘be this kind of artist’ or ‘do this because you need to follow that trend’ or ‘do that because they’re doing it’, just remember that you have your ideas - and Pharrell described it as having this universe that’s like a library where you check ideas in and out from, so know that you can experiment, and that you should make music because you want to make it.
Following that sentiment is something that I really try to remind myself to do because I get so swept up in worrying about the future, but I’m in a really good place with music now as I’m making it because I love it more than anything else. I care and I enjoy it, so hopefully people want to come along for that ride!”
We definitely can’t wait to see where Lunar June goes next, and if you want to come along, make sure to follow her on Instagram to stay in-the-know about her future projects!
For tickets to her upcoming show supporting Rhumba Club at the Two Palms, Hackney, click here. And, as always, you can find the rest of Lunar June’s music on Spotify:
