Interview with the Band Luna Kiss
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, and welcome to The Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with us!
CV: Describe your definition of the band’s sound and style and how does
that definition uniquely describe the music?
Luna Kiss: We would
describe the band as intense, gritty and loud but with rounded edges. Like, you
can party to our music, but if you party too hard and bump your head off of one
of our tracks, it’s not gunna require a trip to A&E…. A bag of frozen peas
will do.
CV: Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a
level of connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you
made the connection to your fans?
LK: Yeah we think
so, definitely. When we first started out it was difficult. We would work a
little too hard at trying to maintain a constant connection between ourselves
and our audience, but now we tend to just let it flow naturally and be
ourselves a lot more. It seems to work. The back and forth between us and our
audience at our shows and online is just us being ourselves. It’s so much
easier that way. Your audience know when you are being you and that’s what
keeps that connection.
CV: Is fan interaction an important part of the band’s inner culture?
LK: Hell yeah it
is! We like to be as close to our fans as possible, whether that’s at a show or
online. We interact with our fans in the same way we’d interact with our
friends. Our fans make this happen by backing us. Without them, the music
doesn’t seem as important.
CV: Can a band truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of
personal privacy without crossing the line and giving up their “personal space”
in your opinion?
LK: Yeah of course.
Everyone likes to maintain a level of privacy with certain things. Don’t think
of it from a band perspective, think of it from a people perspective. In our
daily lives we share more with our closest and dearest friends than we do with recent
a acquaintance, that’s just human nature. We open ourselves up to our fans as
much as possible. We try to let everyone inside the bubble of the band so
everyone can feel like an integral cog within the Luna Kiss machine. We share
the band with our fans, however we wouldn’t necessarily share medical records or
national insurance numbers…haha, “Privacy.” There’s that personal space you
mentioned.
CV: Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your
opinion? If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such
multiple views among various cultures?
LK: Honestly…no.
From our perspective, music seems to be valued and viewed the same in most of
the world. There will always be a percentage of avid music fans anywhere, just
as there are people who couldn’t care less, just as there are people who aren’t
fussed either way. One of the biggest differences wouldn’t necessarily be how
music is viewed, but how it’s heard among various cultures. Our westernized
music tends to vary between major or minor, happy or sad, whereas there are
many other cultures who would perceive a major key as a sad key in comparison
to a minor. In the same way we are inherently built to count in 4’s and 6’s.
That’s ingrained into our western music. That’s probably the biggest difference
I can see, but it differs depending on perception.
CV: Do you feel that a band that has an international appeal, will tend
to connect more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or
intrigued to see the band over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
LK: But what is
international appeal and how do you know when you’ve got it? From outside of a
band looking in, it’s probably easier to spot. Iron Maiden, Queen, David Bowie.
Acts like these all had international appeal but they’re powerhouses of music
so they can appeal to everyone. However, you look at many other British bands
that existed like Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight, etc, you could argue they had
the same “foreign flavor,” yet breaking America was much more of a struggle and
many bands fail. Look at it from the other side of the pond, for instance, The
Killers. An American band that had very little success in America until they
broke the British market and then went back to America to then have great
success at home. What is international appeal anyway? Do you have some? How
much is it? Can you get it from Tesco?
CV: Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some
level in your opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been
blurred?
LK: Yes, definitely
and it’s brilliant. We rehearse A LOT! However, much of our work is done
from the comfort of our own home. The amount of software and apps you can
download now to formulate ideas on your phone or tablet is incredible. One we
tend to use is GarageBand. We can record our ideas, share them via a DropBox
link, everyone can add their ideas and pass it on. This method of writing has
revolutionized our rehearsals because most of the writing is already done so we
arrive ready to play what modern technology has allowed us to create at home. I
don’t think the lines of “what is an artist,” have been blurred recently though. They’ve ALWAYS been blurred. That’s
how art exits. A full orchestral composition is just as much “art,” as an
accidental fart on a warm day. If the lines weren’t blurred it wouldn’t be art…it
would be math or physics or something.
CV: How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows
trends and one who sets them?
LK: In my opinion,
the difference is longevity. I’ll use 70’s Punk as an example, purely because
it’s my favorite. People still remember The Ramones, The Clash, Sex Pistols
and The Damned, to name a few. These were the trend setters who are still
remembered to this day. However, there’s a multitude of bands from every genre
who follow trends to a point of becoming carbon copies of their peers who
nobody really remembers. I guess you’ll never really know what category you
fall into until your career is over though…bit deep that.
CV: Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in actuality, weakened music’s impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
LK: Nooooo, not really. We’re indifferent to it to be honest. You can put labels on anything for any reason, it’s always happened. Yeah, we have Rock, Metal, Mathcore, Djent, Thrash, Alternative…the list goes on, but that’s the same with Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Bebop, Swing. It’s always happened through every generation. Music fans know what they want, even if they haven’t heard it yet and they WILL find what they’re looking for. They always do, regardless of the label it’s been given.
CV: What can fans expect to see coming next from you?
LK: One of two
things…. Then our fans can decide what they want. It could either be a plethora
of new music…or an orchestral medley of 1980’s television theme tunes performed
entirely on Bosch washing machines by Llamas in short shorts…Trend SETTERS.
CV: Thanks again for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Check out Luna Kiss at:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/42GCv9U0LmxNqcr1nh5nb2?si=8Dj1gQq7QnK70u7LGT6SdA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LunaKissbandUK
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunakissband/?hl=en
Youtube: https://youtu.be/SphwJm532Yc
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