Talk a little bit about where you live and how you came to live there. Americans know so little about the Canaries and Spain, feel free to say as much as you like. Is it a tourist town? What is it like to live there?
I live on the biggest of the seven Canary Islands called Tenerife. My parents moved here when I was 6 months old. It’s a beautiful place to live because of its diversity. We have the highest volcano in Spain, beautiful beaches, unique forests (Tenerife it’s known for it’s diverse ecosystems so we have many protected areas), desert-like landscapes, prehistoric cave art, art and science museums, a big concert hall with a wonderful orchestra, theaters, and lots of public art… The islands are known for their night sky, Tenerife is home to a group of the most advanced telescopes including one of the two biggest mirrors to observe the sun. Before I decided to make music I wanted to study astrophysics because I found it so fascinating. It is beautiful, but to be fair, some parts in the south are very touristic with many big hotels crowding the coast line. On the bright side that makes it a very multicultural island. I live 5 minutes away from the next town, 800 meters above sea level in a rural area close to the forest. It’s quite beautiful.
You sing and write in English. Is that your first language? How many languages do you speak?
English is not my first language, it’s my third actually. I grew up bilingual since my parents moved from Germany to Tenerife when I was just a baby. So I learned German and Spanish while growing up. I learned English later in lessons and while visiting England and even living in Ireland for more than three months. I also understand a little bit of French.
Why sing in English?
Did you go to Spanish schools? Will you be going to college (or the European equivalent) in Spain?
I’ve been to Spanish schools since I was four (that’s the age we start here) and I’ve just finished the equivalent of high school with a focus on art (all my subjects except sports, English, Spanish and history were arts related). Now I’m taking a year off to make music and travel, and after that I might study songwriting. I’ve been looking up several universities and colleges in Ireland, USA and other countries and many seem interesting. I can’t study songwriting here in Tenerife so I’ll have to move. But whether I continue studying or not, I will leave the island sooner or later. It’s beautiful, but I want to explore more places.
What sort of traveling do you enjoy? What sort of places do you visit and what have you learned by traveling?
Yes, I will be traveling. Currently I’m organizing a little home concert tour through Germany and Switzerland. I played a few in Summer and I really enjoyed it. I’m also planning a journey through Europe by train for next year, but that’s still in a planning phase. And I would love to visit the USA. I haven’t crossed the Atlantic yet, but I hope to do so soon.
When did you discover your passion for music and how did you become a musician?
I grew up in a musical family, my mum took me to choir practice since I was small and my dad had his home studio and plays the guitar and bass. My mum also plays the piano and they would often make music together. I guess my fascination was there all the time, but as a child I didn’t have the patience to learn an instrument. When I was 14 I discovered that I could write songs on the guitar and that was the moment my passion started. I started writing and soon my dad and I started recording the first songs. When my dad introduced me to the wonderful Uli Pfannmüller who mixes our tracks and keeps us on track, the team was complete and we started releasing songs. And that’s how I became a musician.
Talk about your music, how would you describe it?
I’m a singer-songwriter and my music is all about storytelling and pure emotions. I like to pour my soul into my songs and I have a very strong emotional connection to them. I’m always experimenting so my musical genre shifts a bit from release to release y have some very folky songs and some that go into the indie pop direction. It’s hard to define so I like to just call it „Honest“ music – it’s honestly me.
How has your experience with several cultures influenced your music?
What do you enjoy the most: writing, recording or playing live?
Writing, I think. I love the connection to my music and myself that it creates. But I also love playing live, I feel home on stage. I love sharing my songs and stories and connecting with the audience. Recording is fun too, but not my favorite thing.
How do you write your songs? What is your songwriting process?
It depends on the song. Sometimes I feel a song inside my head and all I have to do is take the guitar and write it. It’s almost like it’s already there and I just have to write it down. This was the case with songs like „Back and Blue“ and „Packing my Bags“ I wrote both of them in under 30 minutes. Then there are the songs I want to write, I have an idea, I think about it write one part after another and change it around. That’s how I wrote „We are all mad here“ and all the songs on the „Alice is in Love with the Mad Hatter“ project.
How and where have your recorded your albums?
We record mostly in our home studio that has been improving since we started. I recorded some of my first vocals in our closet (good acoustics) now we have a better space for that. So we usually record vocals, bass, guitar and keyboards at home, for the drums we go into a studio. Sometimes we recorded at the TOPUP studios in Germany with the wonderful Uli Pfannmüller. About the how, at home I record my dad and he records me, we have different microphones and we use Studio One to record. We often collaborate with other great musicians like Ralf Erkel and Bruce White that would record in their studios and then send us the tracks.
Does your father play guitar on some of your songs? Talk a little bit about your father. What’s his musical background?
Who has played the drums on your albums? Talk a little bit about him or her and their background.
Well it’s several people. We didn’t have a drummer for a long time so we worked with great professional studio musicians like Dave Mette who played the drums for several songs in one session.
Who is Uli and what was his role in the recording process?
Uli Pfannmüller is a great professional producer from Germany that has become a very important part of our team. He doesn’t only record us. Sometimes, he’s also mixed all of our tracks. And he takes part of the recording process from the beginning giving us his creative input and support. He gives my songs their unique sound, he’s a big part of what my music is today. Uli is great, I feel blessed to have him on our team.
Everyone who sees your video for “We Are All Mad Here” loves it. How did you come up with the idea for the video and how and where did you shoot it?
I wanted the video to show what the song means. It doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter with whom you’ve been, you can come and sing along. A celebration of diversity. So I asked my school to film there because we have students from over 40 countries and I invited many people to appear. Those who came including friends and even teachers sang in front of the screen. It was a lot of fun to watch and make. I also made a second session at home for those that couldn’t come. This video was definitely one of the most fun to edit, seeing all these wonderful people dance to my song feels great.
What are your plans for the future? Any new songs on the horizon?
I’ve just released „Two Chord Song“ the last single before I release the whole „Alice is in Love with the Mad Hatter“ EP in October. After that I have a single we’re currently recording, several collaborations, a band project and a project that includes many of my favorite songs I’ve ever written coming up… I’m super excited about having a whole school free year to make all this music!
What can you tell us about „Two Chord Song“?
It’s one of the first love songs I wrote for my boyfriend. It’s all about the beautiful madness of love. It’s a colorful song with an unconventional arrangement including percussions made with a deck of cards and a CD cover, vocals cut like synth sounds and body percussion. We had a lot of fun creating all the sounds in the studio, coming up with unusual and creative ideas to make the song different and interesting. It’s a very special song for me that celebrates a love that has brought much happiness into my life.
Luna Keller’s music and info can be found on Soundcloud, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and her lovely artist’s website.
