Luna Keller
Growing up between two cultures and surrounded by music Luna Keller is a singer-songwriter with a unique perspective fueled by her curiosity and a deep connection to her emotions through songwriting.
Her family moved from Germany to Spain when she was just 6 months old. As a result she grew up far away from most of her family and traveling often from a young age. Starting with her parents singing and playing the guitar for her to fall asleep and taking her to concerts and eventually falling in love with songwriting.
Her music is a blend of singer-songwriter, folk and pop often pushing the boundaries of those genres. Strong messages, honest lyrics and emotional vocals define Keller’s sound.
Her work has gained recognition internationally: Tracks from both of her EP’s were chosen by the US record label BHW Music for two of their Summer compilation CD’s (IMA nominated). She’s been a finalist in the Hollywood Songwriter Contest, semifinalist in the Music City Songstar Award and was nominated for the American Songwriter Contest.
Luna recently moved to Germany to dedicate her time 100% to what she loves the most: music! She’s currently working on her third project titled „Prophecies and Silver Linings“, the first single of the Project „I’ll Bring You Home“ has already been streamed over 250.000 times on Spotify. Five more singles have been released since, the most recent one being “Shadows on my wall”.
Shadows on my wall
Aus den Erinnerungen geboren, getrieben vom Instinkt der Vergangenheit, die Gegenwart wird kurz Geschichte, wie ein Schatten erscheint Erlebtes und verschwindet wieder. Jeder wirft diese Schatten und keiner ähnelt dem anderen, manche groß und schwer, fast erdrückend. In diesem lyrischen Umfeld bewegen wir uns in etwa. Aus einem Gedicht heraus entstanden, lässt sie uns wissen. "Shadows on my wall" von Luna Keller und die Geister der Vergangenheit, authentisch und ehrlich, auch berührend. Eingebettet in einem perfekten Arrangement, sprich musikalischen Szenario in dem Luna Keller zweifelsfrei die Hauptrolle übernimmt. Die Performance ihrer Stimme in Kombination der ausgewählten Sounds klingt grandios. Ein Arrangement das Licht und Dunkelheit verbindet, Luna Keller und "Shadows on my wall" das ist aus dem Leben, für das Leben geschrieben.
Q&A
Luna Keller is ...?
...a 20 year old singer-songwriter who just moved to Cologne to pursue her music career. She’s been releasing music since 2017 and is currently sharing the singles of her upcoming album “Prophecies and Silver Linings”.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
My parents both make music and where a big inspiration to me since the beginning, they’ve also become my biggest supporters which I’m really grateful for. From the musician side there where definitely a couple of artists the helped me find my connection to music early on. There are more, but a few names that come to mind are James Blunt, The Lumineers, Coldplay, Lisa Hannigan… Nowadays my fellow indie artists are one of my biggest inspirations.
...and especially to the song "Shadows on my wall"?
This one is tough to answer, since the song started out as a poem I wrote at 3 a.m. after waking up from a nightmare. But later while turning it into a song I realised it was inspired by my experiences being bullied as a child, and the way it has shaped who I’ve become. It took me a while to trust again and be able to genuinely connect, and even now I feel those shadows and insecurities pop up sometimes. Even after the real threat is gone, our mind can create fears and shadows that feel very real. It’s not the end of the world, but it is something many of us have to deal with in one way or another.
What is your creative process like?
I honestly don’t have a super rigid process when it comes to songwriting, song ideas come into my head and most of the time I just sit down with my guitar and 30 minutes later the song is there. I don’t quite understand it myself, I feel like I’m just channeling something - probably my subconscious. Because of that I often need a bit to understand my own songs. When it comes to recording, my structure has been pretty much the same every time so far: my dad and I record and arrange all that we can in our home studio, we reach out to musicians that can play and record the parts we can’t, and then we send it off to Uli Pfannmüller (our producer) to mix it. Andreas Balaskas usually does the mastering, and that’s it.
What is the most useful talent you have?
Wow, that’s a tough question because it requires me setting my impostor syndrome aside, haha. I guess it really is song-writing and creating connections through music. I go live on Twitch twice a week and we always do “Radom word songs” where people throw words at me and I improvise a song on the spot. Granted, some of them are just awfully funny, others are surprisingly good. I also write songs for weddings and birthdays, I get to turn a page full of lovely things into music, it’s super fun. And then I get to connect to myself and others with the songs I write drawing from my life. It’s what I love doing and I’m so grateful to be able to do it.
What do you prefer, a live gig or a studio session?
Both have their appeal, but I would say a live gig. I love playing house shows: just me, my guitar lots of stories to tell and a room of lovely people. Sometimes, when you get an audience that connects deeply with the songs played, it becomes this magical place of connection when we all sing together. Did I mention how grateful I am to be able to do this? It’s so very wonderful. Studio sessions are fun too though :-)
When do you decide that a song is ready for a release?
I think it needs to tick certain boxes. First of all I need to be ready emotionally to share it with the world, and be happy with the production. Then my dad (Roger Keller) and producer (Uli Pfannmüller) weigh in with their opinions too. All three of us need to feel like the song works and sounds good, then it’s usually ready.
If you could change anything in the past, what would it be?
I’ve seen a lot of films where this goes wrong, so maybe it’s better to leave the past as it is and change the future instead. I can think of a lot of things the future could bring: maybe we stop climate change, maybe I find a place in Cologne (housing market is tough) and maybe all my indie artist friends and I can make a comfortable living from our music… that would be super awesome!
How do you feel the Internet (especially Social Media platforms) has impacted the music business?
How hasn’t it? Suddenly everyone can share their music and promote themselves on social media. You can reach the world without leaving your room, which has allowed for many awesome artists to emerge that we would have never heard of before the internet era. It took out the gatekeepers, you no longer need a label to get heard - which is pretty cool. It also means that the market is very saturated, 60000 songs are uploaded to Spotify everyday. The consequence is that you nee to wear many hats as an indie artist to get your music out there. I think generally it has way more upsides than downsides though.
What’s next for you?
I just moved to Cologne where I’m slowly settling in and staring to play house concerts and little shows. In the meantime I’m finishing “Prophecies and Silver Linings” my debut album. I hope to release it early next year, “Shadows on my wall” is one of the singles I’m releasing upfront. There’s a lot moving now that the world is slowly opening up, I’m honestly just taking the opportunities that show up - where the journey might take me, I shall go.
