Before she unveiled her recent full-length debut, Lune was the dreamy voice that you fell in love with on Adrian Lux‘s 2010 hit Teenage Crime, and then the fey, Scandinavian-tinged echo that beckoned you to “leave the world behind” on the 2013 reworking of the soaring Swedish House Mafia tune.
Hailing from Sweden, Linnea Martinsson is now cementing herself as a star that shines brightest on her own, armed with a set of tunes produced by previous collaborators Lux and Carl-Michael Herlöfsson, and a voice that has been compared to everyone from Bjork, to Victoria Bergsman.
We recently spoke to Martinsson via email, who explained to us that Lune is in fact the name given to the “universe” she inhabits — along with pizza, Kinder Surprises, phones, Monster Energy Drinks, dolphins, Pizap, Google, and The Hunger Games — and invited us to hang there for a little while.
Watch: Adrian Lux – Teenage Crime
Music Feeds: Considering how big Teenage Crime became and the connection fans felt to that song, did you feel a certain amount of pressure with releasing your debut?
Lune: No, not at all. We’re just in the beginning of the Lune story, at that moment as well as now, I’m looking forward to continuing.
MF: Do you feel like that song was a good way to prepare listeners for Music & Sports?
L: Absolutely, it’s very beautiful to have such a good song out surfing in the world.
MF: You said Leave The World Behind invited more people to become part of the “Lune universe.” Can you describe the Lune universe?
L: Lune is a world, a sort of a landscape where I work. This world, Lune, enables and allows me to spend time with amazing people and focus on things that inspire me and make me continue to work and play. In this way, Lune is a playground and a platform for making art, for me and for others, as well as for hanging out just existing.
MF: What does Lune look like? Who lives there?
L: I think all the things that influence and inspire me live there. Music and dance, big emotions, chilling out on the internet, reading horoscopes, working out, hanging out with friends is a part of the Lune universe.
[Also] dolphins, Google, The Hunger Games, Monster Energy Drink, Honey (dancer based in Gran Canaria), nature, towel art, Disney, photos of cactuses and cats, phones, Pizap, Kinder Surprises, pizza, thongs.
MF: Are the boxing trunks so that you’re always ready for combat or are they an aesthetic choice?
L: Hah hah! Well for me, Thai boxing is a very beautiful sport that allows me to train my ass off and focus. Thai boxing is about being in the moment, similar to being on stage but in a totally different way.
MF: Has anyone from Top King or Twins got in touch with you about a potential endorsement deal?
L: No, I haven’t had time enough to go to my gym, OneChai Muay Thai, lately. I’m traveling a lot and to get an offer like that you need to live Muay Thai. Hey, come on, I have a fuckin’ world to take care of!
Watch: Lune – Leave The World Behind
MF: Can you describe the process of working on the album in Gotland with Adrian and Carl-Michael?
L: We rented a house in Gotland for some weeks. With me, I brought my songs and my ideas and my heart. We had a very intense two-week studio session together. We recorded and produced the whole album in two weeks, had great dinners and talked a lot about life.
MF: Did every completed track make the final album or was there a process of elimination?
L: We had collected many songs for a very long time, but as soon as we were in Gotland working, we followed our hearts and did what we felt like and whoops, the album was made.
MF: Were there songs written in the studio?
Two or three, not so many. Most of them I had written before using Garage Band or on my guitar.
MF: What was the most important thing to have on the album — a particular song or a message/sound/lyric?
L: Wow, that’s a very hard question. No, all of the songs together are Music & Sports, you know? For me, Epic is an epic end to the album. The lyrics and the harmonies… Wow, I don’t know what to say anymore.
MF: How do songs come to you?
L: I work and live and they come. Sometimes it starts with a sentence and sometimes with a melody. I continue with everything I like and work until I know the song is finished.
MF: Do you have to hear what the producer’s done first?
L: No, I’m always a part of the producing.
MF: Can you explain the process behind the Made of Steel video? Who came up with the concept?
L: I came up with the Made Of Steel video concept together with my friend Joanna Nordahl. We organized everything ourselves and made it happen. We see that video as a performance – a one-take shot about the game between me in front of the camera, and Joanna who was behind. Fake slow-motion and analogue live effects is the signature for this one.
Watch: Lune – Made Of Steel
Lune’s debut full-length album, ‘Music & Sports’, is available now.
