Formed in 2017, and based in Cardiff (Wales), the Italian/Welsh band Lunar Bird deliver an atmospheric mixture of ethereal Dream Pop and mesmerizing Indie Psychedelia.
They’ve been making waves in Wales and the rest of the UK, playing popular venues in Bristol, London, Cardiff and festivals including the SWN Festival in 2019 (remember festivals!?) and The Swansea Fringe in the same year. Gaining radio play on BBC Radio Wales with their ephemeral space pop vibe, they’ve been playlisted on six differerent shows on the Wales BBC radio station. Run heralds their upcoming album Lunar Bird.
indieRepublik: How did you come up with the name Lunar Bird?
Roberta: Me and Eliseo were heading home after our very first LB recording session in the studio. We were exhausted but very excited for our new EP. Suddenly we realized that our new project didn’t have a proper name. We wanted to express our love for the vintage spacey imagery from the ’70 as well as our urgent need for creative freedom. To be honest, I can’t remember who mentioned Lunar Bird first, but for some reasons that name immediately sounded like the right one.
indieRepublik: If your music was a movie, which genre would it be in?
Eliseo: Imagine a dramedy about a dark fairy tale set in a 18th-century building built in a lunar crater. Add to that an anti-gravity dome, a hedge maze and two slender and tormented characters. She lives in dreams. He suffers from insomnia. Well, here’s our genre!
indieRepublik: How did you get together as a band?
Francis: So I was introduced to the band by our former drummer. He’s a good friend of mine and I still play with him frequently. Well I was a freelance musician, and he asked if I wanted to join the band temporarily. It didn’t take long though before I fell in love with every aspect of the band and I became a full member. Never looked back.
indieRepublik: What was the last concert you went to?
Ellie: Underworld at the SSE arena in London. Felt like a mad rave but actually with good music!
indieRepublik: What was your biggest stage fuck-up?
Ross: There has been plenty in my time. But the most notable is when another band I played with, we were all ready to start another track, for whatever reason, everyone started playing a completely different number in the set! We looked at each other for a good 10-15 seconds, trying to change to playing one song but it just didn’t work We had to stop playing to re-organise ourselves and then away we went. On the Brightside, it was a smallish venue, so the show was up close and personal for the most part so making some humour of it was easy and we kept the good vibes rolling. As embarrassing as it was…
Our music as a film genre? Imagine a dramedy about a dark fairy tale set in a 18th-century building built in a lunar crater
indieRepublik: What was the nicest compliment you ever got?
Francis: I think the best compliment I was ever given as a musician was actually a nickname. Ross and I played in a band called S.E.X alongside an actual legend. Bit of backstory, he would often spring gigs and songs on us that we were nowhere near prepared for or not rehearsed. He used to call me The Warrior because I always threw myself into whatever idea, song, gig, or shenanigans he came up with and even encouraged everyone to get on board, and honestly that has always been my way of doing everything.
indieRepublik: How do you feel about covering a song?
Ellie: I love covering songs, and especially making them a little bit my own – being a drummer makes this less obvious for the audience as they usually don’t notice if a cymbal is not where it should be – but it’s nice just for me.
Sometimes I dream music and when I wake up I sit down and write down what I heard as accurately as possible.
indieRepublik: Do you prefer to play big festivals / stages or smaller club gigs?
Ross: Although I’d enjoy playing regardless of the venue / audience size. I would prefer a larger event like a festival because of how much resonance and energy you are able to weave. How much easier it is to swim on the vibe of a performance and song if there are more people to enjoy the music. Right?
indieRepublik: Where do you get your inspiration from?
Roberta: One of my personal favourite sources of inspiration is my subconscious. Sometimes I dream of a scene so mysterious and fascinating that I don’t want it to slip away (as in ‘Dream #7’), so I try to describe it in my lyrics. Sometimes I dream music and when I wake up I sit down and write down what I heard as accurately as possible.
indieRepublik: If you had to describe your music to a deaf person, what would you say?
Oscar: If I had to describe Lunar Bird’s music to someone who can’t listen to it, I’d just accompany this person to the top of a mountain. We’d hang-glide gracefully over the valley, across the cumulonimbus, into a heliotropes meadow. In that moment, he’d probably perceive the floating and lysergic harmonies of our songs. Then I’d take him to a Magritte exhibit, to evoke the Mystery of lucid dream of the synth lines. Finally, I’d show him the shooting of the first moon landing, because, you know, Lunar Bird come from outer space!
