INTERVIEW: ANNA LUNOE

Our brethren from down under have caught quite a reputation for being disco and house mavens, and rightly so. With talent like Flight Facilities, Cassian, Bag Raiders, and more, we suspect their famously sunny dispositions translate into a natural instinct for electronic dance music. We catch up with a rising star within this community of producers and DJs making dance-happy music, Anna Lunoe. The first female DJ to curate Ministry of Sound CDs in Australia, Lunoe has made waves with releases on Fools Gold, Future Classic, and more, while also playing alongside big names like Diplo and and Daft Punk. In 2012, Lunoe made the transition to LA, and we can’t wait to see her play at Splash House in Palm Springs, August 10-11.  See below as we catch up with this up-and-comer.

LAC: Do you play/record any of your own instrumentation?

AL: The way that I work usually is using MIDI on a laptop. I have a keyboard you can program to play pretty much any instrument. Keys are usually the gateway to be able to use horns, drums, organs. I grew up playing piano, but my skills are . . . I need to work on them. I know my rough chords and whatnot enough to get around, but I brought a keyboard on my tour bus with me (laughs). I’m going to practice my piano whenever I have time. I was playing bass a couple years ago too.

LAC: Why do you think it is that dance music and disco music in particular has blown up so much in Sydney and Australia in general over the past few years?

AL: I think that music always moves in a really fluid way. Genres come and go; some genres stick more than others because it suits the climate, the lifestyle. Australia is very upbeat musically, it’s not like Berlin where people are playing techno for 8 hours. It’s more of an immediate upbeat culture, so a lot of the music we play is upbeat and immediate. It’s happy! In a lot of ways LA is a lot like that. It’s a sunny place, people are pretty happy and they like to hear music that makes them dance. I think that’s a good reason why both cities have gravitated toward disco and house music, uplifting music.

LAC: You touched on it a little bit, but how would you compare the music scenes in Australia to LA/the states?

AL: The scene in Australia is cool but also a bit younger, because you only need to be 18 to club. Nightclubs are usually an 18-21 crowd. It’s a smaller country too, so we have less diversity.

LAC: Besides the age, is the vibe of the crowd different?

AL: It’s not too different, but in America I think there’s that bottle culture, which Australia doesn’t have at all. Each club varies . . . you can go to a different club and get a totally different crowd.

LAC: What kind of opportunities have you encountered by moving to LA?

AL: It’s been really great to play so many places and, you know, Australia only has like 5 major cities to play in. So it’s just such a huge country and I’ve been traveling, playing so much through america, central america, and Canada. I really enjoy the gigging! I’ve been doing heaps of production too. Australia has a great pool of talent, but it’s been a great opportunity to work with people I’ve been friends with for a long time, we’ve DJ-ed together every year but never worked together and now we live in the same city, like AC Slater for example.

LAC: Do you see yourself staying here for the long-term?

AL: I love LA. I really love it. It’s just been such an invigorating move and I’ve felt Like I’ve gotten so much out of it already. I don’t look far ahead, I mean, I just try to focus on getting through the month! I couldn’t tell you at all if I’ll be here forever, but I can tell you I’m really happy in LA and definitely see myself here for the next few years.

LAC: Who are some producers and djs in Australia that we should keep an eye out for?

AL: Oh my gosh, so many! I think you should definitely keep an eye out for Flume, Bag Raiders, Cassian, [and] really exciting young artists like wordlife. I featured them in one of my latest mixes. Light Year is really good, they’ve played here quite a bit, who else… some young guys called What So Not, and also Indian Summer are great. There’s so much talent coming out of australia.

LAC: Do you have some musical influences outside of the electronic dance realm?

AL: Totally, yeah! I grew up listening to everything. I spent years obsessed with Brit-pop. I’ve moved through pretty much every genre out there. I’m very concerned with good songwriting. I use sounds from all kinds of different music–you guys haven’t heard it yet but I’ve done a lot of stuff that’s not even very dance-oriented. So in the next 6 months, or a year, you guys will see more of the work I’ve been doing that has more of an indie pop mentality. But yeah, for sure, I’m always looking to other types of music.

LAC: What do you miss most about Australia?

AL: I miss my little dance music community. We have a little clique we support each other’s stuff and travel together. And I miss those guys, but you know what, so many of them come over here and tour so I do get a taste of it. But you know, sometimes big parties happen at home and I miss being part of those parties. And I miss spending time with my family. That’s about it, besides that I’m really happy here. Oh, and my dad’s a chef, so I miss the food and dinners too.

LAC: There’s a place in downtown that sells meat pies, called the Bronzed Aussie. You might want to check it out.

AL: Oh really? I’ll have to stop by!

LAC: Last question, we promise. What’s next on the horizon for you?

I’ve gotta say, next year’s exciting! I can’t really tell you why, but I’ve got some really exciting offers for next year, gig-wise, and festival-wise, so I’m really working towards getting a few dance singles out this year and then working toward an EP for early 2014. I’m just really plugging away and hoping to get a real run of releases in a row. I’m excited, I’ve got a lot of music to get out there.

See Anna Lunoe spin at Splash House, a massive two-day pool party in Palm Springs, August 10-11. Tickets can be purchased here. 

More from Archive