Listen to The Lunar Key’s latest single “Life is a Dirty War” below or check them out on our Unseen Playlist:
Unseen Plays: Welcome to Unseen Plays! We are happy to have you with us. Let’s begin with getting to know the band a bit. Tell us about how the band, The Lunar Keys, came together and your mission with your music.
The Lunar Keys: Thanks for having us – it’s good to be here. John (lead vocals, bass) and I (Dom/Drums) formed The Lunar Keys from the fertile ashes of a previous band ;-). In February 2020 we completed the Lunar crew when we met guitarist The Steve (in a London bar, playing Rihanna’s Umbrella on a ukulele) and keyboardist Lexi. Our mission is to spread energy, hope, and a sense of empowerment, a kind of ‘C’mon….let’s do it’ feeling.
Unseen Plays: Something that stood out to us when we first learned about the band is how much you support other organizations. Tell us about all the causes you have helped so far and how you manage to help through music. What’s that like?
The Lunar Keys: We sing about the fact that things could be better on our planet, so it only seems right to put our little money where our big mouths are. If we all do a little, we can change a lot. The model is simple: for each of our releases to date, we pledged to support a charity relevant to the song’s subject matter. For example, when we released ‘Silent Ricochet’ a track that ponders the health of our planet, we vowed to have a tree planted each time the song got played on the radio and are happily responsible for the arrival of 800 trees (and counting…)
We feel very fortunate to be doing what we’re doing and believe in good karma.
Unseen Plays: Let’s talk about your latest single “Life is a Dirty War”. Can you tell us a bit more about this new song and what message you are trying to send to your listeners?
The Lunar Keys: Life is a dirty war is a play on the expression ‘All is fair in Love & War’ and deals with being in a bad relationship whilst facing life’s daily struggles but not surrendering, likening the experience to being in a war.
I won’t live like that no more, I’ve escaped from this before – You can’t break me to the core – Life is a Dirty War
It’s classic Lunar Keys: The song deals with a problematic subject matter but with optimism and hope, purveying that sense of empowerment I mentioned in the first question above. You can do something about it!
Unseen Plays: Now I have to ask about that killer photo you guys took. It’s such a simple yet creative image for your latest single. What was the idea behind that and how much fun did you guys have during the photo shoot?
The Lunar Keys: Glad you like it. Less is more, right? The idea came when we dreamt up the video for LIFE IS A DIRTY WAR. You can preview it here: https://youtu.be/L1om5YqSOhQ
The picture was taken at the video shoot by our trusted videographer James Cumpsty and, as you can see, our T-Shirts weren’t the only things that got covered in paint. Yes, we did have fun. And then some.
Unseen Plays: What inspires The Lunar Keys and all of its tunes? I know there are several band mates but as a whole band, what inspires you all to write music?
The Lunar Keys: We are 4 anxious types with lots of tunes and nervous energy trapped in our psyches and music is our therapy. Writing about something is cathartic. Music is the place we go to when the world gets too much and we come back stronger. Every time.
Unseen Plays: You’ve been on BBC Introducing, from what appears to be quite a few times. Tell us about that experience, how’d you guys land so many spots, and what that’s done for you as a band?
The Lunar Keys: We’re very grateful to broadcaster Melita Dennett for playing our releases on BBC introducing. She hears thousands of bands and for her to champion The Lunar Keys makes us feel like we’re on the right track, and that what we’re doing is connecting with people. And that’s what it’s all about a pleasure shared is a pleasure doubled. A big thank you to all Lunar supporters out there for sending Lunar Love by texting into the show etc. It means the moon to us.
Unseen Plays: We’ve seen plenty of singles from The Lunar Keys. Pretty consistent since 2019. Are there any plans for an upcoming EP or Album any time soon?
The Lunar Keys: Yup. Keep an eye on our socials…
Unseen Plays: You perform a lot from what we see on your social media. Do you think this is your strong point as a band? And are there any shows or festivals worth sharing?
The Lunar Keys: We LOVE playing live. It doesn’t get much better than doing something you love doing and seeing other people enjoy that too. It rocks. But having formed just before the pandemic we’re only just revving up. Highlights to date were a sold-out London debut at The Bedford and The Lechlade festival where the organizers kindly bumped us up the bill as our van had broken down. Thank you, Lechlade.
Unseen Plays: What elements would you say make a great band, with great music? And do you think The Lunar Keys integrates some or even all of those elements?
The Lunar Keys: Authenticity, tenacity, honesty, and oodles of hard work and self-belief. We have sold our souls to music 110%, Our passion is to craft heartfelt songs with a classic timeless feel and a contemporary twist. It’s a forever thing.
Unseen Plays: When we listen to your music, we feel so much raw energy and experience. It’s something that’s missing in today’s overproduced music. What do you think about this statement?
The Lunar Keys: I’m going to kiss you.
Unseen Plays: Okay, we’re at our last question! This one is a fun random one. If you could be a tree as a band, what tree would that be? And why?
The Lunar Keys: That’s easy. We’d be a Lunar Tree, a tree grown from seeds taken into orbit around the Moon, initially by Apollo 14 in 1971, and later by Artemis 1 in 2022.
Unseen Plays: All right, where can people find you online? Your most active social media platform.
The Lunar Keys: Take your pick: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tik Tok, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube.