Ambitious is an understatement when referring to Lumane, a singer/songwriter hailing from Switzerland. At the age of 18, Lumane moved to New York City to pursue her fearless passion for music. After completing film and musical theatre school, Lumane moved to Boston to study Songwriting and Vocal Performance at the Berklee College of Music. After a year of study, she ultimately decided to pursue her dreams in Nashville, TN. There she wrote and recorded her debut album “Me + You”, which gives the listener an inside look at Lumane’s struggles of leaving her home country and forbidden love. Now Lumane has released two more singles this year, “Taboo” and “Letters”.
"Taboo” was released in June and showcases layers of synths that weave in and out of the mix, a light yet intentional and varied rhythm section, and effective use of contrast as the various verses and the hook kick in, the single moves from alternative pop through dance and onward into the perfect dose of summer EDM. The latter half, in particular, sees hints of distortion and grit poured into the process, creating a subtle but certain sense of progression, which reinforces well the underlying sentiments and simple passion of the lyrics. At close to three minutes long, “Taboo” makes for the perfect hit of escapism or boost of energy just as daylight is fading. That opening drop from the instrumental into the spacious vocal verse is gorgeously delivered by Luman. The melody engages and calms, and as the song progresses it evolves with impeccable skill and emotion; building around you a far more complex and consistently captivating journey.
Lumane’s brand new single “Letters” sees more of a pop-ballad. While there are more than a few likable, even lovable elements to “Letters”, the sound is crisp and clean yet smooth and uplifting enough to suit just about any scenario – the skillful undertones make it all the more immersive and memorable. These lyrics are deeply personal, openly emotional, loyal, and with that the singer delivers a believable aura of truth and passion that backs it all up beautifully. Meanwhile, this multi-layered soundscape of various intricacies throughout “Letters” helps add further artistic purpose to the whole release.
Lumane never fails to impress and maintain a strong balance between creativity and professionalism. Having amassed thousands of streams between “Taboo” and “Letters”, she is well on her way to the top!
Welcome to BuzzMusic Lumane! You’re an incredibly talented artist! What do you hope your listeners take away from your brand new release “Letters”? What inspired this song?
Hi and thank you so much! “Letters" is about the time after a breakup when one person wants to get back together but the other knows they're better off without them. Someone that broke your heart really bad shouldn't come back into your life so you can't give them the chance to do it again. The song takes you on a journey, from being sad that it came this far to realizing that I don't need this person to be happy. I hope that it empowers people to believe in themselves and that they can be happy on their own and not depending on another person for their happiness. I think the cool thing about music is that people from completely different backgrounds can relate to the same songs. So the different people will probably take different things away from this song. But whatever it is they take away from “Letters”, I hope they feel a little bit better after listening to it than they did before.I am a very visual person so I like taking inspiration from what I see around me. I was relaxing around a pool at a friends building one day and saw the building’s name in letters on a wall. The way the sun reflected in those letters it looked like they were on fire. That’s where I had the idea of burning letters from. “Letters” was actually supposed to be “Burned/Burning Letters” but because of the way the words fell in the chorus I would have had to name it “Burned All Your Letters” and that was a little too long so I just shortened it to “Letters”. From there I just told a story out of my life. You know back in middle school when we wrote each other little love letters? I went all the way back to that time. My very first boyfriend and I wrote each other little love notes and I kept them all. We then eventually broke up and got back together again a couple months later. Then we broke up again and he wanted to come back a third time and that’s where I finally was like enough is enough.
“Taboo” blended so many elements together flawlessly. How do you go about crafting a track like this? What are the main qualities you try to capture?
Whenever it comes to writing a song like “Taboo" I really try to focus on the story of the song as well as it being fun to listen to. I am a sucker for catchy hooks and I think I was really able to achieve that with “Taboo”. I always start out with just the chords, the melody and the lyrics. From there I try to capture the feel of song which is usually represented by the beat and/or bass line. I love the contrast in songs and a good start into the chorus. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a beat drop but just something that really kicks you into the chorus. What I also really enjoy is fun background vocals and harmonies. Sometimes I have to be careful I don’t use too much in each song, that could be overwhelming.
What have been the main changes you’ve noticed in the music industry within the time you’ve been making music?
The competition is as big as ever. You really have to find a way to be unique and stand out, not just with your music but also as a person. It’s not enough anymore to just be a good singer. You have to be a songwriter as well. If you play any instruments, that’s a plus too. And you have to be unique in the way your dress and put on your make up or whatever your thing is. Creativity doesn’t just end with the music, it goes into much more.
What's the most integral element to your music that you find is always integrated into every track you produce?
Empowerment. There are songs where it’s more obvious that it’s supposed to be an empowering song than others. But all in all, they are all empowering in their own way. In “Taboo” for example, it is empowering to be in a relationship that everybody thinks you shouldn’t be in but you just don’t care and do it anyway. In “Letters” it’s almost like a clap back to the person that broke up with you/you broke up with. You’re taking the power back by saying no to that person, which is empowering. I always say that I want my listeners to feel better after listening to my music than they did before. Maybe it can even bring a smile to their faces. Smiling can be so powerful!
Thank you so much for chatting with us, it’s been a pleasure to feature both “Taboo” and “Letters” on our platform. What do you currently have in the works?
I have a third single ready for you guys and I can’t wait to release that in the near future. You can also expect a full-length album to come out as well which I am super excited about as well.
Connect with Lumane on social media:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lumanemusic
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Lumanemusic
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lumanemusic
Website: www.lumanemusic.com