Meet Luna Keller | Independent Musician & Radio Show Host

We had the good fortune of connecting with Luna Keller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Luna, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
Because I love music, specifically songwriting. It’s not really something I rationally chose, I’m about to sound really cheesy, but it chose me. Ever since 14 year old me discovered songwriting as the way to stay in touch with my emotions I knew it would always be a part of me. Combined with my love for the stage and connecting to others through art I just got to a point where I knew that this was the path I need to go. I function well in a structured environment, I was top of my class (and my choice to become a musician disappointed several teachers for sure haha). But I am not happy in it, I always feel like I want to do more than what is written down or expected. In school that gave me bonus credits and sleep deficit at best, in music I get to burn for my passion. I get to be creative, think outside the box and throw myself at new challenges every day. So I guess the short answer to the question would be “because it fulfils me, it gives me purpose”.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I make indie folk/singer-songwriter music – I play guitar ans sing! I keep my music really close to my heart and use it to speak honestly about my feelings and experiences. My favourite thing about being an artist is that I don’t just get to write my songs, I get to be the conduit for others and their stories. Whether they find themselves in between the lines of one of my songs, or I get to write songs to help them tell their story – I always feel so humbled when I get to be in that position. I play many house shows and offer to write songs for special occasions. People will send me a page of information about the person they love and I get to put it into a song. It does feel intimidating at time, to find the melody for their story. But so far I’ve always found it, and playing those songs to them, being that conduit is one of my favourite feelings. Even though I approach these songs very differently than the ones that pour out of me as part of my story, both allow me to feel connected to the world and people around me. In a way my originals are little pieces of me that I share with the world.

It can be challenging to be so transparent and share so much of yourself sometimes. I am incredibly proud of being a full time indie artist, of having an incredible community around me and of the music I’ve released so far. But as a human being I have definitely stumbled along the way. I think the biggest hurdle I’ve encountered is keeping a healthy relationship with myself and setting boundaries. I had a very privileged start with my parents support, which lead to me often questioning if I deserved to be where I was. My old friend “impostor syndrome” still visits me sometimes – but I’ve gotten better at telling them how wrong they are. Another challenge has come with sharing these deeply personal songs and trying to be such an open book. Back when the pandemic started I was struggling quite a bit with my mental health and the songs I was playing where often ahead of myself. I had to learn to give myself time to heal before sharing some songs, to set boundaries and that it’s ok to keep some things for yourself. I feel like I’m in a much better place now, but it’s definitely a learning curve.

I don’t think a “perfect” journey as an artist exists, we all have our hurdles to overcome. I’m proud that I kept going when it was tough, proud to be where I am. I have the most amazing people around me: my family, my fellow indie artists that inspire me every day and the most wonderful friends (those last two groups have quite a lot of overlap). A big part of my journey has been uplifting others too – I’m really proud of my all indie radio show “Why Doesn’t Everyone Know These Songs?” (on Radio Wigwam, Radio Qfm and Indie Music Center) where I’ve featured hundreds of amazing indie artists. And I am so grateful for everyone who’s helped me out. I would like to think that my brand is genuine, honest and open. I am so proud of my Twitch community, the people there are so cool that I wonder why they hang out with me haha. And I’m really excited about releasing my debut album on April 14th – it feels like the end of a chapter, one I’ll look back on fondly.

Oh my this has become a long reply – you better hope I never win a big award where I need to give a thank you speech, I’ll take all night haha.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Since I am not just based in one place, I’m not 100% sure about which area I should write here. I do feel very connected to Tenerife, where I grew up, so I’ll go with that. It’s a small Island in front of the African coast. I think if my friend was coming over for a week I would take them to mount Teide on the first day, it’s the highest volcano in Spain and it’s one of the most beautiful national parks in the world. We could take out guitars to the rest space on the way down into the forest and have a picnic there, it’s always so nice to make music in nature. I would probably also take them to the capital city Santa Cruz, it has a really impressive concert hall designed by Santiago Calatrava – maybe we could watch a concert there. Afterwards we could have dinner in the old part of the city – so many great places to eat tapas. We would definitely go to the beach at least on one of the days, maybe see the sunset from the harbour wall in Playa de San Juan, a stunning view of the Atlantic ocean. The historic City of La Laguna would definitely be another stop, the old wood balconies are beautiful. Tenerife is a very beautiful place, I really enjoy showing visitors around!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my, I could shoutout so many people here! I’ve found so much support and love along the way. But if I had to chose, it wound be my parents, Daniela and Roger Keller. My dad played me songs when I was still in my moms womb – and she sang to me. I was their adorable background singer at their cover gigs when I was to young to pronounce the letter R properly (Loling on the liver was my favourite song haha – Proud Mary). My dad gave me my first guitar and was my first guitar teacher. When I returned from Ireland (I was there for a scholarship when I was 15), I wanted to record my music and he became my producer. Together we recorded over 20 songs in our home studio – the beginning of my discography. He and my mom where my first band when I started performing my originals, and I still love making music with them. Dad helped me with marketing, he kept me on track when I got lost or lazy.

They never expected me to become a musician, but I wouldn’t be who I am without them (well I would literally not exist). Our bond has become so strong through music and I am so deeply grateful for having them. I don’t think I would be even close to being a full time independent artist without the incredible head start they gave me. All parents get to give us life, but mine also helped me find my purpose and happiness. They trusted me to find my path and were there for every step and stumble. I could write a book about how amazing they are, they are a real rock for me. I’ve taken many leaps of faith on my journey, I don’t think I would have been as brave without them as my safety net.

And the coolest thing is that now that I moved out, they found their way back to music! You can find them streaming every Thursday and Sunday on Twitch, their username is @rogeranddaniela. They are crushing it, I am so proud of them.

Website: https://lunakeller.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lunakellermusic/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lunakellermusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy_Vz06q1UPI3ezzwfmirZQ

Other: https://www.twitch.tv/lunakeller https://www.patreon.com/lunakellermusic

Image Credits
Marta Torres, Artofpeopleimaging, Roger Keller, Grace Bontoft