Nexus Meets… Luminar
With a couple of singles and an EP to their name, Dutch duo LUMINAR is excited to release their intriguing debut album Go On. We had a chance to speak with frontwoman Sofia Dragt about the album, global collaborations and discovering new music.
How did LUMINAR form?
We met in 2017. Evert was touring with his band Tim Akkerman & The Ivy League and I was the opening act for the tour. We got to know each other and quickly discovered that we share a love for artists like Sigur Rós, London Grammar and Ólafur Arnalds.
What can you tell us about your debut album Go On?
We like our music to have a strong cinematic feel to it. Cinematic music tends to be quite spacious and open and leaves things to the imagination of the listener. This is something we strive for both in sound and lyric choices. We like to give the listener the opportunity to make up their own story, even though our lyrics usually start with our own experiences.
The album is mostly about acceptation and letting go. It has a mellow, dreamy and somewhat melancholic vibe to it with the occasional epic end-sections as we like to call it. We’ve started to incorporate a lot more acoustic elements in our music and you can hear influences from neo-classical and minimal music.
What was the writing and recording process like?
Usually, when we get together we start out with an instrumental idea Evert has prepared. We start working on the melody first looking for a great hook, a catchy part that resonates with the both of us. Once we settle on a melody we start writing the lyrics and expanding the arrangement. A lot of the times the song needs a bridge section which we then work on. We tend to work quite fast and usually by the end of the day the song and the production is about 80% finished.
Do you have a favourite track on the album?
We probably each have our own favourites, but the song that really was a strong favourite for both of us from the moment we finished is ‘Go On’.
Describe LUMINAR using one sentence.
A collaboration between Dutch composers Evert Zeevalkink and Sofia Dragt, equal parts dream-pop, indietronica and post-rock.
Can we expect a music video of the tracks any time soon?
In January we’re releasing a video for the song ‘One Day’. No further plans yet.
What is in your opinion the best way to discover new music?
Spotify’s playlists and algorithm is a nice way to discover music that’s up your alley, but a good old fashioned recommendation from friends or fellow musicheads is still the best way though.
Do you think online collaborations are important now that musicians can’t meet in studios?
Online collaborations are definitely more common these days, and it’s really great it’s possible to continue to create new music during lockdown. Although, there’s something magical about people getting together in a room that’s just not really replaceable by anything else. We can’t wait for things to return to normal!
Do you have any future plans?
Creating more new music together as LUMINAR and of course, we’ll be working on different cool projects aside from that as well. Evert also produces other artists, composes and works as a session guitar player. I write and produce my solo project under my own name and have different film projects coming up as a composer.