Emerging Artist Of The Month: Luna Carina

This month’s Emerging Artist is an indie-rock band which has already received recognition from BBC Introducing.

Luna Carina (Jacob Smith, Jack Print and George Ryan) released their exciting debut album 'Lily' last year to rave reviews, with momentum subsequently continuing to snowball.

Jacob sat down to speak with Isle of Wight Radio's Dom Kureen about the band.

How would you describe Luna Carina’s sound to someone who’s never heard you?

It's tricky, the sound is rooted mostly within the indie genre - akin to artists such as Warpaint and Bonobo.

That said, I wanted to venture out to other genres as well, and (debut album) Lily features guests from many parts of the world showcasing their talents.

Warpaint

How far afield are we talking with musicians on the album?

We've got singers from France, Spain, Nigeria, rappers from America, a drummer from Italy - yeah, we went a bit mad!

How well was Lily received and how can people nab a copy?

Everything said about it so far has been really positive.

The one mistake I made is setting the release date on the same day as Wet Leg's debut album!

At the moment Lily is digital, with Spotify the place we're focusing on mostly but with physical copies hopefully available soon.

How did the band’s name come about?

A band called The Marias have a song called Cariño, and Jack was pushing the word Luna so we thought that would be a cool mix!

Then my friend Michelle, who is fluent in Italian, told us Carina was the correct pronounciation so Luna Carina was born.

What are your backgrounds and how did the band get together?

It started off with just me, with a revolving door of artists, and about halfway into the album Jack got involved.

Then after the album was recorded George Ryan - an in-house vocalist - was added to the mix.

What are your links to the Isle of Wight?

I was born and raised here, and recently moved to Southampton to pursue my music career.

I'm not sure if it will be a permanent thing because I love the Island: lots of talented musicians and friends and family are here so I'll always enjoy returning!

You’ve been recognised by BBC Introducing – was that a surreal moment?

That was actually the first song we sent called 'Virtue', and it features a lady called Leah from Canada who has a beautiful voice.

We've built a relationship (with BBC Introducing) since then and hopefully it will continue to grow moving forwards.

It's always very flattering when someone praises your work in that way and when the songs got put on there it was a massive boost.

Is there a dream event or venue you’d like to play?

In terms of UK festivals I'd love to play Glastonbury Festival and to open for Warpaint because they've been such an inspiration.

It’s been a bit of a purple patch for Island bands recently – do you think there’s a reason for that?

I remember saying ages ago to Dave at Platform One that once one band from the Isle of Wight makes it, it will pull the others through.

I'm hoping the more artists that put the work in, the more will get there.

Members from Wet Leg are all lovely people and Guy (Page) from Coach Party is very talented. It's cool to see these people do well.

It's amazing - don't get me wrong, I'm so jealous as well! But I'm really happy for them.

Are there any Island artists people should keep an eye out for?

Tink Beadle is one to keep an eye out for, Beth Brookfield is an amazing singer and Panda Swim - Guy's other band - are making some really cool stuff as well.

Beth puts in so much hard work, she's so productive that she's constantly honing her craft.

There's some serious talent at the moment. Every time I go to Strings or hear new people from Platform One I'm aware of that.

Tink Beadle (left), Beth Brookfield (top, right) and Guy Page (bottom, right) are making waves in the music industry

What would success look like for you Jacob?

Success for me wouldn't be the financial element but being involved in the music industry and building something.

It melts your heart when you see and hear people singing the lyrics to your songs for example, it's hard to replicate that for me.

What does the future hold for Luna Carina and how can people catch you live?

We have a few things lined up for the summer, I'm just hoping to let it evolve naturally as we continue to grow.

There are a couple of people we'd really like to work with both on and off the Island moving forwards.

Isle of Wight Radio's previous Emerging Artists

November 2022: Josh White

December 2022: Phoenix Lopes

January 2023: Meg Rasmussen

February 2023: Ben Stubbs

March 2023: Tink Beadle