Luna Morgenstern

(24th January) Today, songwriter and producer Luna Morgenstern releases her new EP 'heartbreak hotel', alongside a spellbinding new video for the EP's title track - directed by Anna van der Velde - capturing the stark, untamed beauty of Iceland's volcanoes, glaciers, and endless black beaches.

The juxtaposition of club music with raw, biographical lyrics is at the heart of Luna Morgenstern's new EP, 'heartbreak hotel'. Documenting an unraveling of a long-term relationship, each song opens the door to another room within the metaphorical ‘heartbreak hotel’, reflecting on the intricate emotional stages of two people parting ways.

Taking cues on her production from sources including Imogen Heap, Caroline Polachek, Taichu and ML Buch, Luna Morgenstern fuses alt-pop heartbreak with late '90s rave and early '00s club influences.

Speaking more on the video for the EP's stunning title track "heartbreak hotel", Luna said:

"For these visuals I partnered up with Anna Van der Velde, a multidisciplinary artist, director and wonderful human being whom’s otherworldly visual handwriting fascinated me from the first time I discovered her work. We immediately connected creatively and personally and from that mutual trust we were able to build a visual world that beautifully reflects ‘heartbreak hotel’. At first, I was really stuck on recreating the ‘heartbreak hotel’ I had imagined while writing the record. But I am glad that I let go of that literal translation and trusted Anna with her vision: To travel to Iceland and let the otherworldly landscapes represent the different stages of grief on the record. So we flew all the way to Iceland, travelled the island in a rental car and shot as we went. We were shooting in freezing cold and windy conditions - it felt like a transformative experience that we went through together. In a way, I was able to relive some of the pain in a physical way and could let go of it."

>From the subtle euphoria of "miss u", to the neon-lit, murky depths of "spiral" and the reggaeton-inspired rhythms of opener "hush hush", the EP thumps with an air of nostalgia. With its warm synths, throwback breakbeats and Luna's ethereal vocals, 'heartbreak hotel' captures a longing for past connections whilst exploring the emotional turmoil of separation.

Produced alongside Dutch producer Nick Ribbens, the new project was written and recorded in a sleepy Spanish beach town where "there's nothing to do except going for a swim or drink one too many cortados," it was here Luna shazam'd tracks by Jennifer Paige and Frou Frou which directly influenced the sound of this record. "I like playing with contrasting elements in my songwriting and production," she explains, whether that's blending four to the floor kicks with UK garage breaks or by contrasting heavy, direct lyrics with "nursery rhyme inspired melodies."

"I am a huge sucker for a melancholic dance moment too," Luna goes on to say. "I wanted to capture that feeling of crying while dancing in a crowd full of strangers in every tune".

With visuals for the EP shot on black sand beaches in Iceland, to songs written and recorded in a Spanish coastal idyll, Luna's sound is streamlined and her songwriting stronger than ever. 

On 'heartbreak hotel', Luna Morgenstern is letting her guard down and inviting us into the world she's been curating over the last year, building on tastemaker tips from sources such as The Face, The Independent, Dork Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, Numero Magazine and more.

'heartbreak hotel' is the follow up to Luna's 2023 EP 'Dance Dance (Don't Go)' - an intoxicating project which culminated in a sold-out debut headline tour, along with glowing praise and support in the UK, Netherlands, Germany and beyond – with Luna described by CLASH Magazine as an "alt-pop maverick," and "the kind of talent that can captivate with a single syllable" by Wonderland Magazine, with Dutch national broadcaster 3voor12 declaring her "the altpopster we need".

Luna Morgenstern's new EP 'heartbreak hotel' is out today, 24th January. Luna embarks on a European headline tour this March including a show at The Social in London on 18th March. Tickets for Luna Morgenstern's headline tour are on sale here.