Ash Lune has arrived. The 23-year-old Mumbai-born-and-raised, now Brisbane-based artist has perfected intimate, timeless pop, as evident on her debut EP Broken Science Experiments, out today. With her soaring vocals and piano-led arrangements, the musician is creating delicate, deep love songs. Just what we like. This project, as the artist says, is only one beginning. We're excited for Ash Lune's ascension. We spoke to Broken Science Experiments and the pressure of social media that artists are experiencing in the age of TikTok:

We love your voice! Tell us about the creation of this EP, when did you begin working on it, what was inspiring you?

"I started writing this EP around October/November 2020. I was still in my last month of Uni which meant I had to complete my thesis and submit it in time. I was attending my classes online, sometimes in the studio, travelling far for my placements, working in a bar and trying to get as much studio time as I could. It was really difficult but when I look back at it now, it doesn’t seem so bad. It seems almost charming to me, like there was something special about that time. However, I know I was constantly struggling to juggle everything and crying all the time. I think we all romanticise our past and prefer it over the present. These songs came out of that really stressful time and I love them so much. Frankly, I didn’t know I could write like this until I was in the deep end."

Who did you work with on this project?

"I worked with Tom Eggert. He was the first producer my manager, who wasn’t my manager at the time, set me up for sessions with. Ashley, my manager, wanted to see how it would go in the studio and told me that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Tom and I clicked instantly and loved working together. We were writing almost every day of the week. He even taught me how to do zoom sessions online. He’s super talented and thinks I’m very funny. It was so easy and I needed that."

Why ‘Broken Science Experiments’? What kind of experiments were you working on?!

"I feel like everything we did at that time was an experiment because I really wanted to find my sound for the first project. I wanted the first EP to be cohesive without being boring and I’d never been a professional musician before. Frankly, I never thought music would ever be my career, I didn’t consider myself even remotely good enough. So making a full EP when I’d only just started writing properly under the guidance of my manager was a giant experiment. It would either work or it wouldn’t. I’m glad everyone in the team loved it though. I’m still not fully polished yet, I haven’t reached my peak. I’m still learning, that’s why I said ‘Broken’. I’m still fixing up."

What did you learn about yourself while making this project?

"I learned that I wasn’t half as bad a songwriter as I thought. I figured I have decent wordplay and melodies come naturally to me on most days. I worked with my strengths after that. I learned that being an artist isn’t what everyone expects it to be. That a studio looks different when you know what you’re doing and different when you don’t. Most importantly, I learnt that I’m incredibly stubborn with my direction. I also have to finish a song every time I’m in the studio. I have to go home with a demo. I prefer not to eat in the studio, even if the session is six or seven hours long, which is not good. I don’t like taking breaks, but I acknowledge and understand that other people need to. Lastly, I learned that you can always sing the sentences you’re too afraid to say out loud. Even if it’s to someone else, it softens the blow."

You are a beautiful songwriter. Which artists inspire you and your sound?

"Hands down, always and forever, Lana Del Rey. I even have a picture of her in my room. I love music from the 2000s. I listened to a lot of Death Cab, the script, Imogen Heap, early Maroon 5, everything that made up The O.C. soundtrack. A lot of my work was paying homage to the music from that time. All except, ‘Sleepwalk’ of course, which was inspired by my love 1950’s Americana. I was listening to Ricky Nelson, Sinatra, Doris Day and the Monzas for an entire week before I wrote ‘Sleepwalk’."

We are huge Lana fans, too. Who is the ultimate Ash Lune feat. ___? What do you think it would sound like?

The ultimate Ash Lune feature would be with Lana Del Rey. It would either sound like something from her Ultraviolence album or her Norman Fu***** Rockwell album. I’m obsessed with those albums. They were on loop when I was writing my thesis. It would be an honour to work with someone as great as her."

How do you think your Indian roots and then your time in Australia influenced your sound?

Contrary to popular belief, I wasn’t actually brought up in Australia. I was born in Bombay and I lived there till I was 21. I came to Australia to pursue my Masters Degree at the University of Queensland. That was the plan, to be a therapist. I am a therapist. But music has always been the dream, it just wasn’t the “practical dream”, so I didn’t think it would work out. I’m so happy it did though, so blessed. While I was growing up, my older brother was my only source of good English music. I’m lucky he had great taste and a full iPod. You couldn’t listen to English music on the radio till much after, you had download everything from the internet. You would go online, listen to a song you’d never heard before and make a decision about whether or not it would make it to your iPod. You had to be passionate about music to do that. I was lucky my brother was so passionate about music, cause he ignited that passion in me when I was only five years old. We found music from TV show soundtracks on a website. I guess if I’m telling the story of my life here, it’s quite cool that the first EP came out of my early introduction to music."

What change would you love to see in the music industry?

"I’d love to see more artists given control of their work. I know of the struggles with Tik Tok. Specifically with labels telling artists that they won’t release music until it goes viral on Tik Tok. Not all songs are meant to go viral, y’know? Some are just meant to tell a story. That doesn’t make them any less beautiful, that makes them even more special. Think about it, are you more excited to introduce your friends to a viral song or a beautiful underrated song that could easily be overlooked? We like finding things, we feel like we own them when we find them. We build a close relationship with those songs, hold it to our hearts, like it’s ours. You think The Beatles would make it big in this day and age if they were constantly stressed about their Tik Tok views? I understand that labels look at things from the business point of view. However, if you’re going to create a business out of my life story, I think it’s fair that I have more of a say in the art that comes out of it, than you do. In that aspect, I’m very lucky with my label and management. They’re very supportive."

What is something you’re passionate about outside of music? Or something you want people to know that you stand for?

"Mental health awareness is important to me. It’s something I’ve studied for years. I definitely believe that the most important thing in life is to be happy. If you’re not happy, life can be a slow torturous tragedy, each second longer than the last. I’ve struggled with my mental health my whole life. Life looks very different when you’re happy and the sad thing is not everyone sticks around long enough to find that out."

What’s next?

"What’s next, is the next EP. It’s got some of my favourite songs I’ve ever written. It’ll be out super soon too. This year will be filled with music. It’s very different from the first EP, I hope you’ll like it as much as I do."

Listen to Broken Science Experiments here.

@ashluneofficial