LUNAR LAGOON

Writer: Em Tobin

Photographer: Daniel Delvin

Above: Lunar Lagoon by Daniel Delvin

It’s a long, hot last day of summer when I meet Lunar Lagoon’s Joe Nurrish over a Zoom video call. The afternoon is drained of humidity, and as I open my laptop, a late evening storm rolls over the fragile Brisbane sky, the recently mowed lawn outside my open windows dries with the smell of the arriving rain. 

As an electronic alternative duo, Luke Morton and Joe Nurrish's Lunar Lagoon are as promising as the navy clouds drifting delicately over the sky, pledging to soon cool the harsh, humid streets. 

Emerging from Naarm’s thriving experimental scene, the duo aspire to fuse a sound that is gritty, immersive, and bubbly, driving electronic beats with repeated, raw lyricism. Their latest single, Drifting Away, is a clear portrait of their new direction, a snapshot into their upcoming EP release. Intriguriously weaving deep, percussive, and ethereal, light vocals alongside warm world melodies, their distinct sound is passionate and proud.   

Built on Nurrish and Morton’s shared brainchild collaborative effort and deep desire to push the boundaries of sound, their project has blossomed from Nurrish’s solo endeavour to a fully actualised band. Drifting Away is a simple staple of what is to come for the Narrm duo, who are excited to establish their presence as we move into the new year.  

We caught up with Joe Nurrish to chat about the process of writing and producing Drifting Away, Lunar Lagoon’s establishment as a band, their integration into Narrm’s thriving music scene, and what lies ahead for the project. 

Above: Lunar Lagoon by Daniel Delvin

EM: Hey Joe, I’m keen to talk to you about your latest single, Drifting Away. I love your juxtaposition of gritty electronic sound and deep, harsh vocals. Can you run me through the creative process of producing the track?

Joe: It was based on an old demo I made a few years ago, and I could never finalise the lyrics and vocals. I think I was getting into synths a lot around that time, and then, I was going to scrap the song, but Luke put it all together and made it what it is today. It came together quickly once we decided to bring it back. We’re stoked with how it came back. Drifting Away is quite different from Miles, which we previously put out. I think for us, it was a good thing to have a similar but dissimilar sound. 

EM: Drifting Away features a female vocalist. Do you care to expand on the stylistic process of integrating your sound with two very distinct vocal styles? 

Joe: We wanted the vocals to feel like a conversation. It took a while to figure out the logistics of that, but Emma, who did the vocal,s is incredible. She has an amazing tonality with the way she sings. We sort of fit that song perfectly. 

EM: What drove the process of writing lyrics to Drifting Away? 

Joe: I was actually struggling for a long time to finish writing lyrics. I sort of decided to just write about that experience. I think that helped a lot and really opened the floodgates to the track. It just felt like I was being weighed down, but the only pressure being put on me was by myself. Writing the lyrics for Drifting Away was, in the end, very therapeutic, very cathartic. I love The Streets; they’re probably my biggest influence lyrically. I’m influenced by their sound. I’m influenced there with the conversation stuff, the back and forth between Emma and me. That writing style really speaks to me. 

Above: Lunar Lagoon by Daniel Delvin

EM: As a project, what was the inspiration and initial goals for Lunar Lagoon as a band, and how have you matured from that vision?

Joe: I started the project years ago, originally on my own. It’s fully formed into what it is now in the last year. As a solo project I found it very hard to finish songs and lyrics, but now it’s incredibly collaborative between myself and Luke, and all of our other friends who have taken part. We have particular goals that we have always focused on, a big one would be to play Meredith in Golden Plains in Melbourne. That’s probably our leading force, but we’re trying to take things step by step at the moment. 

EM: Lunar Lagoon quite heavily features short, repeated vocals. How does this style allow you to integrate a more electronic, experimental sound to your music?

Joe: We always write the music first, and then I piece around that. Even though the vocals are a big element, it's about showcasing everything else going on. Especially with Drifting Away, the short, sharp low deep vocals that I do are more trying to piece the track together. The showcase is everything else happening around it. 

EM: I love the repeated sound and lyrics at the end of Miles. What did you draw inspiration from when fleshing out the structure of the track? 

Joe: That was a very collaborative writing process between me and Luke. We didn’t really know how to piece it together, but I’ve always been a fan of watching a band and everything has a repeated sound going on over and over. We built it on that, when we play live we add more elements coming in and more people singing. It felt like a good way to tap off what the end of that song is. 

Above: Lunar Lagoon by Daniel Delvin

EM: Why did you decide to incorporate and experiment with electronic sound, and what inspiration drove this decision?

Joe: I’ve been listening to a lot of British electronic, underground, hip-hop sort of stuff. That production is how we use breaks and samples to do everything. We mix a lot now, but I think listening to things like Mount Kimbie, that was obviously a big inspiration. I enjoy using those sort of soundscapes where you can get lost in the music. Writing wise, that band is very much a key influence for us, for sure. I think as well, tying in the music having its own life and the vocals adding to that. Not necessarily being about the vocals, that’s what I love. 

EM: How did you find and navigate the niche style of sound Lunar Lagoon produces?

Joe: We’ve tried to see it as a positive with that; we want to make our own lane. I think that’s why we try to ramp up a lot, going into our own field. It can be quite hard, trying to place yourself in a music scene. I think we’re lucky that we’re in such a great scene in Melbourne now, where there are a lot of bands doing cool, experimental stuff. At first, we were like, how do we even go about this? It took us a long time to even figure out how to play live; we have a lot going on. 

EM: How do you interpret playing live and integrate it into your soundscape?

Joe: We’ve only just figured it out. We play with live drums, and then we have tracks playing in the background as well. We have two guitars, a synth, a bass player, and then whenever Emma’s around, she plays with us as well.   

Above: Lunar Lagoon by Daniel Delvin

EM: As a Melbourne-based band, how have you navigated the music scene, and what do you enjoy the most about playing in Naarm? 

Joe: We’ve been in bands for a long time now, in and out of the scene, so I think it helps having a strong community, especially in Melbourne, where it is very tight. Everyone’s incredibly supportive, and progressive as wel,l which keeps you on your toes. We have a great group around us, and our friends are doing great as well. The Belaire Lip Bombs are quite close to us. They’re killing it, and they just sold out the Corner Twice. Dev, who’s the drummer in the Lip Bombs, did the drums for Miles as well. It’s funny putting in a press release, because he’s one of my best friends. It’s great to see them doing well. 

EM: How has the process been for writing your upcoming EP?

Joe: We’ve had it finished for a while now. We’ve been trying to plan out how and when to release everything. We’re at a stressful point at the moment where we’re doing that, planning videos and singles. I guess it’s down to taking a step back, and it’s fun, it's something we want to do. We’ve been stoked about how we’ve been perceived so far, so we’re excited to keep going. An EP feels right to do now. 

EM: As we head into 2026, do you have any upcoming aspirations for releasing new music or touring?

Joe: We are going to release that EP within the coming months, which we are piecing together now, and want to keep the ball rolling on that. We’re trying to keep going consistently with releasing and building momentum. We were really stoked with how everything has gone so far and been perceived. 

FIND LUNAR LAGOON HERE

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