Tora Luna drop the new single ‘Venus, Temptress’ featuring Franco-Malaysian alt-pop singer ANELIE. Released as another teaser ahead of the upcoming EP Springtide Moonride.
A warming and inventive indie-folk offering, ‘Venus, Temptress’ brings blissful melodies over a warming and organic instrumental backdrop. Introspective yet breezy, summery and bright, the track is a radiant example of Tora Luna’s sound, poetic lyricism and their creative musical ideas.
We caught up with Alex and Dominic from Tora Luna along with guest vocalist ANELIE to chat about the new single.
‘Venus, Temptress’ has a really unique indie-folk sound and some intriguing poetic lyricism. Can you take us back to that Camberwell writing session and tell us more about how the word “monster” sparked this emotional journey?
ANELIE: We brainstormed words associated with “monster” which included “temptress”, “demon” and “tempest” but also more generally the concept of nightmares. We then started playing with dream-like imagery with their nightmare counterparts, lurking in the background (Venus, Temptress/ now I see you/ As demon tempest/ Wish I could choose). The superposition between innocent and disturbing imagery became more and more accentuated as the track unfolded (“bubble-gum ice cream/ the lights go round and colours bleed”).
The verses and chorus also have very different characters. The former, which we wrote first, is playful and offbeat with quirky sounds. The chorus on the other hand stirs us with suave and charming instrumentals and harmonies.
The title of the track in itself (“Venus, Temptress”) underlines this ambivalence and the difficulty for the narrator to situate themselves, navigating between intoxicating desire and unhealthy boundaries.
DOM: I was actually a little unsure and I was gonna cheat a bit and draw another card! But I remember Anelie being quite fond of it. It got us thinking about nightmares and all things uncanny, and how disorientating dreams and nightmares can be, and particularly those worry-ridden half nightmares that you sometimes get. That led us to think about mythological monsters and demons and we started thinking about the Roman goddess Venus and all of this got wrapped up in this song about the push and pull of a relationship that never quite goes how you want. I recently found some notes from our second session working on it with a big circle round the word “situationship”. So I guess we must have been thinking about a relationship in which you don’t know where you stand.
Alex: Early in the session, Anelie and I cited Kings of Convenience as a suitable influence based on the first two chords of the verse, plus I was playing quite softly on a nylon string guitar at the time which made it sound even closer to their sound. If I remember correctly, Anelie took the creative lead when we wrote the chorus and I think it’s the contrast between the verses (that more surf rock/ “beachy” sound that is typical of Dom and I) versus the darker, psychedelic feel of the chorus, which is more in line with Anelie’s solo music, that makes this track feel like a true collaboration and I remember it being a really exciting session for that reason.
How did you meet ANELIE? What led to her appearing on the track?
ANELIE: Peer pressure
Alex: Anelie and I met at an event hosted by the Camden Songwriting Circle a couple of years ago and we bonded through a shared love of Mac DeMarco’s music. We’d floated the idea of writing together a few times but had never found the time. It was this session at Dom’s studio in Camberwell where we finally got round to it and this song is the product of our first co-writing session together!
There’s a cinematic, almost Carroll-like descent into surrealism in the later verses — was that dream-like feel and the way the track gradually introduces unexpected, off kilter sounds an intentional approach?
DOM: I feel like Anelie had a big influence on creating the sense of surrealism, especially with her ethereal voice! But yes, it was very much intentional – the second verse was meant to sound a bit like being lost in a fairground, while the outro was meant to sound like I was completely losing it.
ANELIE: The track starts with the rhetorical question “why are you in my nightmares when you used to be in my dreams?”. The narrator notices a shift in their perception of the relationship and dives into deep introspection. As the track unravels the images become more vivid and colourful, and the musical textures become more eclectic. The last 30 seconds of the track introduces a new rhythmic pattern and a “call and response” between Dom and Anelie who had been, until now, perfectly in sync. Alex and Gus (White) added different textures to the chaos such as my personal favourite, the electric organ.
Alex: as Dom and Anelie have said, yes it was completely intentional. We wanted to create a sense of falling further into this person’s nightmare/dream as the song progresses. Or further down the rabbit hole, if you like.
You’ve mentioned wanting the track to feel like eavesdropping on a private moment. What techniques — sonically or emotionally — helped you achieve that intimate, unfiltered feeling within the track?
Alex: that’s something I felt quite passionate about for this track. On the journey to Gus’ studio, I like to have a final listen to the song that we’re about to record and really think about what the scene or backdrop is for the song. The most consistent way that we achieved this is by micing up all the instruments. So you’re hearing all live instruments recorded with a microphone rather than DIing or sequencing any parts. Then there’s the dream-like and playful touches like the glockenspiel, humming and whistling. And I think the most intimate moment of the song is the instrumental section at 1:28 with Anelie’s flamenco picking, my fast tremolo picking of the steel string acoustic, plus the whistling and humming. I think it feels like someone whispering in your ear.
DOM: I think part of this is how it’s sung – it’s sung super quiet and Gus did a great job at making it sound really close and intimate. That along with it being a very acoustic driven track with quiet drums makes it seem quite intimate.
ANELIE: – My intimate vocal delivery, and recording close to the mic, the blend of both voices and the humming and whistling, which is something that you usually do when you’re alone.
Tell us more about the general upcoming EP.
Alex: the EP is titled “Springtide Moonride”. It’s our first EP and it features 3 singles that are already out including this track, plus two new tracks: “Olive Branch” and “I’d Forgive You In A Heartbeat, But I Can’t Forgive Myself”. It’s a highly collaborative project, both in terms of the writing and production of the songs and it also features three vocalists (other than Dom). All 5 tracks were recorded at Gus White’s “The Barn” studio in Wiltshire. We’re hosting an EP release party on 12th July 2025 at Strongroom in Shoreditch. We will be playing the recording of the EP in full as well as playing the tracks live. It should be a really enjoyable night and a chance for us to celebrate what has been an amazing year of music making. All of the people who played a role in the making of the EP should be there too which is amazing as I don’t think we’ve ever had everybody in the same room!
Other than the new EP what else is on the horizon for Tora Luna?
Alex: Dom and I are always writing new music, I think we’re nervously half expecting a dry spell soon but we will keep on going until that happens. We’ve got another 10 demos of new songs ready and plan to record EP #2 in the first week of August. Following that, I think we will treat ourselves to some well deserved rest in terms of recording and promoting. But we are eager to keep gigging regularly around London to continue refining our live show and sharing our music with new people. It’s likely that the second EP will drop early next year, but we are likely to play it by ear to be honest. If there seems to be a real desire for us to release it sooner than we will. We’ve also been talking about going on a writing retreat at some point so that may be how we get over the winter blues.
You’ve incorporated some unconventional elements like a matchbox shaker and nylon vs. steel string contrasts. Tell us more about some of the instruments and recording approaches which you use across the upcoming EP.
DOM: The Barn is a playground of instruments. In this track there’s the things you’ve mentioned (as well as the “spongebob” guitar), but on other tracks we’ve used an electric organ that was found on the street, an antique harmonium and even a bicycle wheel!
Alex: it’s also worth mentioning that part of Gus’ ethos and something that has become a core part of the musical identity of Tora Luna releases is to record without a click-track and get the main recording of the core instruments down in one continuous take from start to finish. That’s how we’ve recorded every track on the EP with at least the drums, bass and guitar track taken from the same take which was recorded from start to finish.
Tora Luna’s identity as a fluid collective gives the project a really unique feel. What’s the biggest creative benefit (or challenge) of working with rotating collaborators like ANELIE or Ellie Parker?
DOM: Thank you! In lots of ways, collaborating was just a thing we did, like having breakfast or going to the park on a sunny day. We collaborated a lot because originally we were trying to get a catalogue together to pitch to publishers and other bigger name artists but after hearing that some writers have songs sitting around for years before they get release (if ever) we just wanted to get them out there. But a big part of that world is collaborating and so that’s what we did. It’s just a lot of fun to hang out with good people and write something together, and of course everybody has a unique talent and brings that to the table. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of this approach to be honest is how many things get finished rather than just started, because the writing session is in the calendar and we know the plan is to have a new song by the end of it. And then of course having more people in the room means that when you’re feeling uninspired, someone else usually has a new exciting idea.
What artists would you say are your biggest inspiration sound wise?
Alex: for this track in particular- DJO, Kings of Convenience, Evangeline, Stan Getz, Alfie Templeman, Alexandra Savior, The Last Shadow Puppets, Simon and Garfunkel.
For Tora Luna in general: Vampire Weekend, Mac DeMarco, The Beach Boys, Belle and Sebastian, Camera Obscura and Clairo.
Thanks so much for your time and interest in our music, it’s been a pleasure answering!
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