The Luna Sequence

The Luna Sequence is the Electronic Rock project of Kaia Young. Having had an interest in electronic composition spurred on by the discovery of 90s dance and techno, followed by an immersion in the local college punk & metal scene, Young has synthesized diverse influences into a nascent hybrid form of Drum & Bass, Electronica, Metal, and Punk that has solidified over the course of four releases since early 2009.

While so far purely instrumental, the output of The Luna Sequence is both deeply emotive and highly cerebral in nature; it is a vehicle for both Young’s own internal emotional processes and her examination of the imperfect complexities of the human psyche at large, a theme reflected in the origin of the project’s name. Kaia explains: “The name was taken from a policy review of a psych facility. The author proposed a theory he jokingly called ‘The Luna Sequence’ regarding the residents’ self-abuse and suicide attempts during full moon cycles. The facility had a policy of preemptively locking everyone in isolation rooms before the full moon, and the author couldn’t understand why an otherwise well adjusted and behaved person would try to hurt themselves when put in isolation ‘for their protection’. People will be dysfunctional if you convince them that they are dysfunctional…” Most of the project’s releases have investigated a variety of such cognitive oddities that plague human-kind.

While the debut EP, Underneath, was simply an experiment in creation, the full length album that followed in 2009, titled They Follow You Home, was a conceptual narrative. In her own words, Young explored “the profound impact of negative messages targeted towards minorities in our culture. Rather than merely being reacted or responded to, these messages can become internalized, causing the targets to loathe and blame themselves for their oppression, resulting in self-destruction.”

2010’s After Sunfall EP seemed to represent The Luna Sequence distilled - the song-writing was tighter and more well rounded, the electronica hooks stronger than ever while also packed into fewer songs overall. On this EP, Young dealt with the discrimination often leveled at her as a minority. “The overall theme of the record is the process of questioning of the duality of human nature, and how it allows us to resent those who embody and express what we are afraid to recognize in ourselves.”

The new 2011 EP, Persona, explores yet another piece of the human psyche puzzle. Young explains, “The general concept is reflecting on the ways we lie to ourselves and others to survive. It’s not necessarily a condemnation of it, just an observation and exploration. I’ve always been interested in the way that we can deny or ignore fundamental truths in fear of what the implications could mean.” Persona builds on top of the cohesion of After Sunfall, delivering another six tightly-wound songs that merge a variety of genres into succinct emotional statements of sound.

In addition to these standard releases, The Luna Sequence has also become a star player in the online remix community FiXT Remix, winning first place in Celldweller’s “Frozen” remix contest in 2007 and having since placed in nearly a dozen other contests for other artists including Blue Stahli, I Will Never Be The Same, Sybreed, and Atlas Plug.