Q&A: Luís Fernandes Discusses Recent Release “Let You Go” and Next Steps in Music
LUÍS FERNANDES HAS A SOUND THAT SOMEHOW IS BOTH GENTLE — yet incredibly powerful, packing a tight punch and leaving listeners longing to rewind and replay his discography on repeat over and over again.
In August 2023, we first spoke with Fernandes about his EP, Breaking Point, a collection of songs dedicated to the tricky navigation of young adulthood and the feelings that come with being in your twenties.
With his most recent release, “Let You Go,” Fernandes shared that he wanted to take his music in somewhat of a different direction. With “Let You Go” serving as a bridge between his past and future projects, Fernandes creates an ode to lost love and opportunities that partners with an uplifting pop beat and harmonic vocals.
It’s been almost a year since the last time Luna had the pleasure of speaking with Fernandes, so we were thrilled to have this second opportunity to chat with the growing artist about his new inspirations, new works and what comes next. Read the interview below.
LUNA: Congrats on releasing your new single, “Let You Go” — that's so amazing. Tell me a little bit about the writing process, what went into making it: brainstorming the whole idea, all that fun stuff.
FERNANDES: I wrote it back in June of 2023. It's basically about this relationship that could have been. I was sort of imagining this scenario where you've had this person in your life but you wouldn't give them the time of day. And as soon as your feelings start to change, they move on to someone else. So that sort of "too little, too late" feeling — I wanted to write a song about that. The chorus is basically all these things I want to say, to tell this person, but never will, because my time has passed. It's just this little acoustic indie pop song that I wrote, and it's one of my favorite songs that I've written. I'm so glad that it's finally out.
LUNA: It's amazing. It's a very relatable subject — I think it's something that everyone can find a piece of themselves in. And this is a follow-up to the EP that you released last year, correct?
FERNANDES: Yes.
LUNA: Where do you see yourself taking your career past this EP? What do you think has inspired you from your past experiences, and what do you want to do to change it up in this upcoming era of your new music?
FERNANDES: I definitely wanted to change up the vibe of the next few songs because Breaking Point, my last EP, definitely had a strong sense of what it was. It was this folky, indie-electronic EP about growing pains and being in your early twenties, and I definitely wanted to depart from that. So these next few songs are definitely a lot poppier, a lot more indie pop. And that was a choice that I wanted to do just because I feel like we all just need a good old pop song in our lives.
LUNA: You can never go wrong with a fun pop song.
FERNANDES: Definitely.
LUNA: Does this mean there’s a new EP in the works for you right now?
FERNANDES: I don't know if it'll be an EP, but I just spent the last year writing non-stop. I think I've written over 50 songs, and 20 are fully produced and ready to go. Now I just basically get to have fun with picking and choosing the songs that I want to release.
LUNA: What's your writing process like? How do you take an idea, form it into a song, and get into the whole production process.
FERNANDES: The fun thing about songwriting is it's different every single time. I either get inspired by things that are going on in my life, things going on in my friends lives, films, books. It's just a whole mix of inspiration. And I'm a really DIY artist, so everything comes from just me and my guitar, my bedroom. It's all very DIY.
LUNA: Last time we talked about your EP, Breaking Point, we talked about some of your musical influences for that era of your music. Are there any other artists or new inspirations that are coming into your life as you're entering this new era?
FERNANDES: Yeah, definitely. I think artists like Thomas Hayden, Alfie Templeman, Declan McKenna — that sort of indie-pop music. I'm definitely inspired by them. But still keeping the same inspirations from my past releases, like Jack Antonoff and, of course, Taylor Swift.
LUNA: Yeah, that's a great group of people. I can hear some of those influences in this new single, too — it really falls in that vein of fun indie pop that everyone can get some enjoyment out of. Also, last we talked, you were using TikTok a lot to help promote your music and to help share your Taylor Swift videos, of course, which were really popular on the app. Are you still using TikTok to continue to launch your career? How has it helped you over the past year with changes with the platform and everything?
FERNANDES: It's definitely funny just because of how fast things change on TikTok. You can never trust the algorithm because it's always changing every single week. But I still use it just to connect with fans and post my silly little covers. It's still a really great way for me to connect with people and just share my work with them.
LUNA: What made you decide out of all the projects that you're working on now and all the songs you've written that "Let You Go" would be the first new one to share with the world?
FERNANDES: Good question. I think it's because it's a good bridge between my past releases and my next ones. It sort of still feels at home. I have written a lot of songs in different genres and different song structures so I didn't really want to alienate the listeners, so I chose "Let You Go" just because it was still quite similar but sort of gearing in a different direction.
LUNA: Yeah, I'm excited to hear the rest that you've been working on. Since we last talked, how would you say your life has changed? How are things different for you, not just within music, but as a person? How have you grown this past year?
FERNANDES: I’m definitely happier.
LUNA: That’s awesome.
FERNANDES: If you've listened to Breaking Point, you'll know what I'm talking about. Yeah, I just feel a lot more confident in myself, in my personal life and with my music. I feel like I'm in a really good place, and that's why I'm so excited to start getting these songs out because I feel like I've just been MIA for the past year.
LUNA: You’ve been working hard.
FERNANDES: Just been working hard non-stop. I’m definitely in a better place.
LUNA: That's good to hear. How would you describe, in a sentence, this new era of your life that you're in right now?
FERNANDES: I would say, "I'm just having fun, unapologetically."
LUNA: That’s a great message for everyone to hear, a good life lesson.
FERNANDES: Especially as we’re gearing toward summer, just all having fun.
LUNA: Oh my gosh, yeah. I'm so excited. Last we talked, you were in London, right? Are you still over there?
FERNANDES: Yes, still in London. It's pouring rain today, which is definitely not the vibe for spring. But yeah, I love it here. I couldn't see myself living anywhere else.
LUNA: Do you think where you are inspires some of your songwriting and your music?
FERNANDES: Yeah, definitely. The music scene here in London is so diverse. You go on the radio and you're not hearing the same genre everywhere. It's a city that inspires my music in a really strong way. When I'm having writer's block, I just go out into town and it just clicks.
