Q&A: The Sun Sets on Love in Luna Li’s “Golden Hour”
AN EMOTION TAKING FLIGHT — “Golden Hour” is the latest single from singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Luna Li. It precedes her sophomore album, When a Thought Grows Wings, which seeks to enhance her sound and propel her onto a promising trajectory. The song is so good it feels almost futile to write about it — but that never stopped anyone before, and this track is a must-listen.
“Golden Hour” begins grounded in a rainy meadow with heartfelt lyrics such as, “The sky lamented for us both.” Li’s vocal phrasing hints at her pianist upbringing as she sings, “I make a little wish for” with a piano-like vocal turn. The first chorus catches a tailwind, briefly elevating with her request for “Just a little bit more of your love.” This sliver of a chorus smartly leaves the listener wanting a little bit more, too.
The spacey soundscape evaporates to a leaping kick drum, which pulses the tune back to life and into the second verse. Li’s writing is both poetic and playful, a charming balance achieved by an adept songwriter. “And I heard the blossoms talk of your beauty in awe,” she sings, “And now the grass is taking sides. They wonder if you’ll bite.” Not only are the lyrics of “Golden Hour” impressively visual, but the song’s arrangement also evokes distinct colors and images.
Now thickened by strings, the second chorus plays twice as long as the first. Li’s plea for a little bit more love grows as her thoughts multiply. After a sweet acoustic landing, a bridge emerges from subdued keys. Floating above are fragile, haunting vocals — nagging what-ifs loose in the mind. One syllable at a time, she sings, “If I met you in the garden, would you give me all I wanted?” in a soft, hypnotic chant.
Gradually adding, Li repeats, “Just a little bit more of your love” and the drums reintroduce the band. The siren song swirls into polyphony and delivers the promise of the groove, punctuated by a fervent guitar gliding into the sunset.
Read below to learn how Li wrote this latest song, what novel influenced her upcoming record, and why making this record was uniquely powerful.
LUNA: “Golden Hour,” the second half of the song specifically, expands the world of your previous single, “Confusion Song.” How did you find the sound of “Golden Hour” and the rest of the album?
LI: The seed of “Golden Hour” was the earliest thing that was written for this record. I met my friend Scott, who also goes by Monsune, over Zoom for online songwriting sessions in 2020 and we hit it off. He played some of the piano part and I did the guitar solo for what became “Golden Hour” but we never finished it. In the studio for this new record a few years later, he said, “Why don't you pull that idea back up?” So we built it out and I tried lyrics and melodies, but nothing was sticking. So we left it again. I sat on that instrumental for months before finishing the lyrics and melody. But after all that time, we kept the guitar solo from the very first idea.
LUNA: Is that how you usually write songs, or do you tend to start with lyrics?
LI: For this record, I worked with Scott and this producer, Andrew Lappin, in LA. I would get in with one of them and we’d write all these instrumentals. I wrote lyrics and melody to the instrumental at home and arranged it a little, adding some instruments. Then I brought it back to them and we would finish producing it. That collaborative process was incredible and stayed consistent for the whole record. It was different from making Duality, when I had written and demoed everything before bringing it into the studio.
LUNA: What memory does “Golden Hour” bring you back to?
LI: An evening in the studio in Toronto — half of the record was made there and half in LA, which is representative of this era of my life. But Scott and I had a lot of fun jamming in the studio and I remember we looked outside — the sky was pink and the sun was golden. We went for a walk around the neighborhood and it was the most beautiful sunset ever.
LUNA: You mentioned this era of your life. How does music foster reincarnation?
LI: It’s therapeutic. It also allows for self-realization; working on lyrics or doing a stream-of-consciousness writing session, I write stuff I didn't even realize I was feeling. The album title, When a Thought Grows Wings, refers to allowing thoughts to get out and take shape — seeing which thoughts I want to turn into action.
This was a time of transition: getting out of a long-term relationship, moving to LA, and taking music seriously. Writing this record was powerful because it helped me make these difficult choices in my life. And listening to music gets me through every tough time, so a couple of songs and lines on this record are love songs about music.
LUNA: After first learning to play piano and violin, when did you branch to other instruments?
LI: My mom and her partner run a music school together in Toronto, so I was involved in that community and was very lucky to try different instruments. I studied music theory and did a couple of guitar and voice lessons, but I mostly taught myself guitar. I've also played harp for a few years but never learned it formally.
We hired an amazing woodwind player, Jesse McGinty, for this record, which inspired me to learn the flute. I had already recorded Mellotron flute and MIDI flute on all my demos, so why not try the real thing? I got one earlier this year and I'm annoying my roommate a lot (laughs).
LUNA: I'd love to know what excites you about releasing “Golden Hour.”
LI: “Golden Hour” is a big step forward sonically from Duality. It feels warm and full. I want my music to feel comforting and easy to listen to, but I also try to be vulnerable in my lyrics so that listeners connect to it emotionally. I'm excited for people to hear it and get a taste of this new chapter.
I also have a full US–Canada headline tour coming up in September and October. It'll be my longest headlining tour to date, so I'm excited and nervous. But I'm bringing the whole band and we're starting to work on the show now.
LUNA: Do you have any surprising influences or sources of inspiration?
LI: One thing that inspired me while writing this record was this amazing novel, The Overstory by Richard Powers. The main theme is a work of activism, protecting old growth and forests. The beautiful, poetic passages about trees in that novel grew into my use of the oak tree as a symbol of stability and comfort in some of my lyrics. It also ties into the album cover with the axe. I'm ready to cut down all that's stable and comfortable and move forward.
“Golden Hour” by Luna Li is available for streaming and tickets for her North American headline tour are on sale now. Her forthcoming album, When a Thought Grows Wings, is set to drop on Aug. 23.
