Hannah Bussiere Kim (born October 3, 1996), better known by her stage name Luna Li, is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

-based singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. During the early months of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Kim rose to prominence after a series of videos of her home-performed multi-instrumental

jam session A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without exte ...

s, featuring her playing the harp, keyboard, guitar, and violin, became

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. Kim began writing music as ''Veins'' (stylized all uppercase), and released the record ''Moon Garden'' in 2015. As Luna Li, she

self-released Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an ebook or as a physical copy using POD (pr ...

her debut extended play ''Opal Angel'' in 2017. After signing to AWAL Recordings and In Real Life, she released the ''jams'' extended play'','' a compilation of the viral jam sessions she composed during the pandemic, in 2021. Her debut record as Luna Li, ''

Duality Duality may refer to: Mathematics * Duality (mathematics), a mathematical concept ** Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality ** Duality (optimization) ** Duality (order theory), a concept regarding binary relations ** Dual ...

,'' was released on AWAL (Canada) and In Real Life (in the rest of the world) in 2022.

Early life

Kim was born and raised in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She is of Korean-Canadian heritage and cites her background as a major influence on her songwriting. Kim grew up with classical training in piano and violin, eventually also becoming proficient in harp, electric guitar, bass, and drums. She attended Classical Music Conservatory in

, where her mothers are co-directors. She originally attended

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

to study violin, but dropped out after a semester to pursue her own songwriting and to start her own rock band in the Toronto music scene. According to Kim, “When I was first starting out, I thought, ‘Rock and roll is cool, the violin is not.’”

Career

2014–2017: Veins

In 2014, Kim started the garage rock group Veins, the name of which came from a poem written during high school. After returning from Montreal to Toronto in 2015, she concurrently attended Seneca College's one-year Independent Music Production program, graduating in 2016. While Veins was initially conceived as a personal project, the group grew into a six-member live band that performed at local venues in Toronto and Montreal. In May 2015, the group's debut album ''Moon Garden'' was released on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

. Though they had not reached out to media, the record received a warm reception from press and reviewer outlets. In January 2017, they played their last show under the name Veins. According to Kim, the group had intended to change their name since 2016, partly since “everyone thought Veins would be like a metal or a dark hard rock band, which it wasn't.” She and her bandmates eventually decided on ‘Luna Li’, which fit the natural imagery and themes in her songwriting and production.

2017–present: Luna Li

As Luna Li, Kim self-released her first EP, Opal Angel, in 2017. In February 2020, Kim released a new song titled "Trying". Kim released another new song, "Afterglow", in August 2020. In February 2021, Kim released her second EP, titled "Jams EP". Kim released a new song titled "Cherry Pit" in March 2021. Kim's next single, "Alone But Not Lonely", was released in May 2021. In September and October 2021, Kim embarked on a tour opening for

Japanese Breakfast Japanese Breakfast is an indie pop band headed by Korean-American musician Michelle Zauner. Zauner started the band as a side project in 2013, when she was leading the Philadelphia-based emo group Little Big League. She has said that she named ...

. Kim released her debut album ''

'', in 2022 to positive reviews. She followed it up later in the year with the EP ''Jams 2''. She toured with

Wolf Alice Wolf Alice are an English rock band from London, England. Formed in 2010 as an acoustic duo comprising singer Ellie Rowsell and guitarist Joff Oddie, Wolf Alice have also featured bassist Theo Ellis and drummer Joel Amey since 2012. Wolf Alice ...

, opening for them in fall 2022, before embarking on a headline tour.

Discography

Albums

''
Duality Duality may refer to: Mathematics * Duality (mathematics), a mathematical concept Dual (category theory), a formalization of mathematical duality Duality (optimization) Duality (order theory), a concept regarding binary relations Dual ...
'' (2022)

EPs

''Opal Angel'' (2017)

''Jams'' EP (2021)

References

External links

Official website

Luna Li
at

Veins
at Bandcamp * – published by

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the non-p ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Luna Canadian people of Korean descent Living people 1996 births