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LUNARCA (Band)
LUNARCA are an English rock band from Sheffield. The group consists of singer Connor Berry, guitarist Elliot Britton, bassist Jasper Elliot and drummer Tom Stafford. They are known for their The 60s rock influence which is heavily ingrained within their music. Described by their quickly blooming fanbase as the “Sheffield Beatles,” LUNARCA's debut single, ‘Living As Me' is detailed with twangy, blues-tinged riffs akin to The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun .” The band represent the return of a classic sound. With over 10 million views across their social media, and an ever-growing fan base, the band are beginning to carve a name out for themselves through the indie music scene.

November 2021: Early beginnings
“One of my mates had heard Elliot was wanting to start a band and told him there’s this lad in their class called Connor who’s a singer,” Sheffield indie band, LUNARCA’s frontman Connor Berry shared with me, in regards to the band’s inception. “10 minutes later this guy in a parka with a Paul Weller haircut burst into the room and just said ‘I’ve heard you’re a singer’ and it virtually went from there.”

Berry had his reservations about the band’s shaggy-haired guitarist as he continued the story of LUNARCA’s origin, “I took it with a pinch of salt, as I didn’t even know how good he was at guitar.” The turning point for raspy-voiced Sheffield native was Britton’s willingness to support Berry’s own musical endeavours, saying, “Elliot had travelled a good way to come and watch me play for 20 minutes supporting this band, I really respected him for that, so I agreed to join [the band] not long after.”

The two poached (for lack of a better word) LUNARCA’s bassist, Jasper Elliot, from another band after seeing him perform. Shortly after, drummer Tom Stafford was discovered via Instagram by Britton, and thus, LUNARCA was formed. “We had a pretty clear idea of what we wanted,” Berry shared, “''We didn’t want to do covers, we wanted to do our originals. In the first rehearsal I remember nailing down around 3 original songs. It was mind blowing to me because I’d never been in a band before and I was seeing the songs I wrote come alive within minutes.''”

Among those three songs was ‘Living As Me,’ a catchy track with instrumentals that foreshadow much more to come from LUNARCA. The track is threatening, almost, but in the most joyous sort of way. Although a proper introduction to LUNARCA, “Living As Me” just one of many sounds the band is capable of” says Berry: “We’re aiming to release a song every month so I am super excited to show everyone that we’re not just one sound – and that all our songs are very versatile.”

Influences
Being heavily influenced by the likes of legendary bands such as The Beatles and The Who is no surprise, however the band also take inspiration from all different genres. Bands such as Death Cab For Cutie, Blur, Radiohead and Mac Demarco also play a big part in the bands sounds - which is a big explanation as to why their sound is so versatile and unique. LUNARCA are a breath of fresh air, being inspired by 60s/70s bands their sound is a combination of classic rock and Indie. Which when merged together creates a distinctive raw sound of Rock’n’Roll, but not as you’ve heard it before. They really capture that sixties feeling, (but with a modern twist), when music was music, when there was hope. Singer, Connor Berry takes huge influence from John Lennon in his style of writing. His lyrics and melodic chord structures is what makes the band relatable to The Beatles. His storytelling in the songs is complex, leaving you to wonder what the song may be about and allowing you to decide for yourself.

Being from Sheffield, the band cannot hide away from the fact there are many great bands whom originated from the Steel City. Some of the most popular being the 'Artic Monkeys' and 'Pulp'. However, the lads don't want to be compared or related to these bands, and instead are here to make a name for themselves.

Musical style
Being commonly categorised as 'indie rock', LUNARCA combine multiple genres. Making them hard to place into one category, with their sound being a mix of psychedelic, classic rock, alternative rock and more. The band are known for their powerful, raw sound and there mesmerizing stage presence followed by their frontman Connor Berry's heavy hitting vocals.

Released 1st July 2022
LUNARCA's debut single 'Living As Me' is a great way to introduce the band to you. Straight off the bat you hear that sixties vibe, the intro vocal, “You’ll find a way to make it someday, it won’t be hard to see, unless you’re living in the mind of me” leads you in before the rest of the band strike up, jangly, melodic guitars, which reminds me more of The Animals, and then you hear The Beatles then you hear The Who…it’s a sixties rhythm and blues odyssey brought forward into the 21st century. Oasis have been likened to the Beatles, and the same could be said of LUNARCA but there is something different, its fresh, its vibrant and with a really good vocal that has that Lennon -esque growl and some yeah yeah yeahs to consolidate their nickname. There’s even a Hammond organ in there and, so I am told, actually broke whilst they were recording the track, it cut off the electricity supply!

The track was described as “a sixties rhythm and blues odyssey brought forward into the 21st century.”

Their upcoming single 'Runaway' was recorded at the infamous Yellow Arch Studios, and is set to be released very soon in the foreseeable future.

Current members:

 * Connor Berry - vocals, rhythm guitar (2022 present)
 * Elliot Britton - lead guitar, backing vocals (2022 present)
 * Jasper Elliot - bass guitar (2022 present)
 * Tom Stafford - drums, percussion, backing vocals (2022 present)