Rising Stars: Meet Dante Luna

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dante Luna.

Hi Dante, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Growing up with parents who were professional ballet dancers, I was always surrounded by music, dance, and the theater. We listened to everything from European classical music to classic rock, so it’s no surprise that at a young age, I had a fascination with anything music and the process of creating sonic art. In my journal from when I was five years old, you can find drawings I made of me conducting an orchestra with all my friends and descriptions of fantasies I had while listening to music. I would try to write music before I knew much about music theory or music notation, but when I was thirteen, I wrote and premiered my official first composition, which was a four-movement piano piece called the Four Elements, written for Earth Day in 2009. From that moment on, I’ve been passionately pursuing a career in music, writing and performing my own compositions and playing in various music groups, and studying with some amazing mentors at institutions around the US and Europe. Now I’m at the point where all of my music skills are being utilized under the role of music producer.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I don’t know who I would be if I didn’t have music; it’s perhaps the one thing in my life that has remained consistent and reliable to my well-being. The struggles in my life are in no way unique to me, as many Americans and people around the world experience the same ones, but I’m thankful that music has been an outlet for me to both process my emotions and remind myself of what it means to be human. Music has brought me out of some extremely dark places whenever I’ve been lost, especially throughout the Covid pandemic, so if I’ve learned anything in this difficult time, it’s that music is indeed my life’s purpose and that I can always find myself in music.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As a music producer, I have a unique perspective in that I’m classically trained in music composition, music theory, and in percussion/piano, but I’ve also been in multiple rock and jazz bands, written film scores, and have taught music to all ages for many years. For artists, this means that no matter what level of formal training you’ve had, we can make great music together because I can understand what you want no matter what. For example, if you say, “I feel like that violin should be arco instead of pizz” or “we should throw a gate on those drums” I’ll know exactly what you mean, or if you say, “I feel like the violin should have more longer-wavy notes” or “we need to do something to clean up those drums” chances are I’ll also know exactly what you mean. To sum that up, I love creating a space in my studio where artists can work intuitively with me without fear of judgment.

I’m excited now to welcome artists who want their music to be realized to come work with me. Lately, I’ve been working on a deep house album, as well as producing an indie-folk song and a hyper-pop EP with talented local artists. You’ll be able to listen to all those early next years (2022). Currently, the music I have out is primarily orchestral, electro-acoustic, rock, or hyper-pop/EDM that I’ve produced/coproduced, which has all been played live around the world by myself and/or talented collaborators.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
It’s no surprise that I’m a huge music nerd, but there have been many times where artists that don’t have a formal music background will not have the precise words to describe what they’re looking for, but they’ll either sing it, beatbox it, or describe in layman’s terms, and I’ll get what they want immediately. To me, this is nothing extraordinary, but it makes for a very smooth writing/producing process and is very fun for me. It’s also nice to know that all those years of music theory, counterpoint, and ear-training have paid off!

Perhaps something else that’s surprising is that as a composer, I’ve had my music played all over the world, including Russia, Italy, France, the Netherlands, Scotland, and throughout the United States of America.

Contact Info:

• Website: dantelunamusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dantelunamusic/

Image Credits
Holly Neil, Maciek Kubrak, Smenson Dai, Sergio Saldana.