The album

"We don't like to repeat ourselves too much and try to offer different albums each time. “Many miles away” was a classic song album, “Curve.Axis.Symmetry” a concept album, “Gostraks” an album of covers all linked together. It was time to try something else. And this something else is here, it’s « from above » !"

 - JP

"After C.A.S., a concept album, we went for a cover album to have time to recharge our creative batteries. We followed JP’s idea to make a tribute to old 70s album and have a "one side long" song and shorter songs on the second side. I know that it makes pretty much no sense nowadays in the era of streaming but that’s what we went for. The other strong idea for this one was to write music with the three of us in the same room for the first time.
Now that it’s done, we’re left wondering "What will be the big idea for the next one?". But that’s a question our future selves will have to answer. We, we just have to enjoy the present and be proud of "from above" (like this, no capitalisation!)"

 - Seb

"Interestingly, some people who follow us think we're a progressive band, but in our daily lives, we listen to very little progressive rock. Personally, I mostly listen to pop or rock, or even dance music. But when I put on the Lunear hat, I want to make a brutal turn and go back to my loves from when I was a teenager or young adult, when I listened to Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, and later Marillion, Pendragon, or IQ, for example (to name a few of the most famous). 'Curve.Axis.Symmetry.' was a first attempt to move towards something more ambitious. Beyond Art-rock. With this album, we haven't set limits and have developed songs beyond the classic verse-bridge-chorus structure. We've expanded on instrumental ideas. The result is tracks like 'Schrödinger’s Run,' 'Cathedral,' or 'The Tears Of Nostalgia.' Songs that are 10 minutes long, which are a musical journey, with various ideas, and with guitar or keyboard solos.
It's very likely that in the future we'll change things, maybe return to another style of songs, perhaps more direct (like 'So Let’s Go'), but this album will remain as our ‘classic’ prog album, and that's something I'm very proud of.
It hasn't been easy to make. Working in a band involves making many concessions, especially with three strong personalities like ours. But I always say, what the three of us achieve together, we would never have achieved separately. Just for that reason, Lunear is an incredible stroke of luck for me.
That being said, the fact that we managed to write 'In Their Eyes' in 3 days locked in a 12 square meter space says a lot about what we're capable of. And for the future, I believe our path lies in this new experience. Sitting down together, the three of us, and writing together."

 - Paul

Tom & Colin

"This is the first song that we wrote for the new record. The very first idea that we jammed is the beginning of the song. I don’t remember if it’s the rhythmic piano that inspired me to play on the floor toms or if it was the other way around, but I think it’s very powerful and it serves the lyrics well. The lyrics were written for the previous album but not used. I reworked them to make them flow better before we met to write the music. "
 - Seb

"For this album, we knew two things from the start. The first was that we wanted to compose everything together, meaning not to have a single musical note in advance. And the second was that we didn't want to repeat ourselves and therefore not make a concept album but a simple collection of songs, without any preconceived idea of ​​the musical style that would emanate from these sessions. And initially, one of my ideas was not to play any guitar on the record. It even became a joke between us. But this idea runs through the album, and especially the whole beginning of the record. I delayed its intervention as much as possible in this first piece, concentrating on the bass. As a result, I'm really happy with my bass lines on the record, and especially this intro. I remember that we ultimately spent little time laying down the whole structure, and that we even recorded the demo in one live take."
 - JP

"Working with the guys is always a real pleasure. To add something to what’s already been said, one of our ideas this time was to work on the music before the lyrics. On our previous records, the lyrics had always been the starting point, and the music had to match the spirit of the story being told. Seb, as a writer, is naturally very demanding about that — which makes perfect sense. This time, since there were no specific guidelines, there was genuine freedom to write whatever we wanted. Seb already had around ten lyrics written, but the plan was to focus on the music first. So from day one, we just started jamming, and then Seb would tell us which lyrics might fit the atmosphere of each piece. He even adapted many of them to the music, which I really appreciated. This particular song began with a percussive piano. My piano heroes have always had that kind of punchy, rhythmic approach — Elton John, Rick Davies or Roger Hodgson, Billy Joel, to name just a few. I like the fact that this is a very progressive rock song, even if it’s not fifteen minutes long.
The opening section — bass, drums and piano — came straight from one of those jam sessions, and I’m glad we kept part of that energy in the final version.
JP also wanted us to experiment with orchestrations — strings and horns — on the album, and we started with this track. Personally, my favourite part is the middle section, with its syncopated guitar riffs. Oh, and I almost forced JP to record a guitar solo at the end! And that’s not the only one on the album. It’s funny — you’d think the keyboard player would want to be in the spotlight, but I absolutely love a great guitar solo, and a proper Lunear song simply has to have one."
 - Paul

One Day

"This one was really easy to write. And for the first time ever, I literally wrote the music. I took a sheet of paper and wrote down 5 chords. The idea was to have a four-chord pattern and change the first chord in the sequence every loop. The fifth chord was the first of the second loop, then the first, second, third. The fourth chord was the first of the third loop and so on… Every loop, the bass note from the first chord was to be used as a pedal for the whole loop. But of course, Paul changed everything later… 🙂 But, we just played what I wrote, Paul on the piano, JP on the bass, and me on the drums. And I improvised the melody while playing. At the end, we had the song. The lyrics are also old. The song was called Strings Attached, and Paul wrote a whole music with them, but I didn’t like the lyrics; they were too similar to Fresh Start. So I rewrote them.  "
 - Seb

"Another song that I approached with the idea of ​​not putting any guitar, with the idea of ​​having a piece that the three of us could play live. In the end, I added a little solo. And in fact, when it finally comes in, it stands out more. It's a very simple solo but I think it works well. I really put it in at the last moment, it came to me in a flash, I knew exactly what I was going to play."
 - JP

"I remember very clearly saying, “What’s next?” — and Seb came up with this chord sequence. We started jamming around it. We kept the bass line and I shaped the chords as we played. It’s a lovely verse, with a very Keane or Marillion kind of vibe — full of positive energy. Then the chorus, with its Mellotron layers, brings a touch of melancholy to the song.
Seb really wanted a song that the three of us could play live. But I immediately imagined a guitar solo after the first chorus — a bit like Kayleigh by Marillion.
The Rothery-esque guitar solo is fantastic. JP probably doesn’t remember it now, but I actually insisted he record it, leaving space for him in the arrangement… twice on the album! And sorry, Seb — I guess we can’t really play this one live with just the three of us. 😉
Another important thing about this song is that, at first, I played a CP-70 piano, and it sounded too much like Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know. So I insisted on doubling the piano with a more classical sound.
In the end, we decided that this song would be our first single from the album. It really is a beautiful pop song, and even though it’s hard to say that any single track truly sums up this record — since we go in many different directions, exploring paths we hadn’t taken before — this one perfectly represents who we are in the studio, writing together. And it’s great to have that captured as a testimony."
 - Paul

I'll Remember This

"The music for this one is mainly the work of Paul and JP, I think, because I don’t really remember writing it. What I do remember is that I thought that it sounded like a song for a tv show at first. So we reworked the riff. I also remember that we tried the lyrics for The Wilderness Within at first, and it didn’t work. So we used another, and it worked. Paul thought that his voice was too soft for this song and asked me to sing it. He also thought that the song was too slow, so we accelerated it, from 130 to 150 bpm. "
 - Seb

"This is the song that was the most complicated to finalize. It was mainly a work between Paul and me. And it's the song that evolved the most between the sessions at Seb's and the final version. Changes in lyrics, tempo, structure, chords, melody... Only the basic idea was kept, and a few elements. We also fumbled a lot for the bridge, and in the end it was me who came up with this synth idea that I think works quite well."
 - JP

"I remember perfectly working with JP on this song while Seb was taking one of his breaks. Seb at first wasn’t really into this song. At first, I was aiming for a sound similar to Toto’s Isolation album — which, funnily enough, remains my favorite Toto record even though neither Bobby Kimball nor Joseph Williams were in the band then.
I wanted to have a break right after the first chorus where the key keeps changing, giving JP room for a guitar solo. In the end, we simplified the song — probably for the better — but even though the solo is short, I absolutely love it. JP quickly had Rebel Yell by Billy Idol in mind, which is also a song I love. We went through many different guitar riffs, trying to avoid sounding like something already heard before on Seb’s request.
I think we eventually achieved what we were aiming for: a strong, rock-oriented song with a slightly 80s vibe. My voice didn’t work that well, especially in the verse, and Seb does a much better job. But we all sang together in the chorus, which really lifted it. It’s also one of the songs where Seb had to adapt the lyrics quite a bit to make them fit the music.
I also love the section with the sequencer JP came up with. Initially, that part was just guitar — only a guitarist could come up with that idea! If I had suggested removing the guitars there, they would have kicked me out of the band! (laughs)
In the end, I got my revenge with a little synth solo in the spirit of ASIA, and we sped up the song a bit to match the energy we were going for. It’s a lot of fun having this track on the album."
 - Paul

Pool Balls

"I’ve had the idea for the lyrics for many years. But I couldn’t figure out how to write a song with this idea. So, at one point I thought “let’s try with some help“ and I asked an AI to write lyrics with my idea. Don’t get me wrong, I hate generative AI, I think they are a disaster on so many levels. But it’s a tool that is not going anywhere and I do love new technologies (usually!), so I used it as a tool, not to do the work for me. I rewrote every line that the AI wrote in the song. Every single one of them but two. Then I asked our friend Gilles Snowcat to read the text and he told me that it was a good lyric except for two lines that he felt were weak. Those were the exact two lines that I didn’t change. So I rewrote them too. In the end, nothing has been written by the AI but this tool helped me to unblock myself. "
 - Seb

"This one is one of my favorites. It's really quite an indescribable title, with very disparate elements that surprisingly work well together : funky bassline, fuzz solo, rock drums, loops of synths… I don't really remember how it came to life, but I remember that everything happened very quickly, the ideas flowing naturally. I never would have thought we would be able to take Lunear in this direction, and i’m very glad we did."
 - JP

"I actually remember very well how the song started. I had a sequencer that made loops, but only in minor chords. So the verse is only in minor chords because of that — the sequencer dictated it. It’s interesting sometimes to work with constraints.
Seb also had this idea of using a mathematical pattern (which one?) and making a song based on that, which is what we ended up doing. That’s what you can hear at the beginning of the song, and it runs through almost the whole track. The verse follows the same pattern, with a synth that mirrors it using the song’s notes. It’s very original, and what I love is that it doesn’t feel artificial at all.
After the first chorus there’s a fantastic guitar solo with the synths in the background — it couldn’t be more 80s! I love how it flows with that funky bass as well. We hadn’t really explored that kind of thing until now. The end of the solo, when the Taurus comes in, is my favorite part. It even feels like a Giorgio Moroder song at times — and I don’t think that’s a bad thing 🙂
In the chorus we’re all singing, and it’s magical.
To finish the song, we wanted something inspired by the ending of “Out of This World” by Marillion. There are certainly worse models to follow!"
 - Paul

Rain

"I used to love the rain. I really do. And now it scares me, and I cannot enjoy it anymore. This is a song about that, about climate change, of course. I really love the feel of the music, and I think that it fits perfectly with the lyrics. JP started to play those chords on the guitar, and there was this great blues feeling in it. Paul sings it beautifully. JP and Paul worked on the center part while I was sleeping and thought, “Seb is going to hate it“. And I did hate it. I wonder why they kept on working on this idea while knowing that I would not like it… Anyway, we reworked, compromised, and now I love it, but I can’t help but think that they regret the first version."
 - Seb

"For this one, we cheated a little on the original concept, because I had the initial guitar chords sequence rumbling around in my head for a while, without really knowing what to do with it.
The addition of the piano, the gently shuffled drums, and the emotion of Paul's voice took the song beyond what I expected.
But—and there is a but—I will always miss the bridge that Paul and I had come up with but that Seb didn't like. It would have taken the song in a new direction for us. I've gotten used to the new bridge, which is very good, and on which we were able to experiment a few things, but I remain convinced that the first idea was more interesting. But that's band life. We sometimes have differences of opinion that we have to resolve. And in the end, the song is really cool."
 - JP

"I remember very clearly JP looping a few chords — it instantly had a kind of bluesy vibe. That’s how the song began. Everything came together really quickly, and I particularly love that tense bridge leading into the beautiful harmonies of the chorus.
At some point, Seb went to bed, and JP and I decided to push the song in a different direction. We kept part of the original structure, but in the middle section there was this piano playing a syncopated rhythm, which gave the whole thing a strange but exciting blend of 60s psychedelic pop and 70s disco. We even imagined adding layers of backing vocals everywhere! In the end, we stayed a bit more grounded and went for something more subtle. The slide guitar solo is really cool — it’s actually the first one of its kind on a Lunear record.
The ending reminds me a bit of the Bee Gees, with that soulful R&B ballad feel, somewhere between brass and strings. It’s the second track on the album featuring this kind of orchestral arrangement. I’ve always loved those 70s songs where pop artists were backed by full orchestras — that grand, emotional vibe suits the song so well. And it all ends with this magical guitar solo that, with just a few notes, lifts the emotion even higher. These orchestral arrangements take ages to build — we literally work note by note — but it’s absolutely worth the effort!"
 - Paul

The Wilderness Within

"That’s a very, very old text. One of the first ones I wrote, 25 years ago. It was called Desert of Sadness. I completely rewrote it. This is the only song that wasn’t written at my place with the three of us. While we were struggling with the lyrics and the music for I’ll Remember This, JP recorded a fast riff on the guitar and sang. He told us that he thought that the lyrics would work better like this. And it did. Paul completed the song with other ideas, and I spent a lot of time organizing everything, especially the central part, so that it would flow naturally. Working on this song is a reminder that it is easier when we write in the same room. That way, we don’t have to deal with ideas that one will not like. "
 - Seb

"While we were stuck on the first version of "Wilderness Within", I had the idea to test the lyrics on another melody, a new arrangement, while keeping the rock vibe that we wanted at first. This is how I proposed what would become the beginning of the current version of "Wilderness Within". Paul then took over the project and added this beautiful second part, more atmospheric. Right away I heard guitars in feedback to accompany this part. I love the atmosphere of this second part, very different from the first, but perfectly complementary. We go from Soundgarden to Depeche Mode 🙂 . Seb did a great job to rearrange all the vocals on this second part, and I really like his drums on this track, especially the atmospheric part. And that’s how the first « Wilderness Within » became « I’ll Remember This »."
 - JP

"This is the song sung by JP. The first time I listened to his demo, I have to admit I wasn’t really convinced… It felt a bit too simple to me. But Seb really liked it and insisted that there was something there, so I decided to give it a chance and started working on an arrangement.
As soon as I began adding some synth layers, the whole atmosphere of the song changed completely. It suddenly opened up new textures and moods that gave it a very different identity. Originally, the track ran for about six minutes, but Seb did a fantastic job reorganizing the structure — cutting out what felt too repetitive and making the song flow naturally. He also had the brilliant idea of introducing those vocal phrases that seem to question and answer each other, creating a beautiful dialogue between the voices.
In the final version, the three of us sing together in the atmospheric part, while JP takes the lead for the main rock section. I really love that contrast — the tension between the ethereal and the powerful, the collective and the individual. It’s another song that stands apart from what people might expect from Lunear, and that’s exactly what makes it exciting for us. We love exploring new paths, and this track is a perfect example of that spirit."
 - Paul

Christmas Flowers

"These lyrics were part of the first idea that I pitched for the long song that we wanted to write for “from above“. Paul didn’t like them, and I ditched them and wrote In Their Eyes instead. But I still liked this idea of writing a song about rural exodus. I first got the idea while driving through a village, that is, frankly, almost a ghost village now, and there was this florist shop on Main Street that has probably been closed for many years. It was in ruin, and I thought that it was sad… Then I remembered Christmas at my in-laws. The streets were full of people and joy. But when we go there at any other time of the year, it’s empty and sad… Then I remembered this village in the Cévennes, in France, where I spent a lot of my childhood. I witnessed the village going empty. Last time I went there, there were only 3 persons living there full-time. And they were all very old. When I picture the lyrics in my mind, this is this village that I see, but the story in the lyrics came from these three different places. "
 - Seb

"I've always loved simple, repetitive melodies that wander over changing chords. I find it creates something hypnotic. That's exactly the approach I took on the intro riff, just as I did on the bass line for the album's opening track. I must admit that when Paul presented us with the orchestral intro, I thought, ‘Why on earth would you want to add two minutes of intro to a song that's already over ten minutes long?’ But I have to admit that the intro is magnificent and really adds something. After recording the demo, it was time to properly record my guitar parts, parts that I hadn't worked out at all during the demo phase, especially the ending solo, which had to be epic. And then, I was stuck. Nothing I came up with pleased me. I searched for ideas for a long time, but there was nothing I could do, nothing pleased me. Out of desperation, I started recording the final section, thinking, ‘This will be a demo tape to get a vague idea of what it might sound like, I'll have to redo it.’ I recorded the almost two minutes of solo in one take, on instinct. Then I played it to Seb, knowing that I would have to redo it. Except that Seb said, ‘Don't touch a note, it's perfect as it is.’ I was blown away. It just goes to show that you're not always the best judge of your own work. And the solo you can hear is that first and only take. I think it’s a truly great tune, musically and lyrically."
 - JP

"Well, we definitely needed an epic song on this album — and Christmas Flowers is that song. I must say that if there’s a guardian of the prog spirit in the band, it’s probably me. For me, Lunear has always been the place where I can explore territories I don’t usually explore with my other band.
So, to come back to Christmas Flowers: it all started with a piano playing completely off-beat. Once again, the spirit of it reminds me — in all humility — of the late Rick Davies. He had that incredible ability to create rhythm and drive with just a few piano notes. So I began improvising around those piano figures, and JP started playing the guitar melody you hear at the very beginning of the song.
The chorus takes the track into pure Lunear territory, and quite naturally, after that first chorus, I began improvising some piano lines that ended up becoming the post-chorus section. What you hear there is exactly that original improvisation — we kept it as it was and simply added the orchestral layers on top of it.
Then suddenly comes this section with those wonderful guitar arpeggios that JP improvised — such a beautiful moment. From there, the ending just flows naturally. The goal was to build intensity step by step, bringing the piano theme back while adding layer upon layer of sounds until it finally explodes into JP’s magnificent guitar solo.
Once the song was written at Seb’s place, I composed an orchestral introduction to give it more scope and grandeur — something majestic, cinematic even. I hope listeners will feel that the orchestra truly captures the melancholy of walking (during the Christmas season) through this village that has lost its souls — a place bursting with life at Christmas, only to fall silent and empty for the rest of the year.
I’m extremely proud of what we achieved with this song. And even though I’m the one singing it, I want to point out that most of the vocal melodies were created by Seb — he has a real gift for that. Christmas Flowers is, to me, one of the most moving and ambitious pieces we’ve ever done as Lunear. "
 - Paul

Next Time

"This is a song about celebrating friendship and spending time together: this is what this band is about. And I f we don’t have enough time to record or write a song, there is always next time. And if you don’t like this record, there is always next time and hopefully, you’ll like the next one more…
It’s sad to say goodbye when it’s time to leave, but it shouldn’t. You don’t say goodbye to someone you have spent time with. It’s a simple and moving song. We were in the living room. Paul and JP grabbed guitars and started playing, and I started to sing. That was it. The song wrote itself. On the demo, Paul played a tambourine, and it was perfect, so I didn’t re-record it just for the sake of playing it myself. I see no point in doing that. If it’s good, it’s good. It doesn’t matter who is playing. "
 - Seb

"I remember Paul and I were each sitting in a corner of the living room, guitar in hand. Paul had two chords, the first two of the song, and we started with that. And it flowed like magic. In less than an hour we had the whole structure, the melody, the bridge... We knew right away that it would be the closing song on the record. I really like the chord progression, and I'm quite happy to have been able to fit an Em6 chord in the middle. It adds a strange little touch, a unique color."
 - JP

"When the magic happens… I start playing a few chords on the guitar, JP follows, Seb begins to sing… When you describe it afterwards, it sounds simple — but when it happens in real time, it’s incredible. I remember hearing JP’s partner suddenly say, while we were playing, “Do you realize this could be a hit?” Well, it’ll never be a hit (laughs), but I really love this song — its deceptive simplicity, and that middle bridge section, which is our little tribute to The Beatles and The Beach Boys, the original masters of harmony.
At first, there weren’t supposed to be any synths on the track, but I just couldn’t resist adding a small melodic line — it gave the song that extra sparkle. And funnily enough, I’m actually the one playing the bass line — on an acoustic guitar! It gave the song a raw and unique texture and warmth that I really liked. It’s definitely the perfect song to close the album on a positive, uplifting note.
Making a record like this is a journey that goes through many phases — not all of them happy ones. The days we spend together writing are the best part: the pure joy of being the three of us in a room, instruments in hand, creating something out of nothing. But then comes the hard work — the arrangements, the compromises, the occasional frustrations when one of us suggests something the others don’t quite like.
When the album is finally finished, though, all of that fades away. What remains is the most important thing — the memory of having created something unique, something that truly means something to us."
 - Paul