Scottish expat artist announces fourth studio album with latest single
Seoul-based independent recording artist David Skimming, AKA Lunar Isles / Courtesy of Ko Kyung-jin
Seoul-based Lunar Isles punctuates guitar-centric dreamy surf sound with prolific, high-quality output
By Daniel J. Springer
Over a long run of time, people do indeed change, often quite dramatically. Some take up new hobbies, others change their appearance — most are doing totally different things than they were a decade prior.
For Seoul-based independent recording artist David Skimming, who nowadays works under the moniker Lunar Isles, this would definitely be the scenario versus what he was doing back in Scotland 10 years ago. He was indeed making indie music even then with another band, but he was still near home in Glasgow and this first band was taking cues from the likes of Talking Heads, Foals and Radiohead for their sound.
Fast-forward a decade, and Skimming is now making some of the best guitar-centric dreamscapes out there from his adopted home base in Korea, taking cues from the likes of Khruangbin and Mac DeMarco with his new sound. But traces of the past can still be sensed, as whiffs of David Byrne and Thom Yorke can still be caught here and there.
Feb. 22 saw the release of Skimming’s latest solo single, titled “Dissolve,” a perfect example of "his surf-tinged bedroom pop" style. With it came the announcement a new album, titled "Parasol," which will drop later this year in June. This latest long player will be the fourth that Lunar Isles has dropped since his 2021 debut LP, "Tides."
The announced album cover for "Parasol" / Courtesy of Phil Bennings and David Skimming
The new single, Skimming told The Korea Times, "centers around the theme of devotion and how you lose and find a bit of yourself when you devote yourself to someone or something.”
While Parasol is only tentatively planned for release in June, it is perfectly titled for the summer months on the horizon, which we’re all dreaming of this dreary yet hopeful time of year.
“The plan is to release a single each month until (Parasol comes out)," he said. "It’s very much a summer album, with the idea of it being something you listen to while you’re chilling outside with a beer in the sun or on a drive along the coast.”
While four albums in a shade under three years’ time is impressive on its own, that doesn’t explicitly count the numerous EPs that have also dropped within this rather frantic yet somehow controlled window of creation. One of these shorter albums is "Atlas," out in full right after the calendar flipped to 2024.
David Skimming, AKA Lunar Isles / Courtesy of Ko Kyung-jin
This type of prolific, voluminous and high-quality output was not always so. In fact, Skimming spent many of his first years here in the Land of Morning Calm not doing anything musically.
What was the reason for such an extended sabbatical after arrival?
“I think a big part of it was just needing the time to adapt to a new culture, new job and making new friends. There was also a sense of temporariness at first, not really knowing if I would stay for another year, which makes it hard to commit to starting or joining bands,” Skimming explained.
Once he got the ball rolling with “Tides,” the title track to his debut LP, as Lunar Isles, he said, “It was actually a lot smoother than I was expecting it to be but there were definitely some points of frustration. Programming drum sounds was the hardest part for me personally to get the hang of, so I had to spend a bit of time working on that along with the mastering/mixing side of things once I decided to approach things a bit more seriously.”
One would be hard-pressed to find even a slight trace of frustration or amateurism on these releases, though. The dynamic sound quality and professional nature of each Lunar Isles release proves itself with some of the amazing tastemaker support Skimming has received as momentum has built these past few years. Most notable amongst the playlist makers and indie mavens is the highly influential YouTube channel of David Dean Burkhart, who regularly features Skimming’s new singles.
David Skimming, AKA Lunar Isles / Courtesy of Ko Kyung-jin
“It's fair to say I've been completely blown away by the support since I started releasing music. I honestly thought I would just be making the music for myself and if anyone else liked it would be a bonus,” Skimming explained. “I knew my mates and my mum would listen to it but didn't really have any sort of expectation in terms of streams or anything.”
“Although the numbers side of it was never really a big inspiration, to be featured on some of the channels and playlists alongside bands and musicians that I've been listening to for years like Beach House and Alvvays has been really cool and I'm always grateful.”
This is the big picture, and always important. However, what inspires Skimming’s songwriting and creation process are often the little things in life.
Shared moments. A gift bought on the street. Sunshine glistening just so.
For example, one of the best singles from Lunar Isles thus far has been “Balloons,” released on last year’s "Right Way Round" LP but initially as a standalone single. The song itself was inspired by a dinosaur-shaped balloon Skimming gifted his girlfriend on a day out in Hongdae a couple years ago.
The music is all about the little moments, one might say.
In an amazing example of the rather stochastic but exceedingly positive reaction that Skimming’s sound has created in certain corners of this big connected world, the song lit a fire under a group of filmmakers called Guys of Ribbon, located in Nuevo León, Mexico.
The resulting video, the first ever put out for a Lunar Isles single, is a somewhat hazy day in the Mexican capital’s subways and streets, a very intimate and inspiring day for the couple featured enjoying the little moments.
Almost too perfect, isn’t it?
“It was just a random DM on Instagram by someone who liked the song. He told me he’d been working on this video with some friends and I loved it, so we decided to upload it on my YouTube channel,” Skimming said. “I’ve always felt my music was kind of cinematic in a way so it was really cool seeing how people reinterpreted it and created something new from it."
To sum it all up, one only needs to go to Skimming’s Instagram post announcing the video’s release. “It is a real blessing and I’m so grateful,” he said.
"Parasol" is tentatively scheduled for release in June, with more teaser singles scheduled for March, April and May.
For more from Lunar Isles, you can listen at lunarisles.bandcamp.com or follow him on Instagram @lunarisles_ or get a lot more links at linktr.ee/lunarisles.
Daniel Springer is the former host of “The Drop with Danno” on GFN, and current music director and resident DJ at FRIENDS.