Lunarin is a band from Singapore who enjoy playing music in the alternative… Read Full Bio ↴Lunarin is a band from Singapore who enjoy playing music in the alternative rock vein, and are often described as "heavy yet lyrical". Their style of music has earned them much recognition in Singapore's local music scene.

The members of Lunarin were all classmates in Secondary School. Their common love for music, disenchantment with the world and morbid sense of humour gave rise to a tripartite friendship that would in time last for more than 12 years. Kurt Cobain died the year they turned 16. That same year, they decided it would be fun to form a band. So they did. They roped in a fourth member, Shawn Grosse, when they were in Junior College and called themselves Fuzzbox. Eventually, however, the original trio found themselves questioning their roles in Fuzzbox - they were bored with the manner that Fuzzbox were progressing and missed the initial joys of creating songs and playing music. They therefore began writing songs in secret. Eventually however, the burden of the songs became too much to bear. They therefore disbanded Fuzzbox and created Lunarin.

Lunarin consists of Ho Kah Wye (Guitars), Loo Eng Teck (Drums) and Linda Joelle Ong (Bass, Vocals). All 3 members of Lunarin were schoolmates in Dunman High School, Victoria Junior College and the National University of Singapore. Kah Wye holds a Masters degree in Chemical Engineering and is currently a chemical engineer. Both Eng Teck and Linda pursued law and are both litigation lawyers in litigation-based law firms in Singapore.

Although all 3 members are professionally qualified and trained in their respective jobs, the same cannot be said for their roles as musicians - in truth, none of them (other than Eng Teck who was trained in piano) received any form of formal music training. This perhaps could be the reason why they create and play their current brand of music in the manner that they do - there are no fixed structures or forms in the songs they write. More often than not, the time signatures and song tempos change at various junctures in their music. The band enjoys the concept of blending melodic vocal harmonies with a heavy guitar riff. They also think it is fun to change key halfway through a song. In short, they enjoy challenging themselves in the material that they write and believe in always pushing the envelope.

Observers have described their style of music as heavy rock, art rock, prog metal and alternative metal. The band itself however prefers the more generic tag of alternative rock for the simple reason that their influences extend beyond specific genres. The trio enjoys the heavy sounds of artistes such as Tool, A Perfect Circle, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden. At the same time, they are also supporters of the lyrics and melodies of singer-songwriters such as Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith and Iron & Wine.

What is important to understand about Lunarin is the fact that they are firm believers in the existence of the muse. As far as they are concerned, the songs are entities in their own rights. It is the band's philosophy that through the help of the muse, they are able to become conduits for the sonic shapes that come into being. The band is the channel and never the source. How else can they explain the fact that every song is created only when all three members are present together? There is no single leading songwriter in the band. No one dictates how a sonic idea should end up - more often than not the songs write themselves.

Viewed in that context, it is not difficult to see why the band embarked on an arduous two-year journey to have their songs recorded for their debut album. With the help of veteran underground sound engineer KK Wong (more affectionately known in the scene as Ah Boy), the trio painstakingly sought to transpose the sonic shapes into songs, captured in a manner consistent with their own vision of how the songs should be. Sparing no expense, they traveled to Los Angeles in order for the album to be mastered by acclaimed mastering engineer Eddy Schreyer. The end product is a concept album styled in the form of a collection of short stories. The Chrysalis is that collection.

The Chrysalis is fully produced by Lunarin. It took the band two years and approximately $12,000 to turn the idea of the album into a reality. The band gingerly approached Universal Music with a business plan in September/October 2005 for a distribution agreement for the album. Universal Music was open to the proposal and has since agreed to distribute the album within Singapore.

The Tower
Lunarin Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I lost my voice
Trapped in these four walls
Giving in to what we've become
I found my strength
Locked in a trinity
And all these deeds
Can't be undone
You said ‘I never forget you'

You lied ‘I never return'
In truth
Things were not meant to be broken

The hole it drinks right from my soul
The whole it grows just ebb and let it flow
We've seen this all too well
It echoes in time
Too late to show you the door out in kindness so…

It's complicated we hid you from the truth
It's complicated all words fail so what's the truth ?
It's complicated the faultline runs with you
It's complicated so we hid you from the truth

Seven years can't be that long
Look in the mirror now
Search for the truth
‘Forgive me , Forgive me'

You'll think we'll owe you these words
Maybe we will
Maybe we will
But maybe we'll forget

Piece by piece
We built it up and we can tear it down
As the waters break and bleed
The whole can be found

Even as we flow you're not the only sound
Now all we want is to bring the tower down

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Lunarin's song, The Tower, speak to the complexities of human relationships and the pain and regret that can come with lost connections. The singer laments the loss of their voice, feeling trapped within four metaphorical walls, and giving in to what they have become. Despite finding strength in a trinity, they cannot undo the deeds that have led to their current situation. The singer then reflects on a past relationship where promises were made and not kept, admitting that things were not meant to be broken.

The chorus refers to the hole that drinks right from the singer's soul, growing larger as they ebb and let it flow. They have seen this pattern before, echoing through time, and feel it is too late to show the person out the door with kindness. The singer acknowledges the complicated nature of their situation, admitting they have hidden the truth from the other person. They plead for forgiveness and reflect on how time passes quickly as they stare into the mirror, searching for the truth.

The final stanza speaks to the potential for change and the desire to bring down the tower they have built. The water is symbolic of cleansing and renewal, and they are not the only ones making noise as they try to tear down what they have built. Overall, the lyrics to The Tower are introspective and emotional, speaking to the complexities of relationships and the pain that can come with lost connections.

Line by Line Meaning

I lost my voice
I am unable to speak my mind and express my true feelings

Trapped in these four walls
Confined in a space where I am unable to escape and free myself

Giving in to what we've become
Accepting the current state of affairs and giving up trying to change it

I found my strength
I discovered my inner power to resist and fight back

Locked in a trinity
Stuck in a complex and oppressive situation involving three parties

And all these deeds can't be undone
The actions and consequences of the past cannot be erased or reversed

You said ‘I never forget you'
You promised to always remember me and keep me in your thoughts

You lied ‘I never return'
You broke your promise to come back and be with me again

In truth things were not meant to be broken
The reality is that some things are meant to last and cannot be destroyed or separated

The hole it drinks right from my soul
The emptiness and sorrow inside me consumes me completely and drains my energy

The whole it grows just ebb and let it flow
The entirety of the problem is expanding and getting worse, so I have to let it take its course

We've seen this all too well
We are familiar with this situation because we have experienced it before

It echoes in time
The effects and memories of the past continue to reverberate and influence the present

Too late to show you the door out in kindness so…
It is too late to offer you a way out of this mess without causing further harm or pain

It's complicated we hid you from the truth
The situation is complex and we have kept the truth from you to protect you or ourselves

It's complicated all words fail so what's the truth ?
It is difficult to express or find the truth because words are not enough to capture the complexity of the situation

It's complicated the faultline runs with you
The root of the problem lies with you and your actions or choices

It's complicated so we hid you from the truth
The situation is so difficult that we had to keep you in the dark to avoid making things worse

Seven years can't be that long
Time has passed, but it doesn't feel like it has been that much

Look in the mirror now
Reflect on yourself and your actions to see the truth

Search for the truth
Look for the underlying reality, not just the surface appearance

‘Forgive me , Forgive me'
I ask for your forgiveness and understanding

You'll think we'll owe you these words
You might believe that we owe you an explanation or apology

Maybe we will
It's possible that we do owe you something

But maybe we'll forget
It's also possible that we won't follow through with our words and forget about it in the end

Piece by piece
Gradually and systematically

We built it up and we can tear it down
We created the tower and we have the power to destroy it

As the waters break and bleed
As the emotions and pain overflow and spill out