No matter the distance, music brings us closer together.
Over 1,000 miles separates the United Kingdom from Croatia. Lunars may have been born online, but UK-based vocalist, guitarist, and bassist Connor Ball [The Vamps] and Croatian drummer Sasa Macek [Cheat Codes] brought the music to life the good old-fashioned way—face-to-face. Together, they infuse pop punk with fresh energy and undeniable attitude, igniting a one-two punch of chant-able choruses and airtight instrumentation. Now, their 2021 independent debut EP only amplifies the power of this chemistry.
“This project is special to me,” Sasa exclaims. “It isn’t like anything I’ve ever done before. It’s personal, because I can find myself in the songs. The energy Connor and I share is on another level as musicians and humans. We connect in so many ways.”
“We have the same love for music,” agrees Connor. “From playing in different bands, we know the ins and outs of the industry and touring. This is exciting, because it’s something different for the both of us.”
Up until this point, Connor co-founded award-winning platinum pop phenomenon Vamps, toppled charts, and toured worldwide. Meanwhile, Sasa grew up in a family of eleven drummers and holds down the drums for multi-platinum hitmakers Cheat Codes. During the Global Lockdown, Sasa stumbled upon Connor’s pop punk covers on YouTube. He shot Connor a direct message and opened up a conversation via phone, Facetime, and Zoom. “At first, I didn’t think he’d respond because he has so many followers,” laughs Sasa. Together, they cooked up a cover of Machine Gun Kelly’s “forget me too” [feat. Halsey] and kickstarted an unbreakable creative partnership that only exploded once Connor made the trek to Croatia in the summer of 2021…
“We didn’t even meet in person until I got there,” he says. “We agreed on everything though. I’ve been in The Vamps for ten years, and I absolutely love it. However, this sort of edgy punk project is something I’ve always wanted to do.”
They found the perfect partner to record in producer Matt Malpass [blink-182, Machine Gun Kelly], and signing a deal with M3 Recordings in 2021. Since then, the band has released an EP that accumulated great accolades including a #1 song on iTunes Rock Chart in the UK, a few million streams and a successful inaugural headlining tour in the UK in the spring of 2022. They’ve recently released new music from their forthcoming LP, with singles “Hey! Wait!”, co-written with Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 and the sophomore single “Ghost Town”.
The band plans to release their LP in 2024 on M3 Recordings and tour extensively in the fall/winter of 2023.