INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY FAITH LUEVANOS ☆
WHEN THE NOISE OF THE WORLD BEGINS TO FEEL LIKE TOO MUCH, MUANH OFFERS A MOMENT OF VIBRANT SOFTNESS IN HER DEBUT EP, HUSH—Growing up, MUANH was often encouraged to speak louder, sing louder, and take up more space. Her gentle delivery and naturally lower tones were sometimes perceived as a sign of weakness, but for MUANH, they were her greatest strengths. They were ways to speak her truth, ways to say what was on her mind without feeling the necessity to scream it from the rooftops. With hush, MUANH embraces the beauty of having a quiet confidence, proving that some of the most impactful words come from the most gentle of places.
“I associate hush with a moment of pausing and really paying attention. With quieter voices and personalities, you sometimes have to listen a little more closely to appreciate what’s there, and that feels connected to the EP,” shared MUANH.
hush combines deep guitar tones with an essence of tranquility, a staple that MUANH has mastered over the years. The project opens with “already know,” a deeply introspective introduction that captures the complicated feeling of yearning for someone who seems just a heartbeat away, yet remains just out of reach. Like much of the project, the track finds beauty in the in-between moments, emphasizing the distance between what one feels and what can be put into words.
The Luna Collective sat down with MUANH after her EP release show in Hamburg to discuss the roots of the EP, the care that goes into releasing a body of work, lessons learned during the recording process, and more. Read the full interview below.
LUNA: Thanks for sitting down to chat with Luna! For our readers who may not be familiar with your music, how would you describe your sound?
MUANH: I think of it as soft pop with a dreamy quality and a soulful, sensual side. R&B has shaped a lot of my vocal phrasing. I listened to Destiny’s Child as a child, then Kelela and FKA twigs in my teens.
I was also obsessed with film and TV soundtracks. The O.C. definitely shaped my taste in sound design, and that visual side is important to me. I’m drawn to warm textures and subtle electronic elements, and I want you to be able to picture something when you listen, something that goes with the feeling of the song.
LUNA: Your single “already know” has been on repeat for me since its original release. How has that single introduced the world of this EP?
MUANH: That makes me really happy, thanks! “already know” brings together so much of what I love in a song, from the melody to the soundscape around it. It feels intimate and vast at the same time. There’s a sense of possibility running through both the sound and the story, with that little bit of naivety you have at the beginning of a journey, when everything is still open. That made it feel like a natural introduction to the EP.
LUNA: Your music has such an ethereal quality to it. How does softness amplify your ideas and visions for your music?
MUANH: Softness is where I naturally land, both in the way I sing and the music I’m drawn to. Trying to force something else takes a lot of energy. I’ve often been asked to sing louder or be less soft, so making this EP was partly about trusting that side of myself and allowing it to be a strength.
I also love how softness makes room for sensuality and vulnerability while offering a sense of comfort. There’s something about that feeling I keep coming back to. I want the music to wrap around you like a blanket, so you feel held when you listen.
LUNA: Can you walk us through the title of the EP and what it represents for you?
MUANH: I associate hush with a moment of pausing and really paying attention. With quieter voices and personalities, you sometimes have to listen a little more closely to appreciate what’s there, and that feels connected to the EP.
There’s also the sense of an exhale, of letting out things you’ve held inside for a long time. A lot of these songs came out quite naturally, in that kind of flow. The title seemed to hold both those things: the pause to listen and the release of finally letting something out.
LUNA: You just performed an EP release show in Hamburg. What did it feel like to perform these songs live?
MUANH: It was one of the best evenings of my life. At one point I realized people were completely locked in, and I could feel the love I’d put into the music coming back to me. They were really there with me in the moment.
The feedback afterwards meant a lot too. People told me the songs had made them feel better or helped them through a difficult time. Making music comes from such a personal place, so knowing it had become something other people needed was really moving. It helped me see what they were taking away from something I’d spent so long making.
LUNA: Focusing on the closing track, “don’t compromise,” can you walk us through the story behind the track? How does it fit as the closer for the EP?
MUANH: “don’t compromise” is a mantra to myself, especially as someone who’s a people pleaser. I take my responsibilities seriously, but there’s a childlike, playful part of me that I need to keep alive to make art. It’s a side I often put aside in my work as a teacher and in adult life, and the song is partly about protecting it.
When I wrote it, I wasn’t thinking so much about a particular story. It came more as a stream of consciousness, saying the last things that hadn’t been said in the other songs. That felt right for the closer: a reminder that you don’t always have to compromise on what you truly want. I wanted the ending to release some of that built-up energy, so you leave feeling a little freer.
LUNA: What are some lessons you’ve learned while making this EP?
MUANH: I learned to trust my instincts more. The songs started to feel connected without me having to map out every thread between them. You write about whatever is taking up space in your mind, and at some point you look back and realise a story has formed because it mirrors the life you’ve been living.
That trust also helped me with the less glamorous side of making the EP. Teaching played a big part in that. I love working with the students, but organising things and carrying them through to the end doesn’t always come naturally to me. Having to practice those skills at work helped me finish the EP, while the limited time I had for music gave the whole process a kind of urgency.
I also became more aware of how much support a project like this actually needs. I write and produce quite independently, but finishing the music and building a live show is never a completely solitary process. There are also the people outside music who give you a sense of home and steadiness. For me, my partner is a huge part of that.
That realization came with some practical lessons too. Next time, I’d keep a closer eye on the budget. I did get into some debt, and paying everyone fairly is important to me. I also found that I could do more myself than I’d assumed, while discovering how rewarding it is to work with producers who understand the world I’m trying to create and can add something of their own to it. I’d like to do more of that.
Looking ahead, I feel ready to move in a new creative direction. Softness was a major theme of the EP, and I still love those sounds and textures; they’ll always be part of me. But after exploring them so deeply, I feel ready to be a little braver and follow the music somewhere less familiar.
LUNA: Any final messages for your fans and our readers?
MUANH: Thank you to everyone who’s listened, shared a song, come to a show or supported me through making this EP. Seeing people connect with the songs means so so much. If you’re discovering them for the first time, I hope you find a little piece of yourself in them, and that they can keep you company with whatever’s happening in your life. There’s more to come! I‘m not done yet!
