Duanna’s debut EP, Lona, isn’t just music – it’s an atmosphere. It’s the kind of project that feels like it was designed to be listened to alone, maybe on a rainy night, when your thoughts are loud and you’re craving something honest. Across five tracks, Duanna creates a hauntingly beautiful space where fragility and strength coexist, blurring dreamy pop with downtempo electronica and a filmic sense of storytelling that’s impossible to ignore.
Rooted in her classical piano background and her work as a film composer, Duanna approaches Lona like a director scoring the most personal film of her life. The EP opens with a quiet intensity, layering delicate keys with hazy synths that create a sense of weightlessness. Singles like “Ruins” and “Haleine” showcase her ability to craft soundscapes that feel both expansive and intimate. “Ruins,” in particular, is a slow burn, its atmospheric textures folding into each other while Duanna’s vocals float just above, capturing the ache of trying to rebuild from emotional wreckage.
But it’s “Random Girl” that fully captures the essence of Lona. The track feels like a diary entry set to music – raw, sparse, and devastating in its honesty. “Is this real life? For me, it feels thin, like my skin in the rain” she sings, her voice barely above a whisper, carrying both exhaustion and acceptance. It’s a moment that perfectly encapsulates the EP’s emotional core: the quiet tension between feeling invisible and wanting to be seen. There’s a cinematic quality to it all – unsurprising given Duanna’s work scoring films for brands like Calvin Klein and organisations like the Time’s Up Foundation. Her experience in film composition allows her to build emotion through layers, using silence and space as much as melody.
What’s most striking about Lona is its refusal to rush. In a world of short attention spans and quick hooks, Duanna leans into patience. Each track unfolds deliberately, allowing emotions to sit and swell before they resolve. It’s this meditative approach that makes the EP so impactful. Duanna isn’t here to create background music – she’s here to make you feel something.
Lona is an introduction to an artist who understands the power of subtlety and the depth of vulnerability. It’s a delicate yet bold debut that lingers long after the final note, leaving listeners not with easy answers, but with the invitation to sit in their own complexities. With this EP, Duanna doesn’t just establish herself as a musician – she cements her place as a storyteller.
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