Toronto musician Luna Li wanted to take charge of her life. So she moved to L.A. and got vulnerable on her sophomore album

Luna Li was destined to be a performer. 
With musically inclined parents, who own the Classic Music Conservatory in Roncesvalles, the Toronto artist was classically trained from a young age. She was singing along to “The Sound of Music” at age two and taking piano lessons by five. Li developed a knack for learning instruments, adding the violin, guitar, drums, bass, mini harp and, most recently, flute to her repertoire. 
By her late teens, she was a part of Toronto’s DIY music scene, playing gigs at small local venues: first, as indie rock band Veins before the group morphed into Luna Li, releasing their debut single “Opal Angel” in 2017. Li’s early work rides the wave of psychedelic rock with sparse vocals and strong instrumentals. 
During the pandemic, she started posting jams online: soothing, groovy tunes on which she would play every instrument. The internet responded enthusiastically and these clips formed two EPs: “jams” (2021) and “jams 2” (2022). 
Li’s first record “Duality” (2022) explored her mixed-race identity of being Korean and white, life transitions and friendships. With soft soundscapes and lyrics “shrouded in poetry,” it established a unique mode of cinematic dream-pop.
It received favourable reviews and earned her a Juno Award nomination for alternative album of the year. 
The 27-year-old releases her sophomore album, “When a Thought Grows Wings,” next Friday.
“I’m nervous, but I’m proud of it,” said Li, real name Hannah Bussiere Kim, in an interview. She was on a month-long visit to her hometown from Los Angeles, where she has lived since last summer. 
“I hope people like it as much as I do. I wanted to try and challenge myself to write music that felt more vulnerable and more mature,” she said. 
“I learned so much about making music between the time when I wrote ‘Duality’ and making this record.” 
Li started working on her second LP with Toronto producer Monsune and L.A. producer Andrew Lappin. “It took a bit to find the sound, but it clicked when I met my collaborators; from there, it all got built up,” she said. “Now I’m making music that I would listen to if I wasn’t the artist.” 
At 11 tracks, “When a Thought Grows Wings” takes Li’s music in new directions. With strong vocals, steady drums and luscious strings, there are subtle nods to influences like American soul singer-songwriter Minnie Riperton and pioneering jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby on standouts like “Confusion Song” and “I Would Let You.” 
Li’s latest sonic palette works effortlessly alongside her trademark balance of light melodies and fuzzed-up guitar.
She also confronts deeper emotions on the new album. 
“It was the first time I was writing about love on my record. It felt vulnerable and embarrassing,” Li said, laughing. “But I tend to write about all my strongest feelings (and) it felt very natural.” 
The fervent “Golden Hour” captures genuine feelings of falling in love, artfully blurring the lines between her persona and personal life. 
“The lyrics on this record feel a lot more direct,” Li said. “I felt a little nervous because I’m writing about people in my life.
“It’s kind of funny to be an artist and be vulnerable and write about your feelings, but I’ve started getting used to that and have accepted that I want to serve the art as much as possible.” 
Li cited the album closer, “Bon Voyage,” as a favourite. “That one feels very personal to me. It’s about this journey that I’ve been on struggling with mental health and it feels like one of the most evolved tracks on the album,” she said. “We pulled out all the stops with the instruments and the arrangement at the end.” 
The album’s title is also a hand-picked lyric from that track, which embodies her new life in L.A. 
“It felt like the thing that tied this record together was new beginnings and making big changes,” Li explained. “It was about taking my life into my own hands and making decisions that will serve me. (I turned) my desires and feelings into real action.” 
She added that she “was going back and forth between the two cities for a couple of years, and it was just so much travel and living out of a suitcase. I made some good friends in L.A. and got to a point where I would feel comfortable making the move.” 
The bewitching cover of “When a Thought Grows Wings” references both her relocation and a book that inspired her, “The Overstory” by Richard Powers, a captivating novel about activism and protecting forests.
“There (are) some really long, beautiful, poetic passages about trees that describe how amazing they are,” Li said. “I started using this theme in my lyrics of the oak tree, which was a representation of stability, comfort and everything that represented my life in Toronto.” 
On the album cover, Li holds an axe on a windy day in the middle of a forest, “chopping down the stability and the comfort and starting this new chapter.” 
Still, being back in Toronto brought a wave of nostalgia for Li. 
“The biggest thing I miss about being in Toronto is my family and my friends — all my old friends are here,” she said. “I miss the Toronto music scene, local shows and just spending time with people here. I try to come back a lot and make time to visit.” 
A hometown show at the Danforth Music Hall on Sept. 28 will come in the middle of her five-week North American tour, which kicks off Sept. 10 in San Diego.
It’s a career highlight for Li, who started playing shows almost a decade ago. 
“I’m so excited. We’ve played pretty much every single venue in the city,” she said. “My band has been with me for years. Getting to take my friends on the road and sharing this with them has been really special.”
She feels nervous, but seeing the crowds at headline shows makes everything worthwhile. 
“The shows are really special. I see a lot of young people, especially young Asian girls, which is really nice.” 
It’s moments like these when being a performer doesn’t feel like work. “Even though this is my career and it can feel like a job sometimes, I remember that I’m doing music and it’s fun.”
Luna Li is at the Danforth Music Hall Saturday, Sept. 28, doors at 7 p.m. See thedanforth.com for tickets.