The Spectacular Sounds of Luna Luna

Apple Music
The Spectacular Sounds of Luna Luna

In the summer of 1987, a fairground opened its gates in Hamburg, Germany—but this wasn’t any old amusement park. André Heller, a curator and artist based in Vienna, had reached out to some of the most respected and revolutionary modern artists in the world and asked them if they’d want to be a part of Luna Luna, the world’s first fine art carnival. A carousel splashed in vibrant colors and covered in Keith Haring’s familiar figures, a Ferris wheel tattooed with Jean-Michel Basquiat’s handwriting and drawings, a glass labyrinth featuring the comic-strip stylings of pop-art icon Roy Lichtenstein, a hall of mirrors designed by Salvador Dalí: Luna Luna’s wild rides were priceless pieces that brought fine art to the masses in a completely new way, which made it all the more heartbreaking when the carnival closed after a brief run—and its pieces were packed away for decades. But now, thanks to Drake’s DreamCrew and a select group of art and music executives, the carnival has been brought back to life as Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy. Many of Luna Luna’s original artworks and installations have been beautifully restored, and several feature a musical component, too: Basquiat’s Ferris wheel spins as Miles Davis’ “Tutu” blares, Philip Glass’ original composition wafts over the speakers as visitors attempt to navigate Lichtenstein’s translucent corridors, and the Berlin Philharmonic provides the soundtrack for David Hockney’s Enchanted Tree pavilion. You’ll find “Tutu” and Glass’ work on this playlist, along with three soundscapes by composer Daniel Wohl that were written for, and inspired by, Luna Luna. You’ll also hear tracks from Madonna, Talking Heads, Eric B. & Rakim, Kraftwerk, and other musicians who were either in the orbit of the Luna Luna artists (Madonna ran in the same pack as Haring and Basquiat in New York) or could be imagined playing in their studios while they worked. For Michael Goldberg, chief experience officer and partner of Luna Luna and founder/CEO of Something Special Studios, this playlist is more of a “peripheral” vibe and an ideal soundtrack for those preparing to come to Luna Luna. “You have all these different artists at different levels of their career, at different times of their career, coming from different art movements all around the world—I don't think they were all listening to the same thing,” says Goldberg. “And while the score is perfectly complementary to the fair experience, for the playlist, we wanted to think a little bit more about what was maybe inspiring the artist when they were thinking about their work.”

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