Horatio Luna
ACTION REACTION
Album · Fusion · 2026 · La Sape Records
While Melbourne multihyphenate Horatio Luna has made a point of merging his twin influences of jazz and house music, ACTION REACTION injects a strong shot of funk into the mix. Recorded across several years, the album is smooth and dynamic, with Hugo Turudija’s tenor sax only brightening the already upbeat mood. In addition to his role as bassist, composer, and bandleader, Luna dabbles in bulbul tarang (a banjo-like instrument from India) and contributes keyboards and synths alongside several other keys players. The results range from warm cosmic grooves (“MALAKIES”) to jammy ambience (“THE WIN”), with plenty of semi-improvisational voyaging in between.
Besides tipping his hat to Detroit house icon Moodymann (not for the first time) on “RECTIFY,” Luna revisits some of his earlier releases. His new take on “SWEET PAPRIKA” dials down some of the original’s house propulsion and other electronic elements, foregrounding the horn parts.
Similarly, this version of “HIP CONNECTIONS” swaps out the original’s harder-hitting dance cues for a jazzy lightness, and Luna slows “HABIBI” down enough to luxuriate in the open space between instruments before gradually increasing the pace again. Like his fondness for melding genres, such revisions only underscore his fascination with music’s innate malleability.
ACTION REACTION
Horatio Luna
While Melbourne multihyphenate Horatio Luna has made a point of merging his twin influences of jazz and house music, ACTION REACTION injects a strong shot of funk into the mix. Recorded across several years, the album is smooth and dynamic, with Hugo Turudija’s tenor sax only brightening the already upbeat mood. In addition to his role as bassist, composer, and bandleader, Luna dabbles in bulbul tarang (a banjo-like instrument from India) and contributes keyboards and synths alongside several other keys players. The results range from warm cosmic grooves (“MALAKIES”) to jammy ambience (“THE WIN”), with plenty of semi-improvisational voyaging in between.
Besides tipping his hat to Detroit house icon Moodymann (not for the first time) on “RECTIFY,” Luna revisits some of his earlier releases. His new take on “SWEET PAPRIKA” dials down some of the original’s house propulsion and other electronic elements, foregrounding the horn parts.
Similarly, this version of “HIP CONNECTIONS” swaps out the original’s harder-hitting dance cues for a jazzy lightness, and Luna slows “HABIBI” down enough to luxuriate in the open space between instruments before gradually increasing the pace again. Like his fondness for melding genres, such revisions only underscore his fascination with music’s innate malleability.
