‘I suppose she felt there were other values in life,’ he says after drinking and wiping his chin with the back of his hand. ‘Or maybe she just got sick of it. A life in the spotlight is demanding and not a lot of people have it in them to keep going, year after year. And she and Jarred were both involved in various charity projects, as well, which took up more and more of their time. They’ve travelled pretty extensively in both Africa and Asia, I think.’

‘Kore said they have several adopted children.’

‘Yes, the press wrote quite a lot about how they couldn’t have kids of their own and that that was the real reason she and Jarred travelled the world, “buying” kids from poor countries. Pretty damn mean-spirited stuff. It was definitely a factor in her decision to eventually retire altogether.’

‘And what made her suddenly want to come back home to Doggerland and start recording again?’

‘I can only relay what she told me when she called me up at the end of last year. She was still sick of the industry, she said, but wanted to get back to the music. She’d written a number of songs but didn’t want to use her old producers and wondered if we might be interested.’

‘And you were, of course.’

‘I didn’t fall over myself or anything. But I flew over and sat down with her in New York, listened to the songs, and was convinced. Her old fans won’t recognise her, but it’s good stuff. Both her own songs and the ones Kore and Leo contributed. Back to basics, stripped down, but with a unique sound. That’s all I can say.’

‘And you’re going to release one of the songs this summer and the rest of the album in the autumn, from what I’m told? Not that I know how it works these days. Spotify, I assume?’

‘Sure, but there’ll likely be a vinyl version, too, if everything works out. That being said, record sales don’t make anyone rich anymore, we’re hoping to recoup our investment from the tour this autumn. The whole project is a big fucking gamble and Luna and KGB are fifty-fifty partners.’

‘And why exactly is it all so hush-hush? I thought artists relied on free media, especially the ones trying to get back into the spotlight.’

‘Timing, that’s all. For Luna, being undisturbed while we recorded was a non-negotiable requirement, but as soon as we’re done with the mixing and mastering, we’re going public. So this is the last thing we need right now.’

Or maybe not, Karen muses. Maybe Luna has decided to fire up the media a bit sooner than planned by going into hiding. A mysterious disappearance would probably get her exactly the kind of media attention she needs to drum up interest in her comeback.