01Profile
A moa moa Photo
moa moa
Musicians — Hertfordshire
03Interview
Photo by Lidia Huerta
Name, where are you from?
moa moa (James, Matt, Connor, Dan), from Hertfordshire. Got a bit of Brum sprinkled in there too from Connor.
Describe your style in three words?
Chonky, whimsical, uncompromising.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
J: Melt Yourself Down at Electrowerkz.
M: Something from Glastonbury. Last year I went down to William’s Green with Dan and our mate George at around 11am on the Friday for black midi. It was an absolutely mind-blowing, beautiful mixture of awe and Glasto bleariness.
C: McCartney at the O2. He played for three hours and did two encores. Ronnie Wood and Ringo hopped on stage, too.
D: Hiatus Kaiyote at Glastonbury when they played in 2015. I had to go on my own, though, because Matt went to George Ezra.
If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
D: The easiest question so far. ABBA and Björn Again (ABBA tribute act). Just so we could be totally humiliated by the prowess of 'Dancing Queen'. Twice.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
J: Vaporwave. The anonymity is wild. It captures the lonely absurdity of the internet and was (IMO) responsible for the re-introduction of warbly synth 7th chords into pop music.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
J: Albert Camus, just to hang out with his cat and ask him if he preferred being a philosopher or the goalkeeper for the Algerian football team.
C: Oscar Peterson. Forgetting that he played with everyone and was a true virtuoso, he also just had a really interesting life. He was my grandad’s favourite, too, so there’s that.
Of all the independent venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
M: In terms of atmosphere alone, The Social is great. It’s always busy with receptive, music-loving crowds and has brilliant people running it. But, Paper Dress Vintage is awesome. We played our first show there.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
D: Freak-folk sage, Richard Dawson. His recent album, '2020', was well-received but he is still criminally underrated. He makes folk filthy, storytelling modern, and risk-taking necessary. Shredding on a toy guitar while singing about medieval maidens and 21st-century civil servants should not sound this good.
C: Jack Ashford. He’s almost solely responsible for the tambourine on most Motown tunes.
02Playlist
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
M: Steps, or something? How far back are we talking? To save some face, the most recent track I’ve been playing on repeat is 'The Motor' by The Wants.
C: 'It Wasn’t Me' by Shaggy.
A song that defines the teenage you?
M: 'Jump In The Pool' by Friendly Fires. I remember seeing them on Jools Holland for the first time and being totally besotted with them almost immediately.
One record you would keep forever?
M: My Dad gave me some of his old records a while back, so something from that, 'For Once In My Life' by Stevie Wonder.
J: 'Songs For The Deaf' by Queens Of The Stone Age - An iconic sixty mins of guitar in which the production is often overlooked. Everything sounds like it was recorded in a vacuum at 200db by a severed human ear with an XLR input. As a producer, I’ll always be chasing that kind of ‘closeness’ and intensity.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
D: Tough choice. Either, “Do what we like and we like what we do. So let’s get a party going (let’s get a party going)". Or, “When it’s time to party we will always party hard, Party hard (party hard, party hard, party hard, party hard, party hard”)
From 'Party Hard' by Andrew W.K.
A song you wished you had written?
M: 'Duel of Fates' by John Williams, or the tune that plays when they’re flying through the asteroids. Basically anything written by John Williams apart from if it features on 'Attack of the Clones'. PTSD etc.
D: 'Renata' by James Holden.
C: 'The Wilhelm Scream' by James Blake.
Best song to turn up loud?
M: 'Chamber' by SCALPING.
J: Right now, 'Choose Me' by James Blake.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
M: 'Bad Blood' by Taylor Swift. Or maybe they would expect me to like that if they knew me. Who knows?
C: 'Chicken Grease' by D’Angelo. It has amazing playing and everything’s so lazy rhythmically. And, before that, I only really cared about guitar music or Now 50, which is probably exactly what you’d expect me to like.
The song that would get you straight on the dance floor?
M: 'Upside Down' by Diana Ross.
C: 'Macarena' by Los Del Rio.
Best song to end an all-nighter?
M: 'Where Angels Fear To Tread' by Disclosure or 'Joanna' by Scott Walker.
J: 'Momo’s' by Connan Mockasin.
Any new bands you are into at the moment?
M: PVA, Do Nothing, Keg.
J: Harvey Causon, Jon Bap.
03Interview
Photo by Lidia Huerta
Name, where are you from?
moa moa (James, Matt, Connor, Dan), from Hertfordshire. Got a bit of Brum sprinkled in there too from Connor.
Describe your style in three words?
Chonky, whimsical, uncompromising.
What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
J: Melt Yourself Down at Electrowerkz.
M: Something from Glastonbury. Last year I went down to William’s Green with Dan and our mate George at around 11am on the Friday for black midi. It was an absolutely mind-blowing, beautiful mixture of awe and Glasto bleariness.
C: McCartney at the O2. He played for three hours and did two encores. Ronnie Wood and Ringo hopped on stage, too.
D: Hiatus Kaiyote at Glastonbury when they played in 2015. I had to go on my own, though, because Matt went to George Ezra.
If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?
D: The easiest question so far. ABBA and Björn Again (ABBA tribute act). Just so we could be totally humiliated by the prowess of 'Dancing Queen'. Twice.
Which subcultures have influenced you?
J: Vaporwave. The anonymity is wild. It captures the lonely absurdity of the internet and was (IMO) responsible for the re-introduction of warbly synth 7th chords into pop music.
If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
J: Albert Camus, just to hang out with his cat and ask him if he preferred being a philosopher or the goalkeeper for the Algerian football team.
C: Oscar Peterson. Forgetting that he played with everyone and was a true virtuoso, he also just had a really interesting life. He was my grandad’s favourite, too, so there’s that.
Of all the independent venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
M: In terms of atmosphere alone, The Social is great. It’s always busy with receptive, music-loving crowds and has brilliant people running it. But, Paper Dress Vintage is awesome. We played our first show there.
Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
D: Freak-folk sage, Richard Dawson. His recent album, '2020', was well-received but he is still criminally underrated. He makes folk filthy, storytelling modern, and risk-taking necessary. Shredding on a toy guitar while singing about medieval maidens and 21st-century civil servants should not sound this good.
C: Jack Ashford. He’s almost solely responsible for the tambourine on most Motown tunes.
04Playlist Notes
The first track you played on repeat?
M: Steps, or something? How far back are we talking? To save some face, the most recent track I’ve been playing on repeat is 'The Motor' by The Wants.
C: 'It Wasn’t Me' by Shaggy.
A song that defines the teenage you?
M: 'Jump In The Pool' by Friendly Fires. I remember seeing them on Jools Holland for the first time and being totally besotted with them almost immediately.
One record you would keep forever?
M: My Dad gave me some of his old records a while back, so something from that, 'For Once In My Life' by Stevie Wonder.
J: 'Songs For The Deaf' by Queens Of The Stone Age - An iconic sixty mins of guitar in which the production is often overlooked. Everything sounds like it was recorded in a vacuum at 200db by a severed human ear with an XLR input. As a producer, I’ll always be chasing that kind of ‘closeness’ and intensity.
A song lyric that has inspired you?
D: Tough choice. Either, “Do what we like and we like what we do. So let’s get a party going (let’s get a party going)". Or, “When it’s time to party we will always party hard, Party hard (party hard, party hard, party hard, party hard, party hard”)
From 'Party Hard' by Andrew W.K.
A song you wished you had written?
M: 'Duel of Fates' by John Williams, or the tune that plays when they’re flying through the asteroids. Basically anything written by John Williams apart from if it features on 'Attack of the Clones'. PTSD etc.
D: 'Renata' by James Holden.
C: 'The Wilhelm Scream' by James Blake.
Best song to turn up loud?
M: 'Chamber' by SCALPING.
J: Right now, 'Choose Me' by James Blake.
A song people wouldn’t expect you to like?
M: 'Bad Blood' by Taylor Swift. Or maybe they would expect me to like that if they knew me. Who knows?
C: 'Chicken Grease' by D’Angelo. It has amazing playing and everything’s so lazy rhythmically. And, before that, I only really cared about guitar music or Now 50, which is probably exactly what you’d expect me to like.
The song that would get you straight on the dance floor?
M: 'Upside Down' by Diana Ross.
C: 'Macarena' by Los Del Rio.
Best song to end an all-nighter?
M: 'Where Angels Fear To Tread' by Disclosure or 'Joanna' by Scott Walker.
J: 'Momo’s' by Connan Mockasin.
Any new bands you are into at the moment?
M: PVA, Do Nothing, Keg.
J: Harvey Causon, Jon Bap.