KBPS Interview: The Moods

After an incredible summer of brilliant gigs all over the UK, The Moods are coming home to launch their highly-anticipated debut album.

On the 8th September, The Moods bring their electrifying live show to Manchester’s landmark O2 Ritz. The gig heralds the forthcoming release of Missing Peace, their thought-provoking and innovative new album.  

P.O.P. (Profit over People), is the new single to come off the album, and is an addictive anthem with a powerful message. At a moment in time when music is a crucial part of the push for social change, this breathtaking track is both resonant and relevant. Missing Peace showcases The Moods’ talent for producing mighty music with substance and grit. The Moods will make you dance, and then they’ll make you think.

We spoke to Paul from the band and began by asking him to describe their new single P.O.P. (Profit Over People).

Musically it’s got little tinges of reggae. It’s quite drum and bass driven, and then it’s got the underlying political message, which is what we have on most of our stuff, it’s something we’ve always done. Lyrically it’s very driven about politics, about things that have gone on around the world, and things you see day to day on the news, things that people aren’t happy with.

It's a rather political song; was that important for you as a band?

Definitely. It’s something we’ve always done as a band. We like to make music that’s upbeat and dancey, but we always like to have an underlying message to give people something to think about as well!

How is The Moods made up as a band?

[We have] quite an unusual set-up. There are ten of us in the band. We play with two live drummers, who play at the same time, then bass, and keyboards, four vocalists – two rappers, two singles – and a trumpet player, and a violinist.

That must be great when live to bring your music to an audience?

Purely with the number of people on stage we have a great time on stage between us! It’s exciting for us on stage and that permeates into the crowd, when people see us having such a good time on stage, and it’s something the people pick up quite quickly on and get involved in, and I think everyone has a good time at our gigs!

You performed a lot of gigs this summer; how did they go?

Brilliantly! We did a tour for the single ‘Joy’ up and down, all over the country, and a few festivals, and we’re just about to set off on another 15-date UK tour for the album.

How would you describe a typical show?

I’d like to think it’s quite exciting to watch on stage. It’s very energetic. With so many people on stage, it’s interesting to look at [as well] as how it sounds. Everywhere you look there’s something different happening and I’d like to think it’s an exciting experience for people!

How did the video come about for the single?

That was made with a company called ‘Craftwork’ who also did our ‘Joy’ video. The idea was, because there’s a lot of rapping in the tune and a lot to take in, we came up with the idea that the lyrics should be prevalent on screen. We got a lot of emotive images tied in with the lyrics on the political side of things but we wanted it very clear about what the rappers are saying so people can absorb what is being said with the lyrics flashing up on screen.

What has the reaction to the video and song been like?

It’s been very good. We managed to get a deal with Vevo who released the video, and that’s been a great platform to push it to a wider audience. It’s gone down well; people have really enjoyed it. Out of all our songs live it’s the one that gets the biggest reaction. It’s going well.

What's your album 'Missing Peace' like?

There’s a bit of everything on there. It reflects the fact there’s so many of us in the band, how we’re all into such different music, different genres, and tied all that in nicely. The political lyrics mix with house music, drum and bass, reggae, so there’s a little bit of something for everybody. We’ve consciously not pigeonholed ourselves into a set style of music, so it can be a little more accessible to people who are into different styles of music. The album’s out now; we struck a deal with HMV so it’s in those, and Rough Trade has stocked it, which is great for us with all the great music that has come out of Rough Trade over the years, such as the Smiths with us coming from Manchester. It’s really good that they got involved!

Your music is also showcased in a 2018 film; could you tell us a little about that?

It’s [Strangeways Here We Come] due out in spring, as far as I know. Michelle Keegan is in it [as is] Eastender’s Nina Wadia, quite a lot of recognisable faces. From what I’ve seen of it it’s kind of got the Shameless vibe [with] very dark humour but gritty.

How did that collaboration come about?

It was through Terry Christian. He’d been approached to suggest songs for the soundtrack and he’d put a couple of ours forward and luckily they loved both of them. One is on the end credits and the other is used for the trailer for the film, so we’ve been quite lucky with that side of things.

Finally what are your ambitions for the next six months?

We started working on our second album before the first one was done and dusted so we like to keep moving, so once the tour is out of the way getting things ready for that. In terms of next year we are looking for another big [live] date in Manchester and then getting into the bigger festivals and in front of the bigger crowds!

Find out more about the band at https://www.facebook.com/themoodsmanc/ or www.twitter.com/themoodsmanc, and get a copy of the album now available online and in all good record stores.