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.
