Kansas City band The Moose bring all that's good from 1960s and 70s era psychedelic pop into the present. Building on a foundation of early Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Zombies and Electric Light Orchestra, The Moose have just released their first album, The First Real Encounter, which they describe as the band's "be-all-end-all" -- a way to challenge themselves musically and move beyond a self-described tendency toward "perfectionism" with their sound. We are excited to share a new interview with the band about among other things their creative process and musical influences.
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Introduce the band and describe your music for new listeners.
Alex plays bass and sings, Emma plays drums and sings, Jake plays keyboard, guitar, and sings, and Tyler plays guitar and sings. Our music falls under the umbrella of alternative, more specific, dream pop or psychedelic synth pop.
You recently released a self-titled EP and are about to release a new album. What can fans expect from the new music?
The album is the end all be all right now for the band. We really found ourselves in the process of writing these songs, as musicians and a band as a whole. This time around, we hope the album has a more linear feel instead of jumping around like the EP. We started writing with a general album theme in mind, and I think that helped us connect with the album more.
Talk about your creative process. How often are you writing new music? How much of the songwriting is shaped by collaboration?
Our writing process is all over the map. Sometimes a band member has an idea for a riff and brings it to the band, sometimes one of us will write a whole song ourselves, sometimes we get together and all work off of an idea. Each and every song is different in how we approach it.
What creative challenges are you facing as you finish up the new album? How do address them?
Probably perfectionism with our sound. We are working really hard to write music with a consistent style that truly speaks to people. The album is very much a collection of thoughts that are all related and center around a similar idea, but it’s not a story so there’s no clear order to it. There have been a few songs that we decided to either work on after the album, or just trash completely. Barring the challenges with songwriting, our next biggest challenge is finding enough time in which all four of us are free to write, record, and play.
What inspires you about original music in Kansas City?
We love the fact that there are people out there who see the same vision as us. Almost everyone you meet is someone who will help you get a leg up as you help them. Everyone who plays here is so excited about music and about each other.
The Moose's Book, Movie, and Music Recommendations from the Johnson County Library Catalog:
Books:
The Boy Detective Fails by Joe Meno
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
A Very Irregular Head: The Life of Syd Barrett by Rob Chapman
Music:
Odyssey and Oracle by The Zombies
A Night at The Opera by Queen
The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground
Go To School by The Lemon Twigs
The Madcap Laughs by Syd Barrett
The Soft Parade by The Doors
Movies: