MØAA | Interview | Dream-drenched debut album ‘Euphoric Recall’
Exploring dark memories embedded in nostalgia, MØAA’s dream-drenched debut album ‘Euphoric Recall’ pulls listeners through a brooding atmosphere with a thick driving rhythm to help reach the dimly lit corners of the past.
MØAA was first conceived by Jancy Rae when she began writing and recording demos while living in the forest near Seattle, WA. Serving as an outlet to process a troubled past, MØAA was named after the MAO-A gene, also known as “The Warrior Gene,” for its connection to increased aggression and perseverance. More than halfway through writing the album, she moved across the world to Venice, Italy where in isolation and in collaboration with Andrea Volpato (New Candys), completed the writing and recordings at Fox Studio Venice. ‘Euphoric Recall’ was released on April 2nd 2021 via WWNBB (We Were Never Being Boring) / Rough Trade Distribution.
“MØAA sort of organically formed”
What kind of project did you have in mind when starting with MØAA?
Jancy Rae: In the beginning I was writing music mostly by myself, for myself…MØAA sort of organically formed. Slowly I began sharing the demos I recorded with close friends who then encouraged me to finalize the songs, so it was over time that the project became more clear to me.
Do you find yourself to be a perfectionist, in control, or do your ideas lead you, taking on a life of their own?
When I write songs I let the ideas lead the way, and they usually arise spontaneously or when I’m in an experimental mindset. I really like having a childlike curiosity when writing, it brings something unique and genuine. With visuals it’s the opposite, I am more analytical and can often become paralyzed by perfectionism.
Are you considering wrapping a full-time band around yourself, or do you enjoy the freedom that comes from picking musicians in reference to specific projects?
For the most part my writing process is so solitary and private that I do not foresee working with a band to write songs. I do enjoy collaborating though if it feels right, for example with ‘X Marks’ the initial idea for the song was born naturally without any coordination or real intention to write a song that day…we were just hanging out.
You’re originally from Seattle. What led you to move to Venice? How are you coping with the different cultures?
Going between different countries and cultures can be disorienting at times. Initially when I came to Venice I didn’t sense a huge difference…it was only after a long time of being in Italy that I began to feel the real difference between the cultures. I find now that I have a bit wider of a perspective, and am able to see more of the gray areas of life after living in and experiencing different parts of the world.
How did you start working on ‘Euphoric Recall’?
‘Euphoric Recall ‘started developing when I began writing/recording demos on my computer in 2017 after an old friend of mine lent me a guitar and audio interface because he knew I was curious about writing music. After adding bass and synth and writing demos for several months, I met Andrea in Seattle when he was on tour with New Candys and soon after we started working together planning the recording/production of the album.
Music videos for ‘Exist’ and ‘X Marks’ were recently posted. What do you want people to take away from the songs?
I want people to take away whatever the songs evoke, when writing the songs I didn’t really have specific intentions with how they would be received.
Was there a particular mood you were trying to capture? A story you were trying to tell?
For the songs I was not aiming for anything in particular, I was just channeling what I was feeling. With the videos I was mostly trying to add another dimension to the songs, and the plots in the videos developed while storyboarding and creating mood boards. For me, music videos have always been an important extension of a song…a story isn’t necessary, but a mood must be conveyed strongly and the more obscure the mood the better.
Did you get some new inspiration in Italy for it?
All of the songs, including ‘Exist’ and ‘X Marks’, were written in Seattle during a transitional moment in my life. Andrea was in Seattle when we created the idea for ‘X Marks’ and we finished it later in his studio (Fox Studio Venice) when we recorded the album. The music videos were both created in Italy with Italian cinematographers and directors…so I would say that while the songs were influenced by internal and external experiences in Seattle, the videos inevitably had Italian influences.
“I prefer to save my energy and give one project the attention I think it deserves”
How are you coping with the current world situation?
I often find that I fluctuate between feeling well connected with friends and family online and feeling quite isolated. It can be hard to differentiate how much of this sensation comes from Covid era isolation versus what one would experience spending extended time in a foreign country. Overall I am hanging in there, writing new music soothes the pain.
Are you involved in any other projects or do you have any active side-projects going on at this point?
I am fully focused on MØAA and working on new songs. For me I do not like to put energy into too many projects, I prefer to save my energy and give one project the attention I think it deserves.
How was it to collaborate with Andrea Volpato from New Candys? They have a brand new album out that’s really good!
Their new album is fantastic, in fact I did some guest vocals on the track ‘Q&K’.
It was a pleasure to work with Andrea…he is full of ideas and is extremely talented with production and working out a tasteful sound, bringing things to certain songs that are fresh and unexpected…especially ‘X Marks’ which was one of two tracks on the album where we collaborated with the writing and features more of his influence.
Klemen Breznikar
MØAA Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp / YouTube / Spotify
WWNBB Official Website / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter / Bandcamp
Headline photo: MØAA | Photo by Laura Gamba
