Inspired #245 - Moir
London based artist Moir has just released her stunning new ‘In That River’ - which was written in her South London flat - fueled by the isolation of Covid-19 national lockdowns. With powerful yet tender vocals, Moir’s sound sits there between the Florence Welch and Jessie Ware and so it is no surprise she was selected for Glastonbury’s 2021 Emerging Talent Longlist. She took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
These change all the time, but I think this is who it would be at the moment:
Sampha is always on the list and always will be. He was who inspired me to start song writing in the first place – so much soul, and a gospel vibe, but fused with an electronic edge. I started singing in a gospel choir and love gospel music and harmonies, but I also love electronic music and club music, so he really appealed to me. I especially love his work with SBTRKT.
At the moment I’m super inspired by Years & Years. They (well just Olly now) make commercial music but it still feels really deep, and I think that’s my ultimate goal. I want to make music that you can dance to, but which is actually super emotional and meaningful. And also, Olly is also really openly queer and fights for queer rights which I find very inspirational.
Last but not least, I’d probably have to choose London Grammar. I just love the lead singer, Hannah’s, voice, and their general sonic world. Again, they make deep, soulful music with an edge.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
Moonlight.
I found it so inspirational to see a queer storyline in a black community, as those narratives aren’t shown enough (if at all) – especially in mainstream culture. I was inspired by the progress in the world which that symbolised. It was also such a beautiful and intensely emotional story and I felt inspired by the strength of the lead character in how strong he remained despite what he had to go through as a result of his sexuality. I think people sometimes think that it only takes strength to come out, but in his case, I felt he had to be so strong in order to hide himself from the world in order to protect himself. As a queer person I know how painful it is hiding who you really are, and he did it for a lifetime, because the environments in which he found himself in didn’t allow for it. It was visually very inspiring too – lots of the shots made you feel emotional even if nothing narratively was really happening.
I think making Moonlight took a lot of courage, and that is the most inspiring thing of all. The Oscar was so deserved, it was a queer film like none other I’ve seen and I think it was much needed.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
I’m from London and have lived here all my life apart from Uni – and I wouldn’t say any of the other cities I’ve been to have particularly inspired me to be honest. London is great, I just think it depends which part you live in. For me, I am inspired by places which feel free and open and have access to nature.
I’m a big Grey’s Anatomy fan, which is set in Seattle, and it always does look quite tempting. It seems to have a really great mixture of proper city life with amazing nature. I think lockdown has made me crave nature a lot more, which is new to me, as I’m such a Londoner. There’s so much space in Seattle and it looks really fresh and open.
I’ve also always been tempted by LA. Again, I think the balance of nature with more classic city things appeals to me. I get the impression that it’s quite free there which I like the idea of; it seems like a place where people can just be who they want to be. And of course, LA is renowned for it’s music scene! I know it’s also renowned for being plastic and fake, but from the people I know who’ve lived there, they haven’t had that experience.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
Michaela Cole. She holds nothing back and won’t compromise on her creativity. She got offered a multi-million pound Netflix deal to make her show ‘I May Destroy You’ and turned it down because she wouldn’t have been able to have full creative control. ‘I May Destroy’ was probably the best thing I’ve ever seen on television. She explored things which I’ve never seen explored like that on TV and I think it was a really important show. She went places that other people are too scared to and she broke down the walls put up by society. I love her perspective, her talent and her tenacity and I think it’s so inspiring to see a black woman be so successful in such a white, male-dominated industry.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
I was super inspired by the Years & Years track ‘Foundation’, but that was more for the vibe and production than the actual song writing itself. But the actual track was born out of just feeling really lonely. I was living in a flat in South London and my flatmates were out a lot and I also had barely any money, so didn’t have the money to go out and do lots of things. I was feeling lonely to the point of not knowing whether people would notice if I was gone and the song is a lot about longing for connection and what loneliness could drive you to do. The concept of the river was inspired by one of my old jobs which I hated. My desk was sat by a river, and the thought of jumping in felt kind of liberating.
How would you like to inspire people?
I’ve experienced a long-term illness, so I think I’d like to inspire people to still go for what they really want to do in life, despite any obstacles which they feel are holding them back. At times, pursuing music has felt impossible due to my health, but I’ve persevered and I’m really glad I have. It hasn’t been easy, but I think not going for things is harder in the long run, because regret is harder to live with.
I’d also like to inspire queer people to feel ok to be themselves. I’m not that ‘queer and proud’ with my music yet, but I think I would like to become more like that.
And lastly, I’d like to inspire people that feel sad, or depressed, or alone, that there are other people out there like them and inspire people to feel their feelings. We all do so much numbing out these days!