In Conversation With #178 - Moon Panda
Celestial Danish-US duo Moon Panda have just released their debut album ‘What On Earth’ via Fierce Panda Records.
Following the release of ‘Pastel Pool’ in 2019, Moon Panda signed to legendary British label Fierce Panda for their second EP 'Make Well' in 2020. The release earned critical acclaim for it's luscious, blissed out vibes across grooving bass lines with BBC 6 Music's Lauren Laverne declaring 'Slow Drive' her “favourite track of the year so far...top of the pile for me.”
The band took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Moon Panda - so your debut album is out now, how does it feel to have it out there?
Hey, thanks for having us! It feels pretty surreal to have it out in the world! The album has been ‘real’ for us for several months so to finally have it be ‘real’ for everyone else is a wild, lovely, daunting, dreamlike feeling - and we’re into it!
It is called ‘What on Earth’ - what is the meaning behind that?
‘What On Earth’ felt really right because it can be taken in so many different ways. You could exclaim, What on Earth is happening to the world right now? Or you could think What on this Earth do I cherish the most? What’s on Earth? Or maybe What’s on Earth in relation to the rest of the galaxy? I prefer to think of it that way. It makes me think of trees and birds and mountains and all the amazing things we have on Earth. It also makes me think of my grandma cause it sounds like something she’d say and that’s pretty nice too.
Where was the album recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
Hmm well it was mostly written and initially recorded at the start of the pandemic in Maddy’s parents barn - amongst an insane choir of frogs outside and a very decent supply of Costco margarita mix. We did the actual recording in LA with Gabe Wax. It was great! But nothing too exciting happened…we spent 12 days in a dark room, eating gnarly vegan takeout, and not walking more than like 20 steps a day. We were all like puffy vampires at the end! Recording is such an all-in, immersive process.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
I think nature is definitely a big theme. I think everyone has, understandably, had a tough time in the past years and we’ve all had to find our own coping mechanisms. For us a big one was turning to nature. We lived right by this big forest in the middle of nowhere in Denmark and would walk our dog at least twice a day in it. I would also write a lot of lyrics while walking so inevitably the songs ended up being about trees and wind and self reflection. We’ve gotten pretty into wellness lately, ya know, Wim Hoff breathing, yoga, running…and I think that’s all had a pretty big impact of the way we approach music. We kind wanted our music to be a form of wellness and self care, if someone wants to take it that way.
If your album could be the soundtrack to any film - which one and why?
Damn that’s a tough one. We love movies. But maybe one that would, hopefully, be fitting is the film Her by Spike Jonze. It already has a great soundtrack but if they wanted to replace it with What On Earth I wouldn’t complain! Everything about it is so lovely. The colors, the acting, the fluidity of love, the pain and happiness, the complexity of it all…stated very gently. I’d like to think we overlap in some of those themes.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
I think that might change day to day but today it’s the first line of the album in the song Falling, “I don’t need to play a part, I forget that. I can be exactly who I want, I forget that.”
It’s something that I need to remind myself of pretty often, although less and less these days.
Now the album is out there, what next for you?
Well next week we’re headed to play SXSW in Austin, Texas - really psyched for that! And after that we’ll be touring the UK and Denmark in May - equally as psyched for that! After that we’re hoping to do some more touring, hopefully in the US, and get album number two started (raises eyebrows savagely). A lot of exciting things are coming up and we’re just grateful for each minute.
