Interviews

MoonSpeak is a budding independent electronic musician and a personal friend of mine. As such, I took the liberty of conducting a little interview for her, if only for just a teensy little boost in notoriety. This interview is also abridged, in such a way that only her answers are given in full text; the questions are now roughly segued into one another (more so than they were in the live interview). The unabridged version was lost after a fuck-up in the editing process, so you won't get to read my awkward stumbles over tricky verbiage. Regardless, however, I present to you with great pleasure, MoonSpeak.

Q: A lot of your listeners might want to know just where you came from. Could you tell us a little about how you entered the scene?

A: Well, let's see. Around 2009, a friend of mine started using MAGIX to make music, so I downloaded it and made it, too. Using samples got boring, so I upgraded to FL Studio 10 (I've dabbled with Abelton a few times. For some reason, I always go back to FL Studio. I don't think it deserves its reputation) to keep going at it. Ended up finding another musician to criticize my works and collaborate with. It's been uphill ever since.

Q: When it comes to independent music, is FL Studio the standard, or does everyone tend to use different shit?

A: FL Studio is the RPG Maker of music. It's not bad, it just streamlines the process. As a result, more people flock to it to make music without understanding anything about making music/games. And because of THAT, you get a lot of bad music and games on the market.

Q: To go along with the MoonSpeak name, a lot of your sound tends to feel very space-like. Is the space-like sound a byproduct of FL Studio's limitations, or is that a stylistic choice?

A: It's a stylistic choice. The name, the sound, the album covers, the song names all reflect this.

Q: Is it based on any personal proclivity towards space, or did you just think you ought to have a theme?

A: Well, the name came first. Then when I tried to make a Google+ to go along with the SoundCloud, I went with "Luna". At that point I said, "Why not make everything related to space?"

Q: Would it also reflect your proclivity for Japanese culture?

A: Well, it came from a discussion in an anime-based community. One member was looking for suggestions for an alias and I suggested the name. He went with something else, and I decided I liked the name. So I used it,
and here we are. But in another sense... At the time, I was going through some (more than now) shit. I felt like nobody would understand the problem if I explained it to them, almost as if it were another language. "Moon-speak" has come to mean Japanese, but it originally meant any language the speaker doesn't understand, that's foreign to the ear. So it's like I was speaking Moon. So there's two levels to the name, I guess.

Q: You almost exclusively make instrumental tracks. Have you ever considered adding some vocal performance?

A: There have been a couple of occasions that I've made use of vocal tracks, for example "Crushed in Orbit". But in general, I don't feel they're necessary. Music is an art form, it's open to interpretation. If you take away something else from it than I intended, all is well. But that adds to the name; I'm sending a message and you recieve something else in translation. For example, "Adversa de Luna Atrita"... When I created it, I intended it to be a piece on Man vs. Self. If you popped the name into Google Translate, you'd roughly get "Against the Dark Moon". However, a few people have told me it sounds more spooky than powerful. And either may fit the purpose, but they're two different things completely. It's like localization of a work. There may not be a word in a language to use in translating, so you use the next best thing. And sometimes, it doesn't make sense. But that happens, and that's part of where the name "MoonSpeak" came from.

Q: As an artist who specializes in computerized music, do you have any experience playing "real" instruments?

A: I do, in fact, play other instruments. I'm mainly a percussionist, but I dabble with guitar and piano. It's just cheaper to publish my electronic works. I don't have to purchase and maintain recording equipment, or alternatively, pay to use a studio. I had a recording studio worth about $700 at one point, but that degraded quickly. Much cheaper to just use a laptop. It's also higher quality. Well, at least the recording is.

Q: Of course, you're aware of the fierce counterculture towards electronic music nowadays. What do you have to say about that?

A: I very rarely have anything against a genre as a whole, so I don't find it hard or anything to just do electronic music. I'm not making music for other people, I do it because I like it. What someone else thinks is secondary.

Q: Though as an artist, you surely have those you look up to and are inspired by. So, to you, who has been the most influential artist?

A: Well, Stevie Ray Vaughan is an idol of mine, but he doesn't really influence my work. Really, I can't name anyone off the top of my head that has directly inspired my music. Of course, there are musicians out there that I appreciate for assisting me with criticisms and such. Captain Lunar is one of which artists.

Q: As you know, most artists need someone to sort of bounce off of in order to get any ideas. So, do you just consider yourself that creative of a person? Is there a particular mood you have to be in to write anything?

A: My general philosophy is to think of something that sounds good, make it, then scrap it for the next thing I think of. Music never translates well from thought to composition. Moods are the best part of making music, that or recent events. There's always a power behind them that pushes you to make something lasting in your mind, and every time you hear it, it'll bring back that emotion. I do bounce ideas off of people, though; Captain Lunar's good about that. I'll show him a WIP and he'll tell me how to improve it in general, usually mastering.

Q: You mentioned that you only make music for yourself first, and others second. Have you ever thought about how that might change when and if you become the next "big thing"?

A: I haven't ever really thought about making music as a career; I'd like to have a career in music, I mean, but it'd be behind that curtain. The best part about it being a hobby is that there isn't any pressure to change for fans. You're doing it because you want to, and if someone doesn't like it, one person won't ruin you.

Q: You distribute your music for free listening online. Piracy is something that other less generous musicians must beware of. So, do you think piracy is, at all, something to be upset about in this day and age?

A: It really depends on the reason, to me; if I'm selling my music, and you can't afford it, then I can't really expect you to buy it in the first place. Going against that person does nothing except limit who hears my music. However, if you have the spare change to buy the album, or whatever it is, it's pretty jerky to NOT buy it. Either way, it's why my music is free; I don't want a pay-wall between my music and a potential listener.

Q: Of your official releases thus far, what would you say is the best? Or, even better, what would you recommend first to a beginning listener?

A: At their respective times, they were my best; at this point, I'd have to say my latest release, the "groundweller EP" and its b-side. For a first time listener, "Manifestations" would probably appeal to a wider audience due to the varied subgenres the songs belong to.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts to add?

A: To anybody who wants to make music out there, don't try to be like someone else; there's only one you, make that identity the best that you can.

Alright, you read her: MoonSpeak, groundweller ep is now on e-shelves, free of charge. A special thanks to her for taking the time to answer these questions.

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