South London-based pairing Me And The Moon have just released their debut EP Everything’s Changing. A mix of vibrant alt-folk sounds and cushioned guitars, it’s a five-track EP that draws on an array of influences. We caught up with vocalist and guitarist Tamara Grzegorzek to chat about the release, touring and finding inspiration in people. Read our chat below.
Hi Tamara, how’s your year been so far?
Hey! It’s been great thanks! There’s been a lot going on but its exciting to have a normal summer, and my first one living in London so it’s been a busy and exciting year so far! Also finally releasing some new music has been such a great feeling.
You’ve just released your EP Everything’s Changing, can you tell us more about the recording processes behind it?
So we actually recorded the EP at our friends house in Oxford in January last year, we got there and set up and on then on the first day we arrived, England entered lock down again. So that created a bit of a different atmosphere and we ended up staying a bit longer and really focusing on the songs. It was cool to get the time to really get into the sounds and we could just enjoy being there, going for nice countryside walks and making big family dinners all together. As well Patch the producer recorded the first music we ever wrote whilst at university together, so it was nice to work with someone who knew our sound but also has developed alongside us, we’ve kind of musically grown up together.
Do you have a favourite track on the EP and why?
Personally my favourite Fast Lane. I think for me, I usually don’t write songs about myself or my own feelings, but this kind of came together so easily and naturally. It’s kind of one of those dreaded lock down songs but its positive. I realised that although everything in the world was awful, my quality of life and mental health was so much better when I didn’t feel like I had to be busy and doing things at every second of the day to please other people. I was thinking about how when life returns to normal, it’s important to slow things down and not over stretch yourself. And through writing the song it actually became clearer to me how important that idea to take time out sometimes is.
Where do you find inspiration for your music?
Lyrically I definitely take inspiration from lots of places. Often phrases or words people say either in real life or movies or books that stand out kind of stick with me. I often tend not to write about myself, even though my lyrics are all first person, lots of the stories in these songs begin by being about things that other people are going through and then I look at how that would feel to me. Jonny and I have quite different listening tastes, he’s more into jangly guitar bands and I listen to a lot for alt folk, so I think by mixing together elements of these sounds, we come together to create something sonically ours.
We were fortunate enough to spend some time at a place in the New Forest called The Dog Haus, which is a beautiful log cabin with a porch and lots of land and dogs and horses and its so beautiful. We actually wrote the bones of most of the EP here, and I think the change of scenery and lack of phone signal definitely helps!
Have you got any live shows lined up to play the EP in full?
We don’t at the moment! We’ve done quite a lot of live shows over the single releases and a couple of festivals this summer, but now we’re just taking a bit of time to work on the sound and game plan for what’s next!
You’ve been playing a variety of festivals already this year, do you have a favourite to play?
For me its Victorious Festival hands down. I grew up in Portsmouth and the first time I went to the festival it was something like £5 tickets and in a car park and now its huge. And I remember thinking I have to play here, how do I do this. Then a few years later I got a slot to play as a solo artist, and in that time ended up forming Me and The Moon, so it was where we played our first ever gig! We played a tiny acoustic stage by the gate that most people didn’t even see on their way in. We’ve played there for the last 6 years in a row, working our way around multiple stages and last year we opened the main stage. So that felt like a real achievement for us.
What’s next for Me And The Moon?
The next plan is to look at some acoustic releases. We filmed some acoustic sessions at The Dog Haus which are on our Youtube. We also want to record a full acoustic version of the EP, since the band is just the two of us, that’s how the songs were written, so it feels important to be able to show them in their original form. After that we’re still figuring out, but we’re definitely excited about releasing music again.
Thanks so much for chatting to us.
Thanks so much for having me!
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