Following their triumph at the Ultimate Battle of the Bands this year, and ahead of their Rough Trade appearance, we caught up with all six members of Moonlit to find out what the win meant to them, how they feel about playing Splendour Festival, and what else is on the horizon for them as a band…
Hi guys! Thanks for all joining – this is a busy Zoom call. What was the experience of doing the Ultimate Battle of the Bands like, particularly this year?
Aminat: It was really fun but stressful! We started planning it before we even signed up. this year we have a new member – PJ –
PJ: Hi!
Aminat: We always really wanted a saxophone player and PJ reached out to us.
PJ: I knew Oli from NTU Big Band. I saw them come second in BOTB last year. I told them they needed a saxophone player – I didn’t mean me – but Oli gave me the job.
Aminat: There haven’t been many jazz bands who have competed, but we found out this year another one was, with a saxophone player – so we felt our competitive edge was diminished. But they didn’t show up! We all had a drink beforehand, even Alex – and Alex doesn’t even usually drink.
Alex: I only had one!
Aminat: I went on sober but everyone else had liquid confidence. I think it was the best feel I’ve had from a crowd. It was the best crowd we have ever played for.
Jamie: It was also the first time PJ and Jack had ever played together. We hadn’t managed to practise.
PJ: Are we supposed to tell them these secrets?
Aminat: We can tell them!
Jack: Sorry I don’t have my camera on by the way – if I turn it on, my Zoom crashes.
Aminat: We didn’t give Jack long to learn the part. He had about a week. And PJ was busy the week before. So, we just crossed our fingers and prayed that there was telekinesis. We trusted him and we have radical optimism. It was always going to work out, it was just a question of how. After the win, our egos were through the roof. They’ve come back down a bit now…
Did coming second the previous year make the win mean more?
Aminat: I was surprised we came second. That was really good. But the win was more delicious, because we had that. We had to win this year. It was a bit of a Kanye moment…
Jack: I don’t want to be compared to Kanye.
Aminat: The quote is relevant, not the character.
Oli: We put a lot more time and effort in this year.
Aminat: We were also very new last year – we only formed four months before.
Oli: One of the songs we did this year, I was so adamant that we should do it last year, but it wasn’t polished.
Aminat: It’s called You Got It, Girl. We wrote it because there was a funk band, so we were trying to compete with them.
Alex: I think it turned out more bluesy.
Aminat: At the time, that song was very messy. So, we went with a different one which was less gay, but still electric. The first song we did, Daddy’s Girl, I had to fight for it – it is a slow song. Probably our slowest song. They listened to me! And they made it a bigger thing than it was, they made it so much better than it was.
I was going to ask about this. How do you come to agreements, with so many members?
Aminat: The biggest personalities are myself and Oli. If we agree, it goes through. If Alex believes in something he’ll fight for it, Jack doesn’t care, PJ is just here for a good time, Jamie doesn’t have opinions. He just says yes to whatever! Oli and I but heads like you wouldn’t believe.
If someone has an idea, I always ask to hear it before I make judgement. It’s evidence-based – you have to back your own ideas.
Admin-wise, no one will argue with me, when it comes to the social media and things like that.
Oli: You told me off for using the wrong font…
Jack: We’re building a brand here, Oli!
Aminat: I spend so much time making our Instagram curated. And he posted an ugly poster on our story! It was borderline Comic Sans…
What are your main inspirations, for both your sound and your aesthetic?
Alex: For me, quite a lot of the songs start with me making the chords and melody. Definitely Jazz Fusion, Cassiopeia… and then I don’t know if it would be considered modern Jazz but Monk… people like that. Different chord structures. But then where it’s a bit of Jazz but not fully into Jazz, I’d say Steely Dan.
Jamie: We all have our own inspirations as before Moonlit, we didn’t even play the same genre. So, we take our influences and put them into our parts. That’s where the mish-mash of genres comes from.
Oli: We came to the table with a lot of different stuff. Alex and I are quite similar. But everyone, as Jamie said, brought their own inspirations.
Aminat: In terms of the visual brand, it was born as an afterthought. It was after the first BOTB really. We got a bunch of content and videos and stuff. I told them kind of what to wear but not really… I told them to wear something nicer than what they usually wear. When we got the visuals back, I liked the blue lighting – Moonlit in name is quite night-time themed. Oli came up with the idea of making it fully Jazz club with fedoras and bow-ties. We play it up, animated curtains closing, that type of vibe. I don’t know what it was inspired by, but it was natural progression. We aren’t going to wear propeller hats, like the guys wanted to wear at the start…
Are the propeller hats going to come out at Splendour?
Oli: I think it would make sense for Splendour!
Aminat: No!
Oli: I’d pay to see you wear one…
Aminat: Do you know how much you’d have to pay me? You’d have to pay for my kid’s uni – for the next fifty generations! But I’m not surprised Splendour is happening – it’s not ego –
Alex: I think it is!
Aminat: Let me explain! Two years ago, I had a Google doc of what I wanted to achieve as a band and Splendour was on there. We had five Instagram followers at that point. So, this year, when we were preparing, we only found out about the prizes a week before, but when they said Splendour, I was like oh, this is the gateway to the thing I wanted to do. I assumed because I said I wanted to do it, we would win, which is very Aminat. So, was I shocked? I felt it made sense for the trajectory of the band! Ego or delusion, you tell me…
We’re playing at the same festival as Kaiser Chiefs. How did that happen?
I guess it feels natural for you at this stage. Do you feel ready?
Aminat: It feels like now is the time. Does that mean I’m not s******g my pants every time I think about it Of course not! What if the crowd doesn’t like me? I have to make these people laugh… we just had a gig, I won’t say which one, but I was trying my hardest and the crowd just weren’t vibing. No one was laughing!
PJ: We just jammed with each other.
Aminat: But Splendour is the biggest thing we’ve done so far. We’re excited but we’ve just not got to think about the fact that it’s the biggest thing we’ve done so far.
Jamie: I’m a bit more nervous. I was looking to go! I listen to all the bands on the line-up. But now we are on that list…
Who are you most starstruck by?
Jamie: Travis, Kaiser Chiefs, The Levellers, Blok Party, Jake Bugg…
Oli: Jamie, Jack and I went to Y Not last year to see Kaiser Chiefs. Now we’re playing at the same festival as them. How did that happen?
What else are you looking forward to this year?
Aminat: We’re working on an EP. It might be singles, we haven’t decided yet. We’ve been in the studio and we’re working on music. Soon, we’ll have a Spotify page – that’s our biggest priority this year. Besides Splendour, of course!
Moonlit are Aminat, Alex, Jack, Jamie, Oli and PJ. They will be performing a headline show at Rough Trade Nottingham on 7th May before appearing at Splendour Festival which takes place in Wollaton Park on 19th and 20th July. @thebandmoonlit
Photo shoot by @alexbladesphoto
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
