Sharks In The Water: Moise
3 years ago, Moise began creating what would later become his debut album, Amongst the Leaves. The St. Paul, Minnesota-raised Singer/Songwriter/Producer sat with many of the records for years before releasing the anticipated project on March 15th. With music dropping in consistently high volumes, it feels like a gift to sit with a body of work that the artist themselves have sat with for years and knowing that they’ve left a piece of themselves in the album.
His patience shines through in the details of the 8 songs and 2 interludes, coming in at 19 minutes. The second that the album begins, you’re immediately pulled in to Moise’s vibration, by way of groovy, hypnotizing production from Moise, Will Levison, and Lewis Tuck — who both have credits for their live production throughout the album as well. Moise flexes his range, showering Side A with rock elements and Side B with R&B.
He makes the kind of music that allows you to transcend from wherever you are, to where his incredible songwriting and slow-rising production want you to be. On standout record “Full Circle”, you can’t deny how imperfectly soothing and lovely his voice is. Although he may be describing things you have not experienced in some songs, Moise’s energy and raw talent is undeniably convincing and you begin to feel like you know each situation and emotion all too well. I had the pleasure of speaking with the talented artist about creating Amongst the Leaves, his growth as a performer, musical influences, hopes for his work, and more over the phone.
Vanice: What was your childhood like in St. Paul?
Moise: I was in to sports. I played my first sport, soccer, in like second grade and switched over to football in fifth grade. Football was my first love, I actually played all the way up until college. I got into music through choir growing up in elementary school and picked up the trumpet in about fifth grade. I started recording and messing around with friends on the rapping and singing when I was a sophomore in high school so those are like the main things I did besides just regular kid stuff, like watching TV.
Was anyone in your household also into the arts at all?
You know, my parents didn't play any instruments or weren't musically talented but I mean they always had it in them cause like they're both from Rwanda. My dad came here in like 1989 and then my mom came literally months before the genocide in 1994. So music is just in them and in their culture. I wouldn't say they’d classify themselves as musicians but my dad exposed me to 2Pac, Bob Marley and Usher. My mom was like Destiny’s Child and more of that soulful R&B on the female side. That was like the main rotation growing up as far as music and that's where I kind of got influenced off of them and getting their ear.
How did your debut album Amongst the Leaves come about?
I would say I started on Amongst the Leaves about two summers ago and at first, I was just making songs and I didn't have the title or any of the art direction thought out yet. It was more of just making a bunch of songs that tell a story and would reflect the time in my life that I'm at. I think the first song I got done for it was "Full Circle" and "Wildflower" was next. "Full Circle" being the R&B side of it and "Wildflower" the Rock side of it. From those two tracks, it sprouted a direction as far as where to go. I worked with three of my good friends — Will Levison, Lewis Tuck, and Anthony King-Foreman. Those three were basically the whole production team that helped get it to where it was as a finished product.
The name Amongst the Leaves comes from a line in "Wildflower" where I repeat the phrase. That just kind of happened really organically. I was trying to think of the title for the project, I listened back to the songs on it and "Wildflower" was the one that made the most sense as the first track on the project to pull something from. I think it definitely captures the world that these songs are in and the feeling of it all in one phrase.
Do you have any personal favorites on the album?
I'll tell you, first off, I love every single track, even the Side A and Side B interludes. I love it all. If I had to just pick one that kind of means the most to me, it's definitely "Full Circle" because that was the first real song I wrote. All my of SoundCloud stuff prior to that was kind of like loose in thought, they weren't solid songs with solid verses, chorus’, and whatnot structurally. So "Full Circle" was the first one and it was also the first one that was all produced by myself and the three friends I mentioned, with no other outside help.
I think that was just a pivotal moment and from there that sprouted the rest of the project. The meaning of the song, it reflects on… it's funny because I wrote the song before I got in this relationship with a girl that I was dating for a year. When I put the song out in the fall, she thought the song was about her but it wasn't because I already had made this song prior and it’s just funny how those lyrics literally came to life like. So yeah, “Full Circle” definitely hits home the most.
My favorite song on the album is "One Last Time" at the moment. Can you talk a little bit about how that song came about?
"One Last Time" was towards the end of the project making process. I think myself and Will, who lives in the U.K., had started on that song probably in the springtime of last year when he sent me the beginnings of that beat, right away when I heard those chords, I came up with the whole song and then we finished it when I went out to London last summer for a couple of shows.
That song was just like an R&B banger. Kind of how me and Will work is, he'll start something and send it over, especially with Amongst the Leaves, he'd always start something and send it over. Then, I just come up with a melody. For "One Last Time" the lines came really easily, it was one of those songs that took like half an hour. You know, sometimes these songs take half an hour, sometimes these songs take months, so it really just had a great feeling from the beginning.
That song is about more of a feeling than words, you know? It's more of that late night, if you're trying just get sexy. I think that's one of the moments that's on the project, we needed a song that captured that moment too. So it was more of a late night vibe without too many words behind it, it's more of a feeling with those chords and drums.
I've never personally seen you perform live but I've heard live recordings and have watched clips of your shows. It seems like you truly have such a great connection with like the audience and you have a really fun time. How would you say that your stage presence has developed and what has helped you develop it to this point?
That's a great question. If I sent you a video of when I first performed and then a recent video, it's just night and day. I think the best way to explain the growth is just doing it over and over again. I think it's more of a confidence thing, not only in my voice but also in the words I can say. When I first started out, I tried to rehearse the words, the things I would say in between songs as well, and I’d literally have it scripted because I was too afraid that I would say something stupid. This most recent show we had last weekend in Chicago, I didn't even think about that or stress it. It was just more of what came to me in the moment and just more engaging with the crowd.
In that time span between my first performance and my most recent one this last weekend, I've been able to go to a lot of shows. Thankfully, you know, there's been a lot of great artists that come through Minneapolis and also I watch tons of YouTube videos of great performances. My YouTube history is literally production tutorial stuff and performance videos. I think people I'm really inspired by their performances are Beyonce, Matt Healy of The 1975, and Mac DeMarco. I've just been studying them and how they engage with their audiences and from there I was able to start developing how I want to do it. I think it's just, yeah, you have to be a student of the game for sure.
When I first started, I didn't play the guitar either and that's a skill that I've just been working at over the last two years and now, this last show in Chicago I played guitar on 70% of the tracks. That's something that came over time, I started with just playing one song with a guitar then two and now just learning the full set and being able to sing and play. So honestly, my performance has developed through time and experience up until now.
What do you hope listeners take away from your music?
I hope that people can be reassured that there's still space for artists that make great music and don't rely on gimmicks too much but are more focused on giving you great quality and really taking time with it. In today's world, I think everything feels so rushed and you feel like you've got to do things now, have things now and force things. I just want to reassure and be an inspiration for, not only everyday people but also other artists too, and just show them that they can focus on really making great music. Not only music that connects with yourself but is able to connect with other people. That's what I think about when I'm making songs. I think we need that right now because there's a lot of bad influences right now and I think it's good to still have people that are trying to stay positive and push a good message and not get caught up. Yeah, those are probably the biggest things that I want people to take away from my music.
Moise pushed past boundaries to create a raw and exciting body of work that will leave you excited for whatever the promising artist has in store next. But more importantly, he has created an album that you can certainly sit with until then. Stream “Full Circle” and “One Last Time” by Moise on Sharks In The Water, along with other great emerging artists.