New York native, Monica Moser, spent her formative years in Texas gracefully called Nashville home for several years and will be returning to Texas (Austin) in the new year.
Music has always found a way to be in the life of this talented emerging artist. With an extensive background in musical theatre, classical voice, guitar, and songwriting, it wasn't until the age of 18 that she allowed herself to be vulnerable through sharing her creations with the world.
Monica Moser has crafted a unique style of her own that ranges from Folk, Singer/Songwriter to Alternative and Indie-Pop. She strives to create melodies that are sonically dynamic and lyrically resonant as her voice and musicality have been compared to Sara Bareilles, Joni Mitchell, Florence + The Machine, and The Japanese House.
Through the hustle and bustle of 2020, Monica Moser took it upon herself to show her listeners a new side to her artistry and a reimagined version of "Feeling For You." This single offers up the versatility she holds within, but the song pairs with her first music video. Released March 18th, the auditory realm of reverberations is accompanied by the interpretive dance that flows as effortlessly as Monica Moser's eloquence.
Now, with 2020 about to wrap up, this heavenly Alternative Pop sensation wanted to give her audience one last taste of what she has in store for the year. Her latest single, "WINGS," has us floating high in the sky.
The delicate instrumentation of "WINGS" grows into a triumphant vibrancy of melodies in the Electro-Pop ambiance that washes upon us on sudden impact. Monica Moser delivers an empowering performance as each word she vocalizes blends seamlessly into the composition. Exuding a wide vocal range as we brace ourselves for impact in the winding road that is, "WINGS," we are submerged in the true essence of who Monica Moser is as an artist and individual.
As she expresses a message of how she wants to be heard and seen in the world before us, Monica Moser makes it known that she will not hide the authenticity that she proudly wears as hot couture. The divine words, "I don't wanna hide in my own wings," have us feeling that sense of self that shatters barriers while moving mountains.
The entire masterpiece of "WINGS" has us impressed with every harmonious melody that shines a rich spotlight on Monica Moser. We have found comfort and assurance in the timbres of each carefully crafted lyric that have us hanging on to the edge of our seat. If this is what Monica Moser has in store for us in 2021, we can confidently say that we're buckling our seatbelts as we get ready to step into her musical voyage.
Hello Monica, thank you for joining us at BuzzMusic and Welcome to BuzzMusic, congratulations on the release of, “WINGS.” You expose such a powerful message in this track. Was there a specific moment or story that inspired the creation of this song?
Thank you! Definitely, but it didn't start with the purpose it has now. My original intent for WINGS was to write an uplifting song because that's not my typical strong suit...I had been wrestling with this notion about how we try so desperately to lower our expectations as much as possible in order not to be hurt or disappointed. And this strategy can be healthy and realistic to a certain extent, but when you go too far with it, you can start to lose your capacity for true joy. And I was so tired of myself doing this. So that's where the opening line "tired of seeing hope as a curse" came from. And then I also liked the symbolism of how a bird sleeps in its wings as a metaphor for how we can hide inside our own potential and the very mechanisms that get us where we're meant to go.
I had forgotten about the song for a while and picked it back up at the beginning of this year because I was thinking about how the symbol for my childhood best friend's cancer foundation was a butterfly and that the foundation was about to celebrate its 10th anniversary of raising awareness and financial support for research for adolescent / young adult cancer. I thought it'd be the perfect time for a new anthem for the foundation, and I decided to weave in the chorus of the first song I wrote for Carley when I was 16 as the bridge of this new song. Carley's cancer, unfortunately, came back this year in true 2020 fashion and WINGS' purpose just became even more amplified.
I'm actually really glad that WINGS' original purpose wasn't an anthem for the foundation because I think it makes the song more universally relatable. It can be for anyone struggling with any sort of hardship, setback, or trauma. And this year became the poster year for such things.
Could you please take us into what the creative process was like when writing, “WINGS?"
So, because I sometimes struggle with writing uplifting, upbeat material, I recruited my friend Lindsey Sweat (artist name Trella) when I first started exploring the wings idea in 2018. We co-wrote those first few lines and she helped me craft the melody for the chorus. But that was the extent of the progress we made that day.
At the top of this year, I picked it back up and finished it within a couple of hours. I still remember the moment I realized I could make "God's Embrace," the song I wrote for Carley when she was first diagnosed, like the bridge. It was a cool moment. And it was also a compromise! I was requested to play that song at the 10-year anniversary gala (that was of course canceled due to COVID-19) but I felt so far away from that song. Not the sentiment, but the quality of the writing. But I also wanted to honor that request!
You released your very first music video this year for “Feeling For You.” Congrats on that! Could you tell us about how your experience was when filming this video?
Thank you! I'm so glad we got to shoot that before the shutdown. The filming experience was, of course, a little crazy and stressful as an independent artist with a small budget. My producer and filmography Dylan Byrnes (who produced WINGS and most of my recent releases) crafted a new dance version of the song and I shared with him and the dancer, my good friend Natalie Beerman, ideas of a blindfold and playing with light and darkness for the video. She choreographed the whole dance and even though we were in this creepy yoga studio in the boonies about 30 minutes outside of Nashville, strapped for time and helping Dylan hang this hand-made spotlight he somehow built himself, I couldn't have been happier with the final result.
A lot of artists have had to do some major adjusting to what they classify as normal these days! What challenges have you faced as an artist in 2020?
I was unfortunately supposed to play a lot of shows with SoFar Sounds this year. So that was the main negative. Thankfully I got four in (Louisville, Chicago, Denver & Charlotte), and a show in Nashville before quarantine, but this time has actually weirdly been something I've been grateful for. I don't say that negating all of the struggles our country went through (and continues to go through) but if I'm just looking at what Covid did about my life and my music, I'm strangely grateful. It made me do a lot of reevaluation - I left Nashville to live in New York with my family for the majority of the year, and I ended up getting a job in Austin, TX and will be moving there in the new year. I'm excited to do music in a new city and was grateful for the time this year to do some reflecting and to ease off the pressure I put on myself to perform and write.
What themes and messages would you like your listeners to take away from the music that you create?
I've always just wanted to create music that someone could listen to and feel less alone. Even though WINGS is more uplifting than some of my other releases, and I hope it makes people also go on a run or dance around, this hope is still the same one I have when I write music that's not as upbeat.
Some artists enjoy writing more versus performing or vice versa; do you have a favorite part of the creation process?
I think my true joy will always come from creating something. You can't compete with the high of performing but it's not sustainable. Creating something feels infinite.
What was the most important lesson that you learned this year?
The most important lessons I learned this year were: 1. No one knows me more than my family and 2. I have absolutely no control over my life. And that's kind of freeing.