A Dirty Dozen with DUST from MOONLOW – April 2021

According to the bands bio: “Moonlow is a new one-person “apocalyptic noise poetry” project from musician and producer Dust, who has a background in the worlds of extreme metal, post-punk and as a songwriter and composer. This is cathartic music in which you can lose yourself. You might even find yourself again, if you need to. Who Are You?” We get Dust to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

The latest Moonlow release is the debut album, Who Are You?, which was released on Trepnation Recordings last October in a limited edition run on CD and cassette, all hand-signed and numbered. A digital download is also available. I call the music “apocalyptic noise poetry”. It is electronic-based music that leans towards noise and ambient styles, with a spoken-word lyrical delivery that borrows from black metal and dark folk styles. I like to think that there are a lot of layers for people to hear and appreciate on multiple listens. I don’t know if there are any secret nuggets as such, but hopefully the lyrics and music reveal more of themselves the more attention they are given.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

I used to listen to music on long car journeys with my parents. At some point I decided that I wanted to play electric guitar. Much later I got into electronic music and more avant-garde / experimental genres. I only decided to be a noise / ambient musician the moment that the Moonlow record was conceived, which was March 2020. It came out of nowhere, really.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I don’t think that there is any one moment or singular influence that led to my musical taste being as it is. When I first started playing the guitar I got into classic rock and blues, but I was exposed to heavier styles through the local music scene in Leeds, UK. Eventually I also electronic dance music, which opened up a whole new world of musical experience. I think my taste now is pretty diverse. I get bored quite easily and enjoy discovering new sounds. Moonlow is a reflection of that – I felt an urge to create something which was consciously different and separate from my other projects.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Perhaps Current 93, Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson, Darkthrone and Suicide, although I wasn’t consciously trying to copy anyone else’s music.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I would love to work with Laibach on something.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

To be honest, people haven’t made a lot of comparisons. I hope that that’s because the music has its own unique and distinctive expression! Nobody has made any cringeworthy or disagreeable comparisons, but one or two people have referenced bands that I have never heard of!

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Well, it’s just me. So, until I can afford roadies I’ll have to do all of the jobs!

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I don’t tend to get starstruck, to be honest, but I had a nice chat with Jim Sclavunos at one of the last shows I went to before lockdown. That sort of thing is one of reasons I miss live music so much!

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

I love playing live more than anything else. Although Moonlow has not yet become a live act (and maybe never will – let’s see what happens) the fact that I partly improvised a lot of the music have the creative process some of that same “flying by the seat of your pants” feeling as performing live does. The moment where you create something new and exciting from thin air is always electric. I would probably write if music wasn’t my main creative outlet. In fact, I already do write, but I suppose I would focus on that more that I currently do.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I am not sure I have a question I have always wanted to be asked, so I can’t give you the answer! I suppose it can get tiresome answering samey questions like “how did you band form”, especially when I am the only member of Moonlow. Then again, I am always grateful when people put time and effort into interviewing me.

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Moonlow appeared from nowhere during the first lockdown when I had time and creative energy to burn. It took its own course and I am very pleased with how it turned out. It would always be nice to sell some more records, but I don’t feel that I have made any missteps as such. It is what is and I’m happy with that!

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

I suppose it might be interesting to go be part of Metallica’s St Anger sessions, as documented in the Some Kind of Monster film,  just as a social study more than anything else! I’m not really a fan of the band, but I found it fascinating and often amusing to see the footage of them in the studio during that difficult period.

BONUS QUESTION – Due to the current world situation with COVID-19 / quarantine / shelter in place, what have you discovered you miss the most from your life before the pandemic struck?

Well, I certainly miss live music deeply. And I miss all of the other normal social activities that we still can’t yet partake in. However, if the lockdown situation hadn’t come about then I don’t know if Moonlow would have come into existence – the fact that I had time on my hands as well as creative energy and a certain amount of existential dread is really what led to the project’s inception.

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Category: Interviews