Musical collaborations are able to take the best assets of each artist and combine them into a package that is even better than the sum of its parts. We recently came across Icarus Moth and Wit Blu, two solid artists that have come together for the release of a new single “Perfect Outfit“.
The duo took the time to have a chat with us for a look inside how it all came together. Enjoy the interview:
First off, tell us about the name Icarus Moth?
Icarus Moth: Well, it was actually originally what I used to upload music that I thought didn’t fit the style of my main project. Over time the impending style shift became more obvious and I started feeling like ‘Icarus Moth’ was a better fit for the music I was writing. The name Icarus Moth stayed for a few reasons, firstly it sounds like a name and very quickly friends of mine started calling me “Icarus” by habit, making me more confident about its lasting power.
The other is word association. I’m referring to the story of Icarus and Daedalus and overlapping how Icarus flew into the sun to his demise just as moths do to light, drawn to light. Lastly, I have always liked the imagery of moths, they are misunderstood creatures that often take second chair to butterfly. In my opinion the most intricate butterfly stands no chance against some of the wild moth species out there in terms of beauty. A slightly emo younger me drew a line from the underappreciation of electronic music at the time to the world’s underappreciation of moths.
How would you describe your sound?
Icarus Moth: Varied. The longer I’ve been creating music the more I learn about other styles and techniques. Over time my music has become less consistent stylistically as I’ve opened my mind to all genres.
Even though I’ve filled out my space with acoustic instruments, I still do a lot of things electronically which is noticeable in the final product. You can still hear elements of my glitch hop/dubstep days in my softer pop music.
Which artists have had the biggest influence on your development?
Wit Blu: For me it’s definitely Lana del rey, Marian Hill, BANKS, and Flume.
Icarus Moth: Now this is a hard question, the artists that have had the biggest influence on my development usually are the ones who pull me into something completely new. At the beginning I listened to a lot of Dj Dean, Tiesto and Deadmau5 but once I heard Caspa and Benga I was opened up to–in my eyes–more interesting sound design. This led to the more common dubstep and glitch we are all used to, at the time my biggest inspiration was Koan Sound. Dubstep evolved into Future Bass and I was listening to artists like Flume and Schlomo. Eventually future bass and modern pop music fused together and I unintentionally found myself in the world of pop music. I am incredibly inspired by people/groups like Jacob Collier, Daniel Caesar, Tyler the Creator, Moonchild, Hiatus Kaiyote, Anderson Paak, Alecia Keys, NAO, and Vulfpeck. The list goes ON.
We hear you are working with Wit Blu on your newest project. How did that come together?
Icarus Moth: Well, one of the weeks I was out in LA to work/vacation (as it always is) I was looking to set up sessions with artists I hadn’t worked with before and was connected to Wit through soundcloud/email. I had never met her before but I liked what I heard from her project and we set up a session at Bedrock Studios LA. I think the casualness of the session helped influence the way we wrote that day.
New ‘Perfect Outfit’ music video animated by Mulan Fu!
Tell us about the new single “Perfect Outfit”?
Wit Blu: The song is about make up sex and relationships. How sometimes you just need to hash things out and you can get through things and come together stronger.
Icarus Moth: We wanted to write something that was lighthearted and playful given what has been going on in the world lately, and put the track together in a few hours. After listening to some music to get a feel for what we both liked I set to work on the instrumental and Wit provided feedback while working on the lyrics.The song is not meant to focus on the domestic issue but the means at which it is solved 😉
The video is quite cool as well. Can you explain the imagery in the animation?
Icarus Moth: We were looking through a few different artists/animators and found Mulan Fu. Not only did the piece used in the animation stand out as a good fit for the song but a lot of her other work did as well. We knew right away that she was the artist for us.
We received the album cover and a gif of the figure which my incredibly hard working agent, Gabriella, repurposed into the lyric video that we have on Youtube. She put that together in only a couple of hours, it was very impressive.
Share some advice for other artists building a career with meaning.
Wit Blu: Just try to be authentic and enjoy yourself along the way- otherwise you’re missing the whole point. When I first started out I was stressing a lot about the end goal and what I thought ‘making it’ meant and it took the enjoyment out of writing and creating which is what I really love to do. It really is the journey not the destination because the destination always changes once you reach it.
Also just keep going.. I think a lot of people don’t make it in the industry because they give up too soon.
Icarus Moth: Never stop. There will be a million times during this process that will seem like you are guaranteed to fail, like there is nothing out there for you, like you were not meant to be an artist. I’m here to tell you that it is designed that way on purpose to weed out anyone not willing to give themselves to the art. It’s not an easy choice to make. Just like a wise animated movie about a panda who learned martial arts said: “There is no secret ingredient.” Just never stop creating and you will be ok.
What does the future hold for Icarus Moth and Wit Blu?
Wit Blu: I have a couple tracks ready to go that I’ll be releasing as singles this year, I am really excited about them!!
I’ve been writing a lot during this quarantine so i’m itching to get into the studio and finish more!
Icarus Moth: Well that is half up to all of you isn’t it? Writing with Wit is a very good time so I can guarantee this is not the last you’ll hear from the two of us.
Keep up with more from ICARUS MOTH and WIT BLU.