Music inspiration comes from all kinds of life experiences. Some of the most emotional songs come from a place of pain. Our recent discovery The Moment Between fits shows how this works with his latest track “Jersey Nights.”
We caught up with the artist willing to bare his soul to get a little behind his artistry and new single. Enjoy the interview below:
First off, how did the name The Moment Between come about?
It’s about the little moments that make up life. It’s the moment between two people or it could be the moment between triumph and tragedy. I wanted something people could attach their own meanings to. I think the name fits in well with the overarching theme of this music project.
What prompted the launch of this musical project?
It’s a really sad story. I lost the person closest to me suddenly in March and I was using music to cope with the feelings I was experiencing. I just couldn’t find songs that were sad enough, or if they were, they didn’t relate to my story.
An idea for a song of my own came to me after I had a vivid dream about her, it was less than two weeks after she had been gone. I decided to try and write some lyrics to this song idea, and maybe make it into a ‘real’ song as a tribute. I knew I’d need to find session musicians to work with to help me make it sound professional, and thankfully I’ve found some amazing people to work with. I had such a rewarding experience with the first song that I decided to keep going, and now I have parts of 19 songs and I’ve worked with 34 people from all over the world.
Over the last nine months this music project has basically been something to fill the void of losing her, every time I got a message from someone linked to the project it was like getting a message from her.
Which artists have had the biggest influence on you?
I was initially inspired by Victoria Georgieva, I love the dramatic emotional sadness in her music. I have other songs inspired by The Killers, Sunny Day Real Estate, Frank Turner, Sum 41, The Rolling Stones, and The Bouncing Souls.
How would you describe the sound of The Moment Between?
There’s a broad range of sounds so far from orchestral ballads to emo and pop to folk rock and there’s even a song in French. I didn’t want to stick to one sound in particular. As long as it can convey the emotions I’m looking for then that’s all I need. The beauty of this project is that I can be completely open to anything, the songs all start from my vision, I haven’t got anyone telling me what to do and I can choose who I want to work with for each song.
What I love about collaborating with other people though is that when you run your vision through someone else’s brain it can take the song in a completely new direction and the journey the song takes from the original idea is really exhilarating.
Tell us about your songwriting. How does a song come together for you?
I’ve got a lyric and ideas book, and that’s where it all starts. I’ll take it with me to a pub or coffee shop and jot down lyrics. Sometimes I have an idea for a song and I put together a set of lyrics and then find a collaborator to work the music around it. Other times I think of how I want the song to sound and have an instrumental made and fit the lyrics around it.
I’ve got so many ideas for songs I want to make, it’s such an emotive project that I’ll always have something to say. I think my lyric writing is getting better, with the first lyrics I wrote, the first word in each line of the song was literally, ‘‘why’’ ‘’why’’ ‘’why’’ and it wasn’t done on purpose. I have to find ways to tell this story in more creative ways, not every song can be about me being upset that she’s passed away, that’s not the whole story. I’d like to write more about feelings of loss, nostalgia for a time passed and grief, these are universal feelings that everyone has at some point in their lives.
Music Video For “Jersey Nights” by The Moment Between
We hear you have a new single coming out in December. What can you tell us about it?
‘’Jersey Nights’’ has just been released, and it was so exciting to see it go live. I love that it’s out there in the ether now. I get upset when I think she’ll never hear any of these songs about her, but it’s out there now in the cosmos, that’s all I can do.
I think the song is so bittersweet and nostalgic in a beautiful way, I really didn’t want it to sound too mawkish. I think you could listen to it casually without knowing the story behind it and think it was just a nice pop rock song.
The vocalist has done an amazing job in bringing out the emotion of the song, they really invested themselves into it. She told me it was hard holding back the tears while she was singing, and I think you can hear the pain and emotion in her voice.
Ultimately, everyone has their own ‘’Jersey Nights’’, a time in their lives that they can never go back to that only lives in memories.
What do you hope the listener will take away from your music?
I originally made these songs for myself, and I wasn’t going to bother sharing them because they were so personal. I’m proud of the songs though and if one person hears a song and thinks, ’that’s the song I needed right now’’, that makes me think it’s worth sharing them.
All the songs are very emotional in their own way. I don’t want to beat people over the head with sadness, the songs are ultimately about grief and lost love but there’s also a heavy lean on nostalgia, happy memories and hope. I’m hoping at least one person can connect their own situation to the music.
What does the future hold for The Moment Between?
I’m really looking forward to growing this project in 2025. I think it’s a unique project, there’s only one song out there so far, but there’s already other songs completed that I’m really excited about.
The plan is to release new singles every 6-8 weeks complete with art and music videos. I think a year down the line people will be able to see the bigger picture of this project and how much love and work have gone into it.
I have ideas for so many more songs and I can’t wait to work with some of my closest collaborators again from early in the year to see what we can create.
