Moxxy Jones reminisces on a love lost on “Another Yesterday”
San Francisco duo Moxxy Jones team up with vocalist and songwriter Isabelle on “Another Yesterday,” the fourth single to be taken from their debut album Unnoticed. Rooted in the synth-pop sounds that stretch across the whole body of work, this latest offering strikes a delicate balance between being energetic and dark.
Led by a nostalgic message reminiscing for something that was good and hoping for its return, Isabelle’s powerful yet soulful vocal delivery elevates the free-flowing sonics of the track.
With lyrics that capture the heartache of lost love as well as the perseverance to fight to bring that same boundless love back into our lives, the romantic number is a reminder that some things are really worth fighting for.
Long-time friends Frank and Milan bring their smooth instrumentation of keyboards and guitars with the familiar genre-blended touch of GRAMMY-recognized producer Starita, who they’ve worked with before.
A love-infused and melodic glimpse of what’s to come from Moxxy Jones, “Another Yesterday,” showcases their dichotomous musicality, bringing both familiarity and unfamiliarity, as well as intimacy and expansiveness together.
Premiere: Synth Pop Duo Gives 80s/90s Pop an Alt Rock, Dance Spin
‘Sinking Into You’ is the third single to be released July 27th, 2022 from the independent artist duo Moxxy Jones’ debut synth-pop album, ‘Unnoticed,’ available in Dolby Atmos. This is a body of work that emanated from their fearless creative process – a relentless push and pull that isn’t restrained by ego, genres, or boundaries of the music business.
Long-time San Francisco friends – keyboard player, Frank, and guitar player, Milan – share their latest collection of work that showcases the signature style and sound that sets this skillful songwriting and production team apart. A sound that’s untraditional, unexpected yet familiar, modern, energetic yet dark, and that has boundless sonic range paired with classical elements, catchy melodies/hooks, driven beats, juxtaposed lyrics, and layered harmonic underpinnings. Through sound, ‘Unnoticed’s’ deep dive into the exploration of the juxtaposed duality of the human experience allows fans to ride the wide sonic rollercoaster of emotions, sit comfortably in discomfort, see beauty in brokenness, and experience harmony and dissonance all at once.
After the welcome reception of their first two single releases – with ‘Leave the Room’ reaching over 1.6 Million streams on TikTok and countless playlist adds by Indie Rock Tunes, Worldwide Hits 2022, New Scene Sunday, Garage Rock 2022, HOLA, MEME Songs, and others – Moxxy Jones continues this momentum with the drop of ‘Sinking Into You,’ featuring the first-time collaboration with vocalist/lyricist/multi-instrumentalist Courtney Grace. While Grace’s work spans across genres, ‘Sinking Into You’ provides a lush and dynamic soundscape to showcase her vocal delivery – mysterious, haunting, ethereal, euphonic, hypnotic, mesmerizing, sensuous, and soothing. Of the songs on this album, this single may be the most representative of Moxxy Jones’ sound. At the core, it’s an 80s synth groove with harmonies that are pop-forward and somber at the same time.
But Moxxy Jones takes it much further with their unique way of intermixing electronic and natural elements and genres into the composition.
With all the nuances Moxxy Jones incorporated into this track, it is easily considered an aggressive industrial, synth, rock, and disco explosion. It also mixes hip hop elements and different synth sounds from a variety of different genres and decades. This track is funkier at times than the other tracks on the album and once again displays the band’s broad palette.
“The track originally started years ago when I was trying to experiment with different early dubstep sounds”
A highlight and surprise for fans may be the unexpected early 90s alternative rock guitar solo. Listeners don’t get to experience this in pop music nowadays. Frank exclaims, “I would describe this song sounding like what would happen if a modern singer/songwriter paired up with someone obsessed with 80’s New Wave who also happened to like hair-band guitar solos.”
Milan reflects on their process, “The track originally started years ago when I was trying to experiment with different early dubstep sounds to try and understand how those artists do what they do. Originally, the song had a very long dubstep intro that eventually dropped into what is now the main synth riff.
The ah-ha moments were seeing how the vocals fit into the song, and playing with the vocal harmonies in the studio.
It stayed on the shelf that way for years while I tried to come up with other parts but nothing really came of it. Then, Frank and I were in the studio looking through old ideas. We pulled this up and all of a sudden the other parts started coming in. We cut the entire dubstep intro and what was left was the foundation of a great aggressive synth dance track. I then started layering additional synths and playing guitar over different parts and changing up the beats into a more rock and roll/dance sound. I wanted the song to be high energy but also mix in a lot of different musical elements. You never hear ripping rock guitar solos in new music today. I wanted to mix some of the more typical funky guitar parts in pop music with the aggressive guitar styles of the 80s and 90s.
I even bought a Floyd Rose equipped guitar just for the solo so that I could do some aggressive dive bombs and achieve the sound in my head of the guitar solo tearing through the speakers. The overall sound turned out to be aggressive industrial style synths layered together with big 80s drums and electric guitar along with some modern R&B funk guitar parts. The vocals layered on top strike me as a very moody 90s riot grrl.” Frank added, “The ah-ha moments were seeing how the vocals fit into the song, and playing with the vocal harmonies in the studio. Working with Courtney was also so much fun, She’s got such a great sense of melody. As the narrative of ‘Sinking Into You’ is about infatuation – letting yourself completely go and falling for someone where you start to lose yourself and you don’t care – I felt that the many layers, tones, and dynamics of this track parallels the emotional journey of being in love.”
To achieve their vision and sound for ‘Sinking Into You,’ Moxxy Jones teamed up with GRAMMY®-recognized producer, Starita, a collaborator that isn’t foreign to pushing the envelope of sonic ranges and unique genre blending styles (recognized for his work with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi, Rebelution, Los Amigos Invisibles, Michael Franti and Spearhead). “This track was the genesis of working on the Moxxy Jones project although we had collaborated on previous projects Frank and Milan were involved in. This was our first approach to this juxtaposed sound of blending the raw with lushness. Milan sent over tracks as he does and we tossed drums and synth layers back and forth until we landed on this marriage of sounds. Like many of the songs, we created a harder, pulsating drive in the verses which leads to this very lush expansive chorus. Courtney’s vocals really bridged these two light and dark elements together nicely. This production is so full of ear candy and was so much fun to create. Milan is a super collector of boutique guitar pedals and amps, so we went deep into some experimental sounds going into the guitar solo. Yes, a guitar solo! You don’t hear that much these days so it was refreshing to harken back to the Siamese Dream days with a massively phased and distorted evolving soundscape of a solo.”
“This being the first song we started working on, it took some time to really dig into the sonic flavor of the project. Being that this began the exploration of Moxxy Jones as a persona and artist, this was where the hardest, real work had to be done. Being a producer isn’t only about music a lot of the time…it’s about people. It’s about people who are artists. These individuals have an unflinching need to express themselves; which is a huge task to guide because you have to be really clear on what the artist is trying to say and be able to translate that into a sonic soundscape that is the medium for their message. It’s a balancing act of being objective about something completely subjective…finding words for something that can’t be spoken easily. It can’t be taught. So that being said, we had to explore many directions listening to what the song was telling us. Sometimes what we did worked. There were times it didn’t, but where we ended up was a very special place. This is all a part of the process that we artists have to embrace,” Starita elaborates.
“After listening to this track, I hope that it inspires listeners to let themselves go and fall into what’s in front of them. Even if it’s not always for the best,” Milan states. “And although it feels familiar, I hope they feel like they heard something they hadn’t really heard before,” Frank concludes.
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ISABELLE RELEASES COLLABORATION SINGLE ANOTHER YESTERDAY WITH MOXXY JONES PUBLISHED ON 26/10/2022BY GEORGE KING For music connoisseurs of 80s, 90s pop music with organic instrumentation, Moxxy Jones and singer Isabelle come forth with a track that showcases creative...
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We’re excited to premiere “Never,” the silky new song from San Francisco duo Moxxy Jones. The track is their second single of the year, following the March release of “Leave the Room,” and sees the synth-pop wizards showcasing their enormous sonic diversity. While their first offering was funky, bright, and upbeat, Moxxy Jones extends their wingspan on “Never” in order to explore some darker territory. Here, they incorporate elements of industrial, R&B, electro-pop, and blues, in addition to some decidedly darker synth-pop and vaporwave elements into their eclectic sound. Featuring vocals from Trent Park, the song rests on a moody groove, and lyrically, explores themes of identity and self-worth. Of particular note, the song climaxes with a super noodly, Prince-like guitar riff that connects to its final comedown.
Frank, who is one half of the duo, shared the following on the track’s sonic production:
‘Never’ combines lots of textures that we don’t often see put together – industrial synths, funk bass, and a harmonic structure that is both simple at points and full of movement in others. I think the ‘ah-ha’ moment came when we figured out how the puzzle fit together – both structurally as to the song parts (verse, chorus, bridge, breakdown) and the different standout performances (Trent Park on vocals, Uriah Duffy on bass, and the very curated production).
Milan, the other half of the duo, also shared a bit about the song’s narrative arc and the inspiration behind it:
To me, the song is about never letting anyone tell you who you are, what you’re worth or what you’re capable of. No one can stop you from fighting to be yourself. In setting the mood for the song, I drew upon a childhood memory of staying up to watch Miami Vice with my dad. Think late at night in Miami while the neon lights reflect off the water, cruising on a very expensive speedboat, wind blowing through your hair, the tunes are cranked.
The band also shared a video for the track, which you can stream below!
“Never” will appear on Moxxy Jones’ forthcoming album Unnoticed, which is set for release on October 21st, 2022 in Dolby Atmos
You can stream their music on your platform of choice. Keep up with Moxxy Jones by following them on Instagram.
Set to drop October 21st, 2022 in Dolby Atmos, Moxxy Jones’s debut synth-pop album,Unnoticed. Long-time San Francisco friends – keyboard player, Frank, and guitar player, Milan – share their latest collection of work that showcases the signature style and sound that sets this skillful songwriting and production team apart. A sound that’s untraditional, unexpected yet familiar, modern, energetic yet dark, and that has boundless sonic range paired with classical elements, catchy melodies/hooks, driven beats, juxtaposed lyrics, and layered harmonic underpinnings. Through sound,Unnoticed dives into the exploration of the juxtaposed duality of the human experience allows fans to ride the wide sonic rollercoaster of emotions, sit comfortably in discomfort, see beauty in brokenness, and experience harmony and dissonance all at once.
Today Moxxy Jones has dropped the single “Leave The Room.”The trackleads the release radar with its distinctive interplay of surprising elements of synth-pop, vapor wave, r&b, and rock, all intertwined with a progressive 70s dance vibe. At a quick listen, this song mixes familiar themes with custom sounds, a memorable vocal line, and a very accessible-yet-novel production style. Compared to the rest of the album, this sexy, catchy, funky, playful, spontaneous, dancy track is intensely visual lyrically and most sonically straightforward; a mashup of live organic instrumentation and modern machine sounds that provide interesting layers for a textured soundscape. “I want someone listening to this song to immediately visualize a time where they were so into someone they didn’t need to go anywhere to be fully happy,” says Frank. This well-matched collaboration features the smooth, soulful, R&B vocals of singer/songwriter Trent Park, Los Angeles, CA, anchored by the dynamic musical structure laid out by Moxxy Jones (keyboards, Frank, San Francisco, CA, and guitar, keyboards, programming, Milan, Portland, OR), and world-renowned bassist, Uriah Duffy (of Goaplé, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Fantastic Negrito), Oakland, CA.
In witnessing Moxxy Jones’ creative process, it becomes instantly clear that there was an honest yet relentless push and pull at play to create the best of what was needed for the song. “The genesis of this track started when I was listening to some guitar- and synth-driven pop/rock from the early 2000s (Justin Timberlake, Moby, Daft Punk). This got me inspired to take a basic song structure and add some jazz chords that seemed to provide the right amount of movement and tension into an otherwise straight-forward progression. I wrote that on a baby grand, and then presented it to Milan. We then built on this musical base and quickly started playing with different sounds and rhythms, added several hooks, and finally resolved the song into a chorus that is both familiar and entirely new. Then, when Trent got his hands on it and wrote the vocals, we knew it was perfect. The most fun part of this writing process came after the vocals were layered on top, because we then could find new and interesting ways to further complement the vocal melody with additional melodic hooks, harmonies, and other flourishes,” Frank shared. Milan added, “With any song, artists say that you need to let it go where it wants to go. However, that’s only partially true. You really need to challenge a song on where it wants to go to make sure that it really wants to go there. Editing, trying new sounds, deconstructing are all parts of making sure its journey is the one it’s supposed to be on. For ‘Leave the Room,’ the biggest challenge was balancing creative sonics without losing the vibe the song had from the beginning. After taking several experimental detours, ‘Leave the Room’ ultimately found its way back home to something more stripped down and raw.”
In order for Moxxy Jones to achieve their production vision, GRAMMY®-recognized producer, Starita, was brought onto the project. Starita is well recognized for his unique genre blending style incorporating electronic elements blended with live instrumentation that stems from his deep roots in electronic, dance, ambient, and classical music; resulting in a lush yet complex soundscape. “My role as producer was to elevate the vibe of the song. We wanted something that wasn’t so predictable but very accessible. What most excited me was their openness to the exploration of sounds. There was a lot of work on a computer programming the electronic elements but we also spent some good time in the big studios working on vocals and guitars. With this particular song, it was clear that it was a dance tune. So, there had to be a solid groove which was accomplished by the drums and Uriah’s bass playing. It also had to have interesting, fun, and modern sounds which I accomplished through analog synths and some sound design. Given its synth pop sensibility, I knew a main focus for production would be the vocals. Therefore, Trent Park’s smooth and soulful vocal was perfect on this tune. And of course, Frank is excellent at writing background melodies. As a result, the vocal production really vibed with the tune,” Starita recalls.
“After listening to the opening track on this album, we hope listeners will remember it long after it’s ended; visualizing a special moment in their life where the passion was so electric that they didn’t need to go anywhere to be fully happy. It’s in these primal desires that mark our unique human experiences,” says Moxxy Jones.
“Leave The Room” marks the first single release from San Francisco synthpop duo Moxxy Jones’s debut LP, Unnoticed, to be released on October 21st, 2022.
We originally thought you had to be The Beatles or Pink Floyd to get your music mixed in Dolby Atmos, which is the expansion of existing Dolby surround sound systems to add height channels, allowing sounds to be interpreted as three-dimensional objects.
But right out the gate, the San Francisco duo has seen their entire debut LP Unnoticed bathed in this bleeding edge sonic technology, with “Leave The Room” serving as the first taste of the team of Frank and Milan’s kinetic blend of 70s prog-disco and 10’s vaporwave.
Frank and Milan are Moxxy Jones (Image: MOYAfotographix)
“I want someone listening to this song to immediately visualize a time where they were so into someone they didn’t need to go anywhere to be fully happy,” says Frank. “The genesis of this track started when I was listening to some guitar- and synth-driven pop/rock from the early 2000s (Justin Timberlake, Moby, Daft Punk). This got me inspired to take a basic song structure and add some jazz chords that seemed to provide the right amount of movement and tension into an otherwise straight-forward progression. I wrote that on a baby grand, and then presented it to Milan. We then built on this musical base and quickly started playing with different sounds and rhythms, added several hooks, and finally resolved the song into a chorus that is both familiar and entirely new.”
“With any song, artists say that you need to let it go where it wants to go,” adds Milan. “However, that’s only partially true. You really need to challenge a song on where it wants to go to make sure that it really wants to go there. Editing, trying new sounds, deconstructing are all parts of making sure its journey is the one it’s supposed to be on. For ‘Leave the Room,’ the biggest challenge was balancing creative sonics without losing the vibe the song had from the beginning,” adds Milan. “After taking several experimental detours, ‘Leave the Room’ ultimately found its way back home to something more stripped down and raw.”
The song’s secret weapon, however, is Los Angeles soul singer Trent Park, who instantly felt the connection to the rhythm Moxxy Jones had crafted for the tune.
“As I wrote the lyrics on this track, I envisioned letting the ears be the eyes of the song; shifting from seeing to feeling,” Park explains. “I wanted the lyrics to take the listener to a particular space and time. The message is very direct, playful, and spontaneous. It had to pair perfectly with the wide sonic soundscape and textures that Moxxy Jones laid forth as the musical base. To marry the sounds to the lyrics, I started with a broad narrative and then focused more narrowly. The process evolved quite organically as I freestyled through the vocal takes.”
Trent Park (Image: Interiorstate)
“When Trent got his hands on it and wrote the vocals, we knew it was perfect,” adds Frank. “The most fun part of this writing process came after the vocals were layered on top, because we then could find new and interesting ways to further complement the vocal melody with additional melodic hooks, harmonies, and other flourishes.”
“Leave The Room,” along with the rest of the album, was recorded at 25th Street Recording, Oakland, CA, and Studio D, Sausalito, CA. Mastered by Joe LaPorta of Sterling Sound Studio. Creative direction by Tam Starita. Released by Starita Records, a division of Starita Music.
Moxxy Jones’ “Leave The Room’’ single is available across all digital service providers today, March 23rd, 2022.
