inside the moon & the mind’s ‘demo(n)s’
the moon & the mind dropped their debut ‘demo(n)s’ ep on Friday, October 13th. With just under 4 minutes total playtime they’ve managed to captivate a growing audience; here is some insight into their release.
Initially shared from @joshtheramon & @themoon.andthemind via instagram
Oct. 13.23
I haven't publicly released music that I've written/co-written in over a decade, as I've chosen mostly to endorse others in the pursuit of building a family of artists w/ @piqueaudiovisual but these demos for @themoon.andthemind are very special to me, and this project pulled me back into songwriting and collaboration in the best way. The track 'Elliott' began somewhere in the realm of 7 years ago when @aye_aye__capitan and I were recording some of his ukulele riffs in a shed turned backyard studio. I loved the music so much I found myself writing lyrics and guitar parts for some of them at the time, but this particular track originally had a vocal collaboration with my sister @aleksagracee circa 2016. During the pandemic Lou came to visit and we laid down a slower version of what was once called 'miserable, magnificent', and it sat on a hard drive until I finally met @ayla.wine_ in May of 2023. She did a rewrite of the lyrics and absolutely nailed it. The momentum coming off of this track was what we needed to record 8 covers in something like 3 weeks in July.
Oct. 14.23
Oct. 14.23
‘Hope is a Melody’ ; In the wake of my last break up I spent weeks, months, and eventually years trying find new ways to love this person, like letting them go; and how else could I redirect or transfer this massive amount of love to myself. I think it mostly transferred to cats, but meanwhile at some point in a sort of out of body experience I finally came to the perspective of what I really wanted to say / what I truly felt for this person and came to the lyric ‘I hope that this melody finds you well and you’re on your way to be on your way…’ and that remains the entirety of the message, it said everything, for me. I had recorded the music and myself singing it to get the idea out but it wasn’t until I heard @ayla.wine_ sing it that there was a voice as beautiful, soft, and sweet as the sentiment I felt when I finally reached the place of letting go.
Oct. 23.23
20 years ago today the world suffered the loss of one of the greatest voices of modern times; Steven Paul Smith, known to most as Elliott Smith. The title of the lead track on our ‘Demo(n)s’ ep is an homage to his legacy, one that represents the beauty of both misery and magnificence. I’ll never forget when I sent @ayla.wine_ a clip of the second track ‘hope is a melody’ and then when I asked her what she thought about the original piece I had sent her a few days later she responded, “I thought that was an Elliott Smith song.”
Best compliment of my life.