MOON KING

AN INTERVIEW WITH DANIEL BENJAMIN #Moon king

Facebook link : Moonking 

The interview :

How and when was Moon King formed? I know you were once in another  band . What happened there?

Yes , I had another band called spiral beach with my brother (who now plays as Doldrums), maddy (who is in Moon King with me), and Dorian (who is in Austra now) ---- we were literally on an airplane to go on tour in europe together when me and my brother started talking about ideas for what to do with my new songs ---- originally we wanted to have an imaginary Japanese singer named Miyu, so it would be "Miyu and the Moon" or "Miyu and the Moon King". We had already decided that we would break up after that europe tour, so we were planning our next move!

Can you tell us what the band has been working on and what you've got forthcoming in the near future (new releases, tour, etc)?

We've been touring around in the US and Canada a little bit the last couple of months, and working out the new 4-piece band with a keyboard player and a drummer...... we are gonna do some shows in New York next, and then go down to Texas and back. then I'm gonna record another EP, probably called "Obsession II"


What artists (musicians or otherwise) have most influenced your work?

Well my friends inspire me all the time of course, people like Sean Nicholas Savage, or my brother Airick, or Mike from Fucked Up ..... also "people artists" like Sebastian Cowan, who I feel their work is defined by the people around them, not necessarily by a piece of art or music that they create..... but if you mean artists that I listened to growing up, I think Bjork or Neil Young or the Ramones or Nirvana or the Cocteau Twins have all had a big impact on the Moon King songs.....

What songs are the most personal to you?

Most of the songs are pretty dark, like I don't think I'm a very dark person but the lyrics really show that kind of side of me....... "the Fear of Love" is pretty revealing of course, and there are a lot of songs that haven't been released yet that are really raw. I feel weird putting the lyrics on the internet for people to read, but I want people to know I really mean what I'm singing.

Can you tell us a little about the band’s song writing process?

I usually think of melodies when I'm walking around outside -- in fact, pacing back and forth is the way I work on everything. maybe it helps the oxygen flow to the brain?? Anyway, once I have a melody I'll record it on my little dictaphone thing, then when I get home I'll figure out chords underneath it. Usually I'll start singing nothing instead of lyrics, like just gibberish, even when we play the song live ..... then after a while I sit down and make words out of the gibberish, and figure out  who the song is about. There's always a character for each song, and usually it's me, but sometimes I'll write about other people.

How do you feel about the state of the music industry today? There is no doubt a massive change underway; how do you see it and do you feel it’s positive?

I think it's great, like we are in the Mad Max era of music..... a wilderness where we all get to ride in cool cars.

What is your philosophy (on life) ?

ha! just listen to Sly & the Family Stone.

European tour?

YES -- next year!