Interview with MOON MATES: ‘We’ll dive into the songs to see what we want from them but they’ll be upbeat and raw, the full spectrum of emotions’

Fast-rising stars and radio staples in their native Germany, Regensburg-based MOON MATES released their debut EP, the fantastically-titled Random Dad Barbecue Music last month, giving us five addictive tracks range from harmony-drenched, Fleetwood Mac-esque folk-rock to lush, atmospheric mid-tempo tunes, defined by the bright vocals of frontwoman Gloria Muschaweck.

Formed informally in 2019 when guitarist and co-songwriter Benjamin Hoffmeister quit his psych-rock band after meeting former drama student Muschaweck, MOON MATES became an official band early last year, adding drummer/producer Lucas Adlhoch and Peter Schnurrenberger (bass) into the mix. A handful of songs had been recorded for the EP, but just days into their second session, as their first ever gigs were being booked, the pandemic struck. Both the name MOON MATES and Random Dad Barbecue Music came from them playing with fridge magnet words: ‘We have so many titles we could already name our first three albums,’ Muschaweck said.

That playful, random approach extends to their songs. ‘Swim With Me’ is one of the standout tracks on the EP for me, with its synthy, dreamy, nostalgic intro. ‘It’s a very atmospheric, wholesome song about trust, about it being ok in the end, that it’ll be ok if you stick together,’ Muschaweck said. Hoffmeister was inspired by the animated American sitcom BoJack Horseman: ‘I watched a specific episode where he (BoJack, the sitcom horse) is underwater and he can’t communicate,’ he said. Muschaweck nods: ‘We sat down at the piano and Beni started playing the “di di di da”. I feel that sometimes we have different ideas, we might have part of a lyric or melody and we think we know the next logical step.’ Hoffmeister agrees: ‘When you’re two people writing together, you can encourage each other.’ Muschaweck is laughing: ‘By yourself, you can discard ideas,’ she said. ‘As two people, you keep going, it’s like ping pong.’ Hoffmeister looks at her: ‘Sometimes, the most important word is “no”,’ he said, grinning. ‘You have to decide where you’re going with something, it can be really cool just to surrender to it.’ Muschaweck nods: ‘It also helps to know what you don’t want,’ she said.

As the track kicks off: ‘Talking with your hands and feet, you spoke to me. Never in my wildest dreams could I have seen anyone like you in my periphery. Meeting you just felt like an epiphany.’

‘That mix of groove and rhythm and atmospheric synths became the template’

‘Ghost Lights’ on the EP could be an 80’s track from the intro but as soon as Muschaweck’s vocals come in, it has a distinctly 70’s, Fleetwood Mac vibe, down to the upbeat melody paired with darker, more introspective lyrics: ‘It was about my personal life and saying to people who are toxic that you’re better without them. It’s about facing our demons,’ she said. Its dreamy feel came about almost by accident, according to Hoffmeister: ‘I was playing around with the song and did something on the computer which changed it, made it more atmospheric,’ he said. ‘That mix of groove and rhythm and atmospheric synths became the template.’

As the song goes: ‘Running away won’t take you further. Chasing ghost lights ‘cross the sea. What if you love the one who hurt ‘cha? What if it’s all you’ll ever be?’

However, he acknowledges that starting a band during a pandemic was tough: ‘We began our career by being cancelled,’ he said. ‘At first, we thought it would give us more time to perfect the songs, but when the lockdown didn’t lift, we realised we had started a band at the worst possible time.’ Nonetheless, what could have been a disaster turned out to be an opportunity. In April, they livestreamed their first ever gig on Instagram, expecting just a handful of views. Instead, they found a legion of fans and the following month were invited to take part in United We Stream, an industry initiative to help save German venues.

More high-profile streaming performances followed, Spotify included MOON MATES in its Fresh Finds playlist and one of Germany’s biggest radio stations playlisted two of their songs, ‘Easy Fix’ and the sun-soaked singalong ‘Don’t Wait’, both since released as singles with quirky videos made and animated entirely by Hoffmeister in lockdown. ‘Our career so far has been a bit upside down,’ Muschaweck admitted. ‘What kept us going last year was knowing that we would eventually perform these songs on real stages. What we didn’t expect when we got there was that everyone would already know all of the songs.’

‘I’ve always been drawn to songs with darker lyrics and a happier melody’

The opening track ‘Don’t Wait’ showcases their ability to pair a catchy, sunny melody with more reflective, downbeat lyrics. As the song kicks off: ‘How am I supposed to act when performing all the time? A never ending game of charades. How am I supposed to feel when my mind is occupied with a never-ending Disney parade.’

Essentially, the track is about Muschaweck’s anxiety regarding how she is perceived and the self-obsessed world in which we live: ‘It’s a very playful song, fun to play live, with cheeky lyrics,’ she said. ‘But, at heart, it’s me questioning how you are supposed to conduct yourself in a world which expects so much from you. How much do you show others and how much do you keep to yourself? And is it even progress if you don’t show others your real feelings? I think it’s easier to get your message across if you pair it with a happier melody. I’ve always been drawn to songs with darker lyrics and a happier melody. A lot of people don’t listen to lyrics, especially here if the lyrics are in English. I never understand it, you have to listen to the lyrics.’ I say that I completely agree.

Muschaweck lived in Auckland, New Zealand, as a teenager and says that writing songs in English seems natural to her, given her upbringing and listening to a lot of music in English. ‘It was never an option to sing in German,’ she said. ‘English is the language of my heart.’ Hoffmeister weighs in: ‘The cool thing about English is that almost everyone understands it,’ he said. ‘If you write songs in English, you have the possibility of reaching a lot more people.’

The EP artwork is also a throwback to a bygone age and was made by Hoffmeister, featuring the band having a 70’s style barbecue: ‘We were kinda inspired by cheesy American ads from the 60’s and 70’s,’ Muschaweck explained. ‘That idea of the “perfect” family, with the men chatting at the barbecue and the woman being good at the back (laughs). It looks nostalgic but I think that there are a lot of interpretations of this picture.’

The subject of relationships also feeds into other tracks on the EP, such as ‘Easy Fix’, which is a cautionary tale of high expectations and the contradictions of wanting it all: ‘The melody came to me when I was visiting family in New Zealand and by the time I returned to Germany the song had almost written itself,’ Muschaweck said. ‘I was frustrated with the expectations people have of their lives, of their partners, of how falling in love is supposed to feel. I was fed up of people wanting contradictory things in life and love – like the line in the song “You want a serial heartbreaker who won’t break yours”. The idea of the gorgeous guy who will be different with you but also the inability to know what you want. Relationship patterns repeat themselves, don’t they? You can’t help yourself, those patterns are so ingrained.’

‘Some songs feel like you’re having a conversation with yourself’

Next year, they plan to release their first full-length album: ‘We have loads of songs we’re working on,’ Muschaweck said animatedly. ‘We’ll dive into the songs to see what we want from them but they’ll be upbeat and raw, the full spectrum of emotions.’ Hoffmeister nods; ‘We never stopped producing songs after the EP,’ he said. ‘We’ve got some songs that are just ideas but there aren’t many songs that won’t be on the album.’

Muschaweck describes their next album as “really introspective”: ‘Some songs feel like you’re having a conversation with yourself, others are angrier and more bold.’ The album’s direction has also been influenced by the fact that they are now able to play their songs to a live audience to gauge their reaction: ‘We played our first live show this year,’ Hoffmeister said. ‘That’s when things changed, you want to play cool live shows. Playing a song to an audience can make you feel very differently about it but there’ll be some right rock bangers on the next album.’

Hoffmeister has been hugely influenced by guitar legends such as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Jimi Hendrix. Muschaweck, for her part, says she’s really into Philly rock band, The War On Drugs, of whom I am also a big fan. ‘They’re amazing, she said. ‘As is Phoebe Bridgers. I grew up on a lot of Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac. We draw inspiration from great melodies. We all sing in the band, I really love that – the vocals are the focus.’

‘Dave Grohl, I think he’d be the man and the best to hang out with’

Their funniest moments as a band have come from recording sessions: ‘It’s lots of fun recording when someone messes up the lyrics or curses,’ Muschaweck laughed. If they could write a song with anyone, she is quick to say Phoebe Bridgers: ‘She would be the one for me, she’d be the coolest. Her lyrics are brilliant and funny, I love that.’ Hoffmeister has other ideas: ‘Dave Grohl, I think he’d be the man and the best to hang out with. He’s the coolest and most decent musician.’ Muschaweck agrees: ‘He’s not disillusioned with life, he spreads joy,’ she grinned, and I tell her I think that’s the best description of him I’ve ever heard.

Picking their dream line up is hard: ‘Is Motörhead off the table?,’ Hoffmeister laughs. Muschaweck jumps in as he ponders who to pick: ‘I’d love to tour with HAIM (an LA pop rock trio comprising three sisters), they’d be cool.’ Hoffmeister has decided: ‘I’d tour with Iron Maiden in South America, where they play to 50,000 to 100,000 crazy South Americans (laughs), just to play in front of all those people would be amazing. It’s like when the Foo Fighters are playing in South America and you can’t hear Dave Grohl because the crowd is singing so loudly! Or Bruce Springsteen, who plays four hour sets and then does three encores.’ We chat about how brilliant it is that Springsteen and former US president Barack Obama are friends: ‘I know!,’ Hoffmeister exclaimed. ‘Can you imagine Obama shyly asking him for his number?!’

(Photo from left to right: Gloria, Lucas, Peter and Beni.)