Born of the encounter between actor and singer-songwriter Yohan Levy, keyboardist and film music composer Louis Machto, and arranger and guitarist Luc Montaudon, Moondays seek to build bridges between cinematic story-telling and acoustic pop music.
Navigating between pop, folk and alternative rock, Moondays tell us the stories of imaginary characters, though anchored in reality, through sinuous melodies and floating harmonies, punctuated with sounds of everyday life. Borrowing as much from the codes of English rock opera as from sound fiction, Moondays tackles the brutality of contemporary themes through daydreaming and poetry.Their self-produced debut studio album, The Last Sunday of Andy Glane, follows the steps and thoughts of a young idealistic misfit on his last day in town.
It is in the sometimes dark heart of their world city – Paris – that the three musicians of Moondays imagined the romantic and solitary wanderings of a certain Andy Glane, the anti-hero of their very cinematographic first studio album. “The Last Sunday of Andy Glane”, or a whole day in the life of this young guy who is a bit lost, a symbol (perhaps) of a generation Y in search of new landmarks. Hour by hour, fear by fear, we will follow the lonely man throughout the record, throughout the city, from his room to the café, from the café to the subway.
From July 5 to August 16, the album will unfold single by single, place by place. Then, it will be time to walk in Andy’s footsteps for a whole day, a whole adventure. The complete album, “The Last Sunday of Andy Glane”, will be available on all platforms on Sunday, August 23, 2020.
Ahead of the official release this Sunday, we present the premiere of ‘Andy’s Room’ for you to enjoy.
Looking back, what were some of your earliest entries into music appreciation? And music production?
Each of us has had the chance to grow up in a musical climate. From a young age, Yohan used to listen to his father’s vinyls of David Bowie and the Beatles, Louis would go to concerts in his dad’s theatre and Luc would attend his accordionist mother and guitar player father’s shows. Then, the three of us had musical attempts with different bands of different styles – hip-hop for Louis, pop-folk for Yohan and rock for Luc – before forming Moondays.
Take us through your songwriting process. Are there any particular steps you take when putting music together?
Usually, Louis and Luc come up with chords, which inspire Yohan with words and melodies. Or the opposite, Yohan imagines a melody with basic harmonies that Louis and Luc then enrich. For The “Last Sunday of Andy Glane”, the concept of telling a story that unfolds song after song was also both an artistic constraint and precious guidance in the writing of the songs, musically and lyrically.
What gets your creative juices flowing?
Our differences, in terms of both musical tastes and artistic background. Louis loves rap music and studied at the Paris Conservatory like Luc, who enjoys everything that grooves, whereas Yohan is more of a self-taught musician keen of sinuous melodies. Those differences combined with a shared love for rich harmonies and cinematic story-telling – Louis also composes film music, Yohan is an actor and Luc has contributed to a few soundtracks – are at the origin of this concept-album, which borrows as much from the codes of English rock opera as from sound fiction.
As a musician, it becomes apparent that there is a huge difference between the art and the business. Is there anything about the music scene that you would personally change?
Playlisting has taken a huge importance in the music world. Obviously, that’s a great way to discover new artists and to listen to songs that match your very mood of the moment. But, at the same time, catchy singles do not shed light on the less accessible tracks of a record any more, and albums as are less and less considered as coherent wholes than as sets of tracks that can easily be deconstructed. By connecting the songs of “TLSOAG” by both a story and sounds of everyday life, we somehow encourage people to listen to the album at one go.
Studio work and music creation or performing and interacting with a live audience, which do you prefer?
From the start, we have thought “TLSOAG” as both a studio concept album and an immersive live show. In fact, the studio work has allowed us to create the sound identity of the album and precise the cinematic atmosphere that blends music with sounds first. Then, even though the Covid crises made us opt for a digital release, we have plenty of ideas to turn the album into an theatrical live show – somewhere between a concert and a musical – and we can’t wait for the concert halls to reopen.
What is the most memorable response you have had to your music?
We received feedback from very diverse professionals on different aspects of the project, which have all touched us a lot. Pop-folk artist Cocoon and Director of label Matthieu Gazier highlighted the composition and production. As for film music composer Marie-Jeanne Serrero and music journalist Emmanuel Tellier, they were both very sensitive to the fresh and nostalgic cinematic escape.
What’s on your current playlist?
Eels, Rufus Wainright, Sean Lennon, Arcade Fire, The Velvet Underground…
Breakdown the news for us: what can we expect from you in the near future?
Every Sunday of the summer, we’ll unveil a new piece of “The Last Sunday of Andy Glane”. From July 5 to August 16, the album will unfold single by single, place by place. Then, it will be time to walk in Andy’s footsteps for a whole day, a whole adventure with the release of the complete album and, hopefully, live shows for the audience to physically immerse themselves in Andy’s world.
Famous last words?
Be kind with Andy. He’s very sensitive but we’re sure you guys can get along. And please introduce him to your friends, he doesn’t have many.
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