Our Writing Process

Our first song Stretching was written in college. We kept this song in our set right throughout our time together, linking us to our beginnings, but more importantly, it reminded us of our unique bond, and what happens when we really collaborate. 

We went through a time where we all brought to rehearsals songs that we had written independently. We worked on them together, jamming and re-organising to suit the Mooz vision. At times we sang our own songs, but gradually as we progressed, these never felt as strong as the songs we jammed together from scratch. Jamming together from scratch and seeing what evolved from an initial idea became our main way of writing. It gave us all the space to explore and bounce off each other’s ideas, creating a unique and interwoven way of working – a true collaboration.

We rehearsed at least twice a week and were lucky enough to have a great rehearsal space owned by Amy’s mum Dee, where we could store Amy’s drums in between rehearsals. Later we rehearsed in Amy’s house nearby. This was actually quite crucial to how we wrote, as we were able to jam for hours and not worry about rehearsal cost. We recorded all our jams on tapes, through a Dictaphone initially and later mini discs. We would then listen back, and meticulously pick out the best bits and work on these, gradually constructing them into a song format. This was a long process, pre-computers, listening back and relearning our parts to form a richer arrangement that we felt made our music all the more unique.

It was always more satisfying when we all felt an equal part of the process. It was more fun, more in the moment, and it was the best way for us to express ourselves individually whilst feeling connected to each other as band members. That’s what it was all about: a musical conversation between four musicians.

“As a band, unsurprisingly, given the form of most of their work, they operate as democratic disorder as opposed to any autocratic songwriter’s system – with a strong veto. If they don’t all love it, it doesn’t go in. “We’ve all entered a certain amount into the song. It’s all part of us. It’s all equal things,” notes Amy. In fact, their creative source moved from the original set of classical songwriting to the current egalitarian set-up over the years.” ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ magazine, interview by Kieron Gillen (2002)