The 2014 BPM Festival is right around the corner! Running for ten days from January 3rd to January 12th, the winter festival brings some of the world's biggest house and techno artists to the sunny beaches of Mexico in Playa del Carmen. Ahead of the festival, we will be interviewing artists with our weekly series on Tuesdays. First up... Bob Moses. We had a chance to catch up with them ahead of their appearance at The BPM Festival 2014 at the Scissor & Thread showcase on January 10th at Fusion Beach Club and on January 11th at Mamitas for All Day I Dream.
New York-based DJ/production duo Bob Moses, comprised of Jimmy Vallance and Tom Howie, have been unstoppable this year. After briefly meeting in a high school art class in Vancouver, they decided to work together after running into each other years later. With releases on Brooklyn's boutique label Scissor & Thread including their recent 'Far From The Tree' EP, they have consistently impressed fans with their unique sound, which they liken to "music that will make you want to build a highway through a low income neighborhood." The guys chat with us about their EP, their busy winter season, playing at BPM for the first time last year, and why they're excited to return in 2014.
Your most recent EP, 'Far From The Tree,' was released in October. It’s beautiful, it’s emotional, and we love it. What were some of your inspirations for each track? Thank you! Glad you like it. It's hard to say where the inspiration comes from. We're constantly listening to records, new and old, in order to find sounds that inspire us. We tried to dive more into writing songs on this EP, with tracks like "All I Want," "Winter's Song" and "Stealing Fire." When it comes to writing, we try our best not to get in the way of the song and let it flow naturally. Thinking too much can be the end of a great idea.
Photography by Anouk Schneider
'Far From The Tree' is just one among a number of great productions you have released on Brooklyn label Scissor & Thread. Did you find them or did they find you? We were introduced to Francis Harris and Scissor & Thread through a mutual friend, Philipp Jung of M.A.N.D.Y. Philipp asked us to write a vocal line for a track he made with Francis. Francis really liked what we came up with, so we ended up working on more records with him. Those records ended up being the first few Frank & Tony tracks and Bob Moses was born out of that.
You had a great summer season. You played in Peru for the first time, and at Robot Heart and Burning Man. How has the winter season been treating you? The winter season has been great so far. We've been playing all over the place, just got back from a three week European tour, and we have a few more North American dates before the years over, playing New Years Eve in Brooklyn and heading to play All Day I Dream in LA for New Years Day.
You’re playing in your hometown of Vancouver before heading to Mexico. Excited? What do you miss the most since moving to Brooklyn? We are really excited to be playing in our hometown for the first time. Vancouver is a beautiful city - we definitely miss the view of the mountains... they're stunning.
What are you looking forward to the most while you’re down in Playa Del Carmen playing at The BPM Festival? Escaping the cold NYC weather and amazing fish tacos.
You played BPM for the first time last year - was it different from what you were expecting? It was exactly what we had in mind - a good time in a warm and sunny place.
What are some highlights from last year’s festival artist and party wise? We were there for less than 24 hours, and didn't get a chance to see much of anything. We flew in and played at La Santanera, which was great! After the show, we had a little after party at our hotel and then flew back to NYC.
Besides playing, what’s on your list of things to do/see while you in Playa del Carmen (sites to see, restaurants to try, etc.)? We're there for five days this time, so we're hoping to explore a lot more than we did last year. Don't really have anything specific in mind - we'll just go with the flow once we're down there. There will not be a shortage of things to see and do.
Bob Moses at The BPM Festival:
01/10/14 - Fusion Beach Club - "Scissor & Thread Showcase"
01/11/14 - Mamitas - "All Day I Dream"