Seemingly unwittingly, Tom Howie and Jimmy Valance stumbled upon a sound recently. That sound has, almost overnight, made them burgeoning sensations, seeing the duo recently play the IMS Ibiza Grand Finale on top of Dalt Vila, an iconic UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The same place that the then burgeoning and relatively unknown Disclosure first spread their sound to the Ibiza masses two years ago, and subsequently the world. While that might be where the parallels end between the duo, other than their live element, it does speak to the power of originality in dance music, which Bob Moses have plenty of.
With 2 original EP’s released by the critically acclaimed Scissor & Thread imprint, as well as being heavily involved in the original Frank & Tony releases, the duo have already differentiated themselves from the pack with their unique, brooding, vocal take on house music.
Naturally, with any artists showing such promise, major labels came knocking, resulting in the two recently inking an album deal with Domino Records – home to the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Hot Chip, Caribou and Four Tet.
But if it wasn’t for the duo’s early days working with the Scissor & Thread crew, it’s unlikely that the two would’ve found themselves in the position that they’re in today. Francis Harris and Anthony Collins– two of the owners of Scissor & Thread and taste makers of the highest order – first approached the two to help out on the initial Frank & Tony’s records, and ultimately feature at their first label showcase at the infamous Marcy Hotel in New York.
The two had been working as musicians for some time and had been performing individually trying to build their careers, yet it was this first gig at The Marcy that set things in motion.
"They actually asked us to feature on their records because they knew Tom could sing," Jimmy explains.
"So Tom and I wrote the vocal hooks for those original Frank & Tony records. When we did that first material we knew that people were either going to really dig it or absolutely hate it. Francis (Harris) then asked us to join them and play the Marcy Hotel. We weren’t even called Bob Moses then, but Tom started singing and people went nuts, so we thought, why don’t we make records like this ourselves?"
The duo have since become synonymous with their take on house music, incorporating an immediately recognizable kind of dusty and sub heavy sound mixed with catchy melodies and hooks but it was these early influences that ultimately formed and refined the material they have gone onto release.
"The reason we were so excited to work with them in the beginning is because they were the ones making that sound the best," Tom says.
"Absolutely," Jimmy agrees. "In a sense, we tried to copy the Frank & Tony sound – but obviously you can never replicate someone else’s sound, which is a good thing – so basically us trying to copy Frank & Tony became Bob Moses."
Bucking the current trend of flooding the market with a host of releases, it’s taken 7 months for their follow up after the ‘Far From The Tree’ EP, and with it a few surprises.
Apart from a few cleverly placed links on their Facebook page, fans were none the wiser to a somewhat out of the blue new single released on Domino Records for pre order on 16 June. The title track off the two track single ‘I Ain’t Gonna Be The First To Cry,’ is a cover of an original blues track by Bobby Bland and has taken a slightly different route to previous releases.
Jimmy and Tom are both outspoken on their musical influences growing up; ranging from blues to alternative rock and it’s more of this that we see with their latest release.
“In the past we’ve done the acoustic version of ‘Hands to Hold’ and the ‘Stealing Fire’ type of tracks, so we’ve been trying to setup this alternative to just four to the floor club music (‘Winter’s Song’ or ‘All I Want’),” Jimmy says of the process.
“We tried to dive more into that direction with ‘First to Cry’. We wanted to do a bluesy thing over the dance beats we’re known for, so we slowed down the BPM and found this amazing old blues tune by Bobby Bland and then Tom wrote this guitar riff and started singing over it and we realized that we really liked it. We don’t want to just be known for one specific type of music – We like classic songs and we’ll try fit those songs into what we do.”
It’s with releases like this that one can get a better sense of the ambitions of the two and the crossover potential that they have formulated so far.
“The thing we’ve always been exploring is that sound that we love – sub, drum and pad sounds with a certain atmospheric side to it – and that’s what’s always drawn us to other records we love,” Tom continues.
“So the whole goal for us is to try and write songs that are as powerful on a song level as the songs that we grew up loving, but with this sound that we love that was spearheaded by Francis and the Scissor and Thread guys.”
The flip side to the single is the excellent B-side titled ‘Grace’ (16 June release). If ‘First To Cry’ took the listener to somewhat new territories, ‘Grace’ masterfully takes us back to a more familiar sound with a track that is sure to be played at festivals and on dance floors across the world this coming season.
So by no means is it a new sound, but an assurance in showcasing their dynamic ability as musicians and vision for where they want to go, all grown out of an ever increasing skill set and confidence.
As with any group at such a critical point in their career, change is inevitable. And in Bob Moses’ case, it was leaving the proverbial nest of Scissor & Thread and signing to Domino Records to make what will be their debut full length album – a massive step forward but also a difficult process the two didn’t take lightly.
After ‘Far from the Tree’, we were approached by a lot of the bigger labels but none of it felt right,” Jimmy explains.
“The vibe was, make ‘All I Want’ 20 more times and put out an album. That’s obviously not what we’re interested in doing and it also creates all types of pressures for both sides.”
“We talked to the guys at Scissor & Thread a lot about what was the best thing to do and after Domino approached us, they ultimately told us we had to do it. Domino can take us places that Scissor and Thread can’t and everyone agreed that it was the right thing to do.”
“The vibe with Domino was really good in the sense that they were signing us to be artists because they trusted our artistic ability,” Tom adds.
“There are obviously certain logistical pressures because this is our first album but we’ve been given full artistic freedom with it. Domino basically said to us to carry on doing what we do producing our music and then lets put out an album.”
“We have a sort of map or brainstorm of where we want our career to go and the kind of music we want to write and we felt that Domino was the next step. It was almost kind of serendipitous – like we’ve planned this but that’s not how it’s been at all.”
It would have been easy for the two to dive blindly into the new album, yet they did the complete opposite. Feeling uncomfortable with the immediate jump to an LP, the two put forward the idea of releasing the ‘First to Cry’ single first.
Wanting to keep the same understated vibe as releases off Scissor & Thread, Tom and Jimmy have stuck to the process that’s worked so well for them in the past and continued to believe in themselves (in both the music they release and the way they go about it) – a theme that comes through clearly when chatting to them.
“We just want to do things right,” Jimmy admits.
“You get this gut feeling where it feels a bit too soon or a bit off and we’re always going to trust that initial feeling. People have tried to tell us to do certain things, but us and our manager as a collective have a great relationship and if any of us feel any negativity or anxiety towards it we won’t do it.”
“It helps us keep integrity and the belief that what we feel is right is best for us. Obviously sometimes you get it wrong but at least then that’s on you and nobody else.”
This refreshingly humble and honest outlook becomes even clearer when the discussion turns to touring the world and playing at venues packed with thousands of people.
“We’ve played really great gigs in the past, but the best has to have been a couple of weeks ago in Ireland,” Jimmy says.
“These college kids in Dublin started a company so that they could book us for a party there. It fell through a couple times but eventually it worked out and we played in a tiny room in Dublin packed with kids who all knew who we were and knew every word to all our songs. We went back to their house afterwards and it was just this magical feeling.”
“The reason we started making music was to hopefully make an impact to people listening to our tracks just like certain bands had on us – and it felt like that had happened in Dublin,” Jimmy continues.
“It was a really humbling experience and one that neither of us will forget. We’ve played gigs with the best sound and the best visual technicians etc., etc., but you can’t replicate the feeling of seeing your music touch other people like that.”
Each new release has seen the duo’s stock rise significantly with an increasing fan base and approval from some of the industries harshest critics to boot. Late into the night after their excellent debut performance in London, we’re chatting about their gig the night before at IMS in Ibiza.
Jimmy tells me how after their performance, Seth Troxler approached them and proceeded to explain how some years ago, after what ended up being career-defining gig on the island, one of the scenes most important names came up to him, grabbed him by the shoulders and said ‘welcome to the party.’ At the time, an unexpected and significant gesture, which on many levels served to cement his status in the scene. You can guess what Mr. Troxler said to the two next…