MOAT
MOAT is a collaboration between Marty Willson-Piper and Swedish composer/multi-instrumentalist Niko Röhlcke (Weeping Willows).
MOAT (2013)
Tracks (click a title for details) | Media | |
| 1. | Let Me Go (3:19) | |
| 2. | A Murdered Swan (5:34) | |
| 3. | If I Had A Dream (3:58) | |
| 4. | Try And Make Sense (5:05) | / |
| 5. | Please Please Please (7:30) | |
| 6. | Felice (3:25) | |
| 7. | The Sound Of You (3:47) | |
| 8. | Lovestar (5:01) | |
| | ||
Credits
Marty Willson-Piper: Vocals, 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar
Niko Röhlcke: Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Slide Guitar, Pedal Steel, Toblephone, Mandolin, Keys, Pocket Piano, Electric Piano, Accordion, Organ
Malin-My Wall: Violin, Electric Violin, Cello
Torbjörn Svedberg: Vibraphone, Marimba, Glockenspiel, Percussion, Accordion
Sigge Krantz: Bass
Anders Graham Paulsson: Bass
Anders Hernestam: Drums
Erik Nilsson: Drums
Rafael Sida Huizar: Percussion
Mia Marin: 5 String Violin
Mikael Marin: 5 String Viola
Leo Svensson Sander: Cello
Jonas Wall: Tenor Sax, Flute
Jonas Lindeborg: Trumpet
Mats Äleklint: Trombone
Tiare Helberg: Backing Vocals on "Let Me Go," "A Murdered Swan," "Please Please Please" and "Lovestar."
Recorded by Sigge Krantz, Niko Röhlcke & Torbjörn Svedberg
Mixed by Sigge Krantz & Niko Röhlcke
Mastered by Classe Persson
Produced by Sigge Krantz, Niko Röhlcke & Marty Willson-Piper
Executive Producer Göran Petersson
Art and design by Tiare Helberg assisted by Rachel Gutek
Cover Photo by Marty Willson-Piper
Innersleeve and LP label photos by Tiare Helberg (Uplands Väsby, Sweden)
All songs written by Marty Willson-Piper & Niko Röhlcke
("Please Please Please" co-written with Torbjörn Svedberg)
Releases
- LP - Brus & Knaster Knaster 024 (Sweden) - Oct. 2, 2013 - 180 gram vinyl
- CD - Brus & Knaster Brus 024 (Sweden) - Oct. 2, 2013 (free with LP)
- Digital Download - Brus & Knaster (Sweden) - Oct. 2, 2013 - Available at Amazon and Apple Music
Notes
Marketing write-up:
MOAT is a collaboration between guitarist/singer and songwriter Marty Willson-Piper and composer/multi-instrumentalist Niko Röhlcke.
Marty has an international career spanning over 30 years, he's been a successful guitarist, bassist, singer and songwriter. He is a long time member of Australian psychedelic art rock band the church, former member of gothic folk pop hipsters All About Eve and seminal punk heroes The Saints. Marty has a long history with Sweden having lived in Stockholm for 10 years.
Niko is a talented guitarist/multi-instrumentalist. He is a member of Swedish indie pop rock band Weeping Willows. Niko has composed music for film, TV series and The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Sweden.
The idea for the collaboration between these two artists was that of producer/engineer Sigge Krantz. Knowing the work of both Niko and Marty, he imagined that together they would be able to create something special. Sigge loved Marty's last solo release 'Nightjar', but as Marty played most of the instruments, Sigge's idea was to make an organic record using a band, whist combining Niko and Marty's creative vision and talents.
In the Swedish autumn of 2010, Sigge introduced Marty and Niko, and the project was on its way to becoming a reality. They spent a few weeks at Niko's house in the country writing together. They met again the following summer of 2011 to do a second writing session. This coincided with the Weeping Willows tour and Marty guested with them on stage at Orionteatern, Stockholm.
The MOAT album was recorded during the summer of 2012 beside a beautiful lake in a wonderfully restored Gamla Tvätteriet. This album captures the fusion of sparse Scandinavian beauty and English folk sensibilities, filmic and evocative.
The MOAT project reunites old friends with Marty, Weeping Willows drummer Anders Hernestam and Anders Graham Paulsson on bass. Anders H played on Marty's fifth solo album 'Spirit Level', whilst Anders GP used to run Marty's Stockholm studio. Special guests on the album who will also perform in the live line-up include virtuoso Malin-My Wall on violin, maestro percussionist Torbjörn Svedberg and Swedish-Polynesian chanteuse Tiare Helberg.
MOAT LP comes beautifully packaged on 180 gram vinyl with a free cd.
"Try And Make Sense" was used in the Swedish police television drama "Arne Dahl" in the final episode of series one, entitled "Europa Blues".
Marty took the cover photo at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.
Reviews & Comments
GONE BY NOON (2020)
Gone By Noon (3:58) –
Releases
- Digital Download/Streaming - Schoolkids Records - Sept. 9, 2020 - Available at Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify
Notes
This is the first single from MOAT's second album Poison Stream.
Marketing write-up:
The band has released "Gone By Noon," a lush and brooding preview of things to come with their upcoming album 'Poison Stream', to be released in 2021. The single has been described as "Catchy harpsichord-induced melancholia by a protagonist juggling the aftermath of loss and betrayal". The sedated pace holds steady throughout, but around this core slowly spins glistening guitar webs, silkily strummed acoustic guitar with a shadowing bass line, lightly wavering keyboard echoes, and the ebb and flow of Willson-Piper's alluringly mysterious vocals as he sings about betrayal and loss.
This is from a review by Ryan Martin in Jammerzine:
Dark in a signature kind of way, 'Gone By Noon', for lack of a better analogy, is a song constructed like a film. I can feel the concept from start to finish and, as do all art with it's own signature, subtly moves me and conveys emotion with the nuance as much as the music.
The background instrumentation hides in the background yet lend just as much to the ear as do the vocals. And, while everything played in the song has its place, there is enough space left over to fill with your experiences in order to make this song a part of you, and to make this part of the soundtrack that is your life. Listen and hear for yourself.
ACID RAIN (2020)
Acid Rain (3:13) –
Releases
- Digital Download/Streaming - Schoolkids Records - Oct. 7, 2020 - Available at Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify
Notes
This is the second single from MOAT's second album Poison Stream.
Marketing write-up:
If the previous single GONE BY NOON showed the duo's ability to conjure images of cold war trysts and central European espionage through strange and beautiful chamber-pop designs, ACID RAIN sees them working at the other end of the sonic spectrum to create music from more rock and psychedelic brushstrokes, though no less deft, delicate and with the same hints of melancholia.
This is from a review by Ryan Martin in Jammerzine:
Filled with a lushness crafted by a pair of worldly worn songwriters and pieced together as an experience, 'Acid Rain' has that instant 'I got you' moment from the first chord struck. Add to that the layered chord progression and that deep feeling of blending musical harmony and fusion of talent that you sense the contributions of both artists yet feel the individuality of their talents.
This snippet is from Gerry Ranson at Vive Le Rock!:
A glowing, propulsive road-movie of a song for a planet in crisis.
THE ROADMAP TO MY SOUL (2020)
The Roadmap To My Soul (4:33) –
Releases
- Digital Download/Streaming - Schoolkids Records - Dec. 1, 2020 - Available at Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify
Notes
This is the third single from MOAT's second album Poison Stream.
HELPLESS YOU (2021)
Helpless You (4:37) –
Credits
Niko Röhlcke - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Marty Willson-Piper - lead vocal, acoustic 12 string, electric guitar, Leslie guitar, bouzouki
Olivia Willson-Piper - violins, backing vocals
Dare Mason - piano, backing vocals
Eddie John - drums
Lyrics by Marty Willson-Piper
Releases
- Digital Download/Streaming - Schoolkids Records - Feb. 3, 2021 - Available at Spotify
Notes
This is the fourth single from MOAT's second album Poison Stream.
This is from a review by Arun Kendall in Backseat Mafia:
'Helpless You' rings out like a bell - there is a bluesy, folksy spine but above all a crystalline shimmer that sparkles and shines. Instrumentation is layered and nuanced - strings pluck and swoon, while the guitars, as would be expected, jangle with a pristine clarity. Willson-Piper's voice has a tender toughness about it - distinct and recognisable (he took the helm in The Church for a few songs), it is cool and laid back. The song is infused with a romantic melancholy and yearning with its celestial choruses and harmonies.... It's a gorgeous and rich tapestry.
POISON STREAM (2021)
Tracks (click a title for details) | Media | |
| 1. | Acid Rain (3:13) | |
| 2. | Gone By Noon (3:58) | |
| 3. | Helpless You (4:37) | / |
| 4. | The Ballad Of Sweet Marie (4:29) | |
| 5. | The Roadmap To My Soul (4:33) | |
| 6. | Judgement Day (5:38) | |
| 7. | Black And White (4:21) | |
| 8. | The Folly (2:34) | |
| 9. | Lover (3:43) | |
| 10. | Tears Will Come (3:32) | |
| | ||
Credits
Written by Marty Willson-Piper & Niko Röhlcke
Produced by Dare Mason, Marty Willson-Piper & Niko Röhlcke
Engineered, recorded and mixed by Dare Mason
at the VIP Lounge, Penzance, England
Additional recording by Niko Röhlcke at Attic Studios, Stockholm
Mastered by Poppy Weinberger for Riverfish Mastering
Lyrics by Marty Willson-Piper
Art Direction & Design by Olivia Willson-Piper
Layout Coordination by Lizzie Tucker
Cover Photograph by Jan Axel Uddenfeldt, taken at Nothamn, Väddö, Sweden
Additional Photography by Forest Simon & Annie Spratt
Releases
- CD - Schoolkids Records SMR-064 (USA) - Feb. 12, 2021 - digipak - Available at Amazon
- LP - Schoolkids Records LP-SMR-064 (USA) - Feb. 12, 2021 - translucent green vinyl, gatefold sleeve - Available at Amazon
- Digital Download/Streaming - Schoolkids Records - Feb. 12, 2021 - Available at Amazon, Apple Music and Spotify
Notes
This album was funded through IndieGoGo, where you could pre-order the album and purchase other MOAT-related products and more.
Reviews & Comments