Name of the band: MOLTENO
Year in which it is established: 2018
Name of the members and composition:
Jessica Molteno Murray – MOLTENO
Live band:
Sarah Barton-Keeley – Keys and BV’s
Declan Carrier – Guitar and BV’s
Charlie Valencia – Cello
Band’s hometown: MOLTENO grew up in Stroud, Gloucestershire, UK and now lives in
East London, UK
Discs or ep:
1000 Moons (EP) – 2018
Dakota – Night Water Mix (Single) – 2019
Tripping Up (Single) – 2020
Waves (Single) – 2020
Element 1 (EP) – 2021 (released from July 2021)
1.- Why dreampop?
Growing up, I listened to a lot of trip hop, bands like PorBshead and Massive Attack,
grunge – Nirvana, Silverchair and Hole etc, R&B and hip hop like Lauryn Hill and The Fugees and folk influenced artists like Jeff Buckley and Joni Mitchell. This all mixed together to form a dream pop sound for me! I love to blend organic sounds with experimental electronic elements and dreamy synths.
2.- How did you meet (if there are several) and if you are a soloist: How did you start
your creaBve solo process?
I met Sarah from my live band (who I also co-write with) at music school and we started writing together almost straight away. I felt like we harmonised like siblings! I met Dec at a gig that Sarah and I performed at and he joined the live band aier our first few shows. We now write together too!
I first started writing solo tracks as a teenager. Before that I was in rock bands at school.
I worked on developing my produccion skills and sound before releasing music as MOLTENO from 2018.
3.- Where do you frequently create (your) music? In which space (s)? And how do you
invest your (their) times in creation?
My music usually starts taking shape in my bedroom studio. I write the song solo or work with co-writers like Sarah from the band to develop the track and vocals, experimenting with the produccion with my home studio set up. I then take the production to the music producers I collaborate with and invite my live band and other session musicians including cellists to play on the tracks too. The producers I work with tend to have their own music studios so we work on the tracks there. In the pandemic, I had a lot of remote sessions and appreciated being able to move tracks along in lockdown!
4.- Do you (s) already have live concerts? What are the most important and where did
they go?
With my band, we’ve performed at Camp Festival, Fractalight Festival Of Light, Camden Assembly, The Finsbury & The Victoria to name a few… We’ve also had radio performances on Shoreditch Radio and Soho Radio. Through the pandemic, I’ve done a few solo performances on Instagram Live and we’re looking forward to future shows as things open up!
5.- What do you think is the ep or hit song of your band and why?
My track ‘Dakota’ seems to have been the ‘hit’ song so far, Spotify included in some cool Editorial playlists and that seemed to intro it to a lot of new fans Internationally. It’s also just been confirmed as part of the soundtrack for a new Netflix series (not allowed to say which yet!)
The song is inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests back in 2016 and the fight to preserve access to clean water. I guess this message resonated with people or maybe they just vibed with the glacial, water-like synths and e-bow guitars.
6.- What references did you take to create your music?
Everything from Bjork to Pink Floyd to Portishead to Radiohead’s more electronic albums Kid A and Amnesiac. In terms of songwriting, I would say Jeff Buckley is one of my biggest influences. I also love listening to hooky, dark more experimental pop like BANKS, FKA Twigs, Sevdaliza and ABRA and artists like these along with early references are shaping my sound.
7.- Any anecdote in a band or soloist’s live performance or show
I was completely mesmerised by Bjork’s live show (‘Cornucopia’) at O2 and the way she merged technology and arBficial elements with pure, beautiful music to portray her version of Utopia.
I was also lucky enough to see her performance in VR the same year. An amazing experience!
8.- What do you enjoy most of your music?
I love that moment when you first write a new song. You’re not quite sure if it’s good yet, maybe it’s 3am already and you should probably sleep on it but that buzz is unique and addictive!
9.- What do you think about the creation of the Dream Dream pop plaLorm? Do you
think (s) that this space is necessary?
I think it’s fantastic that you’ve created a plataform dedicated to our wonderful sub genre! I think it is necessary as the dream-pop sub-genre can be underrepresented.
10.- A message that you want (want) to deliver or free words from the band to the
readers
I hope you’ll enjoy my next EP ‘Element 1’ ! It’s the first of four EPs I’ll be releasing in 2021-2022 –‘Element 1, 2, 3 & 4’ aim to celebrate Planet Earth and beyond, exploring the elements, textures and connections that not only make life possible but also vivid and 3D. Watch this space!
Molteno Music here: