Review Fix Exclusive: Jack Moves Talks ‘Don’t Let the Moon Die Young” And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Jack Moves, who details his origin in music and his new track, “Don’t Let the Moon Die Young.”

Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?

Jack Moves: I started singing in church when I was a kid. Then as a teen I started playing the tenor sax (since retired) and bass (still active, sometimes). Joining bands and writing my own music came next.  

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Moves: Not really predictable…but also probably more predictable than I’m aware it is. In the last few years that I’ve gotten into software production, I often start with putting a drum loop together, then add a chord progression, then melody, then lyrics. More often than not I start off with an objective (“let’s make this a slow one”, “let’s make this sound like Prince”), but more often than not that objective goes off the beaten path and becomes less relevant to the end product.  

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Moves: Hearing other artists be excited or have other people be excited about their music…you hear this in interviews a lot. Recognizing the vastness of stylistic and tonal possibilities that exist in music. And the equally vast amount of tools available at my disposal (instruments, synthesis, voices) to create something of my own.  

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Moves: It means most things to me. I suppose it means freedom, most of all. And the wonder I sometimes feel when I recognize the endless variety it presents, is unique. Also, in performance, it offers an alternative, uncomplicated, loving kind of space to exist in. 

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?

Moves: Electronic pop with progressive influences. Vocal-heavy, with a tendency toward epic harmonies and flourishes. 

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Moves: I can draw from any number of things for a live show; ideally each one’s a little different from the last. Re-constructed versions of old songs, choreography, special guests, covers…things that might not ever make it to a record. Also, there’s a live looping element I put in…that’s what Jack Moves started out as being, an all live looping project…so I keep an element of that.  

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Moves: The fleeting experience of youth and the promise of the night. And this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tjw-m78GF0E 

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2020?

Moves: I kind of hate the expectation of goals, especially tied to a year. To me it feels overwhelming. I want to see my album released, and play a release show in my hometown. Everything else will come as it comes. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Moves: Planning for the above, and writing new stuff, because I love writing.