INTERVIEW: Shoji — Music Musings & Such

INTERVIEW:

Shoji

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THANKS to Shoji…

for telling me about their new single, Bliss, and how it came together. I was interested to know what sort of music drives them and whether there is more material coming next year; if they have plans before the end of the year and which one album is most important to each of them.

Josh and Alex talk about the music they grew up around and tell me how Shoji came together; if there are any rising artists we need to check out; how they chill away from music – they each select a great song to end the interview with.

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Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Good, thanks. Our week has been busy; we’ve been locked away in the studio writing new music.

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We are a duo called Shoji (Alex and Josh).

How did Shoji get together? When did you meet?

We actually originally met at school but only started working together around three years ago. Shoji was formed last year but we have worked on projects together before then.

Bliss is your new track. Is there a story behind it?

The lyric, “Devil's acre”, is a metaphor for being stuck in a claustrophobic head space. The line came from a poetry book that Josh read and it immediately struck a chord. The contrast of the last line "I know I’ll stay as long as I feel bliss" plays with the idea of addiction and using vices to self-remedy. The track title, Bliss; we wanted to use as a contrast for the meaning of the lyrics to symbolise being in a dream state

Is there going to be more material coming next year do you think?

Absolutely. We are working towards an E.P. for early-2019!

Did you grow up around a lot of music as children? Which artists struck your ears?

Yes. We both grew up in musical families but in different ways.

Josh: I was always around music. My parents didn’t play instruments (my mum dabbled in piano); however, there was always music on around the house when I was growing up. I was brought up on The Beach Boys and Van Morrison.

Alex: My parents are both Classical musicians so I picked up the piano from an early age. Fleetwood Mac and Queen were also always on around the house.

What do you hope to achieve by the end of 2018?

We are looking in to booking some shows so it would be nice to have some in place for 2019.

In that same vein; do you have plans for 2019 in terms of what you want to accomplish?

We are working towards releasing an E.P. and it would be great to play the festival circuit.

Have you got a favourite memory from your time in music so far – the one that sticks in the mind?

Josh: The feeling when I finished my first album...

Alex: Playing Glastonbury.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

We would love to support Mount Kimbie. We both have a pretty sweet tooth so our rider would probably just be sweet (only the blue M&Ms, please).

Which one album means the most to each of you would you say (and why)?

Josh: The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds

The sounds and songwriting on this album are incredible. I saw Brian Wilson play it in full; it was my first gig and it was what got me in to music properly.

Alex: Burial – Untrue

This album got me in to Electronic music in a massive way.