Creativity And Chaos… the life cycle of a moth.

“Joy can be rebellious”

Sofia, My Life As A Moth

I don’t know about you, but life seems to have gone a bit sideways at the moment hasn’t it? For one, the news gets ever more dark, ever more clouded with misinformation, and the state of the world we live in ever more dire…. fancy an escape? 

I am particularly giddy to introduce you to My Life As A Moth, who has just released their incredible EP “Chest of Dress Up”, featuring title track “Chest of Dress Up”, “Electro Junction” and “Sing King“. While each of these tunes have a distinctly different vibe, different intentions, their common thread lies in the pure artistry of the visuals they evoke. Here, lyricist Sofia constructs a dreamworld so tangible that much like the curious Alice and adventures in Wonderland you cannot help but lose your grip and plunge into her gorgeously rambling poetry. Each individual sound is particular, like an ornament placed on a mantlepiece, each lyric narrates your footsteps through the dreamworld as you travel with delicious curiosity from verse to verse.

Their debut “Chest of Dress Up” is one of those tracks where each time you listen you pick up another entirely quotable phrase. You’ll learn below how Sofia builds each track, collecting words and following phrases as if she’s gathering magazine clippings for a collage. The melancholy melody of “Electro Junction” is perfectly suited to the reflective reminiscing woven into each verse, and once you learn the origin of this tune, particularly the part of life that gave it it’s start, the track gets evermore gorgeous.

Sofia describes the latest track, ‘Sing King’, as a “necessary de-weeding of the metaphorical garden”, and of that doesn’t make you run to Spotify I’m at a loss. Plus, you can bear witness to their first live gig at the incredible Paper Dress Vintage in Hackney on March 22nd, and quite frankly I cannot think of a more perfect backdrop for such a debut! Tickets available here.

As for the sound of “My Life As A Moth” it’s the kind of music that engulfs you, wholly transports you elsewhere. It feels as though it has been constructed in the same way you would put together an outfit, piece by piece, wherein every item serves a purpose and is distinctly personal. It’s intricate but sturdy layers are filled in with deliberate subtleties that while, at first listen, are perhaps not something you would immediately notice, but if they were to be removed it the track would twist into something fundamentally different.

Alongside Sofia the minds behind the sound are the incredible creatives that are Rob Ellis of PJ Harvey (PJ Harvey!!), Adrian Utley of Portishead (unbelievable), and Ben Christophers of Bat For Lashes (and also, Francoise Hardy, which had me speechless).

The way that Sofia describes the process of putting together the music for this project very much reminded me of going to the Science Museum on a school trip years ago, where you’re let loose on all manner of investigative equipment, soon chaos and creativity ensues. 

Should you wish to delve further into the artistry twisted into the work of “My Life As A Moth” you will be chuffed to learn that each single comes with it’s own stunningly chaotic music video. The video for “Chest of Dress Up”, directed by the incredible Natasha Arciniega of Incantation Records, has big Kate Bush vibes, akin to the Babooshka and Wuthering Heights videos. It’s a simple concept where there is a single artist on screen in totally wild outfits who is having an absolute ball, and it works so incredibly well. It perfectly showcases the rebellion against the rigidity and mundanity of life that is at the heart of “My Life As A Moth”, the joyous commitment to having, well, fun! 

Furthermore, the visuals for “Electro Junction” were filmed at the studio of Bristol’s Clump Collective (go check ’em out), wherein their talented team built a set so utterly perfect, so totally in-line with the essence of the track, that it’s almost as if you’ve somehow tumbled into Sofia’s mind. 

Right, I’m warning you now, the interview below is a long one but my god it could have been longer. I cannot quite capture the utter joy it was chatting about spiderwebbed word maps, expertly crafted metaphors, and the practice of creative freedom with the mind behind “My Life As A Moth”. Much like the music they and their band of inquisitive multi-instrumentalists have created throughout 2021, it was a deep dive into self-expression with an unmistakable tinge of mischief. 

Socials: Instagram, Facebook, Spotify, Twitter, YouTube, Bandcamp and official website


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