Moskow
Moscow is a name which conjures up no musical expectations, because of its bleakness one can't identify any particular type of music with it. It's the ideal name for this band. Moscow can't be classified, their music is too varied. They have been compared, in places, to The Stranglers, Captain Beefheart, Pink Floyd and The Who. But it just can't be pinpointed any more than saying, 'this bit sounds like x, and this a bit like y.'
They mix the 'commercial' with the 'weird' drawing on a wide range of musical styles and experiences; 'If we play varied music, we're going to get a varied audience.' Influences range from Capt. Beefheart and Stanley Clarke, through Led Zep, Van def Graaf Generator, Hendrix and Cream to Kate Bush.(!)
When Moscow formed, because the prospect of going on stage excited them, they all had a mutual desire to do something different, and this goes further than just the music - they dress weirdly on stage, their stage act can only be described as 'eccentric.'
'The idea of playing, is to give people a good show. We don't like coming on dressed normal; people come to see something different - they come to be excited, and that's the way we like to do it.'
The beginning of the set is heralded with lead guitarist, Dave Cook, standing alone silhouetted to the audience on a darkened stage, playing feedback - 'preferably while the disco's still going', after about a minute, the others enter, and crash into the first number.
Some numbers have very sudden endings; 'We like to see people dancing around to a song, then suddenly, it stops.' Some are fast, some are slow, some short and some long.
Moscow's song writing axis is guitarist Dave Cook, and singer Dave Luckhurst. When these two first met, they hated each other, but gradually 'the music brought it all together', they found they could write songs together which people seemed to like and now they're the best of friends. (Awww, don't you just love happy endings?! - ed.)
They're a very hardworking song writing partnership too - it's nothing for them to churn out 15 songs in a fortnight! Songs are completed musically, with the tune of the vocal line, then taken to Andy Luckhurst, Dave's brother, who is informed of the desired emotion of the number, and then writes the lyrics.
Lyrically, the songs are about people's feelings: insecurities etc. They are very poetic (in the true sense of the word)' with dramatic use of similie and metaphor, which conjure up visual images. For example: the poetic 'Into the Valley of Hinnon': 'Images confused, my train of thought derailed; contused. This place is full of regressive hostile minds, I feel like Jesus in the presence of the scribes.'
Also 'Options': 'I can drown in shallow water, can't see water for the sea / I can drown in tepid laughter, I'll veneer the ochre beach /See me fall through open window, see me walk in front of car / Let me wallow in barbed mire, let me set myself on fire.' And the wiresque 'White/Black': 'White light burns, but darkness heals, and barbed wire suture, stitch me up....up...up....up...up.'
The E.P out shortly on Rival, will reflect their varied approach, with four very different numbers. Although they seem fairly eager to have the E.P done, they are, perhaps surprisingly, prepared to wait until they are ready, before they approach a larger record company. - 'We're happy with Rival at the moment - we want to find our own style, before we actually approach anybody.'- They think it best to wait until they have about 100 compositions (they have 60 already) before they seek a long-term contract; their ambition is 'to earn enough money, so we don't have to work....we hate work!'
By the end of September, they will only knocked up a grand total of 9 gigs. They rehearse hard, and have been in recording studios as many times.
In January, they start to lay down prospective album tracks. When they make an album, they want it to be half an hour a side. The sound quality should be interesting.
Although they've generally had good audience reactions at the gigs ('the first two were quite bad, but we get much better every time') all in the garden is not rosy! ( What is this - ed) - they've had their power cut off, been threatened (by a certain nationwide entertainment concern's heavies, who shall remain nameless) with broken limbs, and had their P.A sabotaged on several occasions.
Some people in Trowbridge (which is 'about ten years behind') have hassled them for being 'different' ; but Moskow 'don't really care what people think, we just like to do what we want to do.' Ah, admirable sentiments, indeed! In fact, you may be forgiven for thinking it incredibly hard for any band, no matter how good, to make it in a place as reputedly 'laid back' as Trowbridge (population 20,000). But Moskow feel that coming from Trowbridge is an advantage, because of rehearsal facilities, the price of these facilities and, chiefly, the time and pressure elements - 'we had all the time we wanted to practise'
'If you look around, there's a hell of a lot of good guitarists and drummers, that want to get into it, but are so far away from it that they can't.....It's only once in a while, when someone's got the guts and confidence to want to try and break out that they can do it.'
Moscow certainly have the necessary guts and confidence, coupled with the added ingredients of panache, flair, originality, style...and downright musical ability (What's that got to do with it? - ed) to be the group to lead Trowbridge's breakthrough.
'We don't really like to fall into anybody's categories, we just want to be different. That's Moscow folks!
Text taken from 'Keep Upright, Do not Bend' Issue No 2 Oct 1978
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