Q&A: Elliot Moss Copes With the Past on Upcoming Album ‘How I Fell’
THERE’S ALWAYS THAT SEARCH FOR NOSTALGIA — the feeling that brings you back to worry-free childhood moments. For singer-songwriter Elliot Moss, trying to capture that emotion while moving through life as an adult molded itself into his upcoming album, How I Fell.
Set for release on February 2nd, Moss has already dropped five singles from the LP, including his most recent, “Hearts Lose.” It’s a moving sound expressing the weight loss can carry. The artist taps further into his vulnerability, sitting with those uncomfortable moments and allowing the music to aid him.
“It was sort of interesting to see how this thing that I've done all my life can kind of evolve to cope with my life around it,” he says about this latest creative process.
Moss allows an overall reflection of painful moments to hold space within his new work. His attention to detail is prominent, as the production pays homage to his childhood love of guitar. Remembering those innocent times, Moss uses that instrument to heighten the intensity of each track.
“It felt right to go back to this thing that felt like it was connected to that wild child in me,” he explains about the choice.
He’s now preparing for the release of How I Fell. Moss took a moment to tell Luna more about the project, the already-released singles, his artistic direction, and the importance of nostalgia. Read the interview below.
LUNA: I want to talk about your latest single, “Hearts Lose,” which is this vulnerable story of loss and how it can stay with us. Why is it important to share this story?
MOSS: It’s this time in my life when I felt like everything was sliding away, losing touch with my own. I didn't picture myself in my head because it belonged to all of these people, places, and things that were all sort of in their way, going away.
When something is hitting me that hard, my first instinct is to try to work through it however I can. Music is useful for that — you can give a little structure to something that feels like it's taking over.
LUNA: How would you say the visualization represents the song?
MOSS: The initial idea is the same hand, like in two different cases, reaching out but never quite touching. It's like this idea that there's this other half of you that you want to appeal to, but you can't for whatever reason.
LUNA: You’re preparing to drop your album, How I Fell. All of these songs dive into these deep emotions from the past. How was it for you to relive these stories and put them into this album?
MOSS: The more vulnerable I was, the more raw I was with this presentation of ideas, and the easier it was to work. I didn't worry about what I wanted it to be. I think that’s probably more interesting for me now, looking for things that are uncomfortable to push around and play with. It was interesting to see how this thing I've done all my life can evolve to cope with my life around it.
LUNA: This album is very guitar-centric — a beautiful sound. You have this way of embodying the emotions and creating these grand moments. How would you say this specific album has pushed you sonically?
MOSS: The idea of making comparisons to childhood — the way childhood feels and the sort of happiness you try to replicate as an adult, but you just can't quite do it. Guitar, when I was little, was the first thing that gave me that — I couldn't put it down.
It felt right to go back to this thing that felt connected to that wild child in me and try to use it as a tool. Especially on “Magic” — that song is like a tantrum, almost like wanting to make more noise and be more chaotic than the things you can't control. So I thought it was fun to bring it back to that.
LUNA: How would you personally describe the overall story of the album?
MOSS: It’s kind of a concept all the way through, and that was fun. I had 40 or so songs that boiled down to 10.
The main difference between this and the previous stuff was the idea stays true to the raw ideas. Anytime I felt myself angling away from the reason I started writing this in the first place, I'd stop. In the past, I’d think, “Oh, well, that's a cool sound,” and then make a whole bridge out of it. I tried not to do that as much as I could.
I wanted to keep everything on track and make sure whatever I was doing was in service to the original reason that got me into writing that particular song.
LUNA: How would you say this latest work you’ve put out is documenting your growth as an artist?
MOSS: There's a lot of restraint. I was so worried about things in the past that it would keep me from doing what I wanted for a particular song. I let go of those things that used to hold me back, particularly with the production — I let things flow as they wanted to.
If you listen to any of the songs, they feel right and like they weren't in there to support the singles. Letting go of this idea that I need to be good at making something with all this continuity was helpful. I don't think that's me at the end, and I jump around a lot and embrace that instead of fighting it.
LUNA: Lastly, is there one song on the album that is special to you?
MOSS: I titled the whole record “How I Fell” after [the] song. It's about developing the courage to let people know when what they're doing hurts you even though you love them. You don't want to change things, but at the same time, you need them to change. It's like if you'll just sit on that line for so long and not do anything about something. It’s about that sort of sadness. You develop this awareness and suddenly it is more complicated.
