For Fans Of: Tame Impala, The Big Moon, The Night Cafe
Reigning from Ashford, Kent Jim Rubaduka (vocals/guitar/keys), Alex Stevens (guitar), Edwin Ireland (bass), and Charlie Campbell (drums) are names behind the latest band you need to know. Mosa Wild began as an experimental project called The Intermission Project, which was only intended to stand as a placeholder while the Rubaduka and Stevens decided whether or not to go to university. This gap year certainly developed as the group have since gone on to change names, add members and support the likes of Tame Impala, Maggie Rogers and Lany while releasing gentle indie tunes.
They released their debut track ‘Smoke’ in 2017, and were shocked by the response. Filled with minimalist yet effective instrumentation and captivating vocals, it’s garnered over 9 million streams and marked them out as immediate ones to watch. However, they four-piece played it smart. Rather than rushing to keep the buzz up, they took their time crafting its follow-up, and released mellow ballad ‘Night’ in March last year. It was definitely worth the wait as it captivated audiences with its smooth guitar melodies and thought-provoking lyricisms. The accompanying music video was also a beautiful spectacle, directed by Theo Watkins and inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 mystery film Rear Window. The analogue shots and shaky voyeuristic angles reinforced the concept that Mosa Wild’s true genre can only be described as cinematic indie.
This alluring track was only a snapshot of what was to come. It turned out to be the lead single from their debut EP Talking In Circles, which was released in August 2019. Beautifully crafted, it’s an EP about love, loss, feeling stuck, heartbreak. Produced partly by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Bombay Bicycle Club) and partly by James Kenosha (Pulled Apart By Horses, Dry The River), there’s a cohesive experimentalism at play here that is grounded in guitars, synths and walloping drum lines, but it’s the smooth and gentle lilt of Rubaduka’s vocals and the spacious backdrop of their songs that elevates Mosa Wild beyond typical British indie tropes. Speaking of the title Rubaduka told Atwood Magazine “The inspiration behind it was basically it just felt like a nice way to tie it all together. Lyrically, a lot of the stuff we talk about on the EP follows the same subject, kind of saying the same thing but with different results.”
More recently, the band released an Acoustic Sessions EP, bringing together reworked acoustic versions of songs from Talking In Circles, alongside a breathtaking cover of ‘Comeback Kid’, originally by Sharon Van Etten. The reworked versions offer up a softer side of Mosa Wild’s indie roots and showcase an impressive level of musicianship.
After selling out their first ever show at London Waiting Room last year, catch Mosa Wild on their debut headline tour next month!
Website – mosawild.com
Facebook – /mosawild
Twitter – @mosawild