Interview: Ivan Moon

Written and produced during lockdown 1.0, Cellophane by the illustrious Ivan Moon, tackles the struggles of being stuck to your screens and dealing with the anxiety that comes along with it. A complete reflection on the events of the past year, Moon's insight paired with honesty and fragility make for the perfect debut completely self-produced track.

Imagine Blur and The Specials procreated, and there you have Ivan Moon's sonic brainchild

Pop-punk meets new wave alternative rock in a uniquely wonderful fashion. Packed tightly with thrashing guitars and adrenaline-fuelled energy, Moon's punk attitude is laced into his infectious lyrics and dark vocal intonations.

“If you imagine a geezer in a knock off gold chain, a vest, and some tight 1970s shorts, going for a jog around the estate, the soundtrack would be Cellophane”

His smashing debut is an incredible feat of modern punk rock, and we can't wait to hear more.

Without further ado, let me introduce you to, Ivan Moon...

For anyone who isn’t familiar with you, who is ‘Ivan Moon’?

Who am I? I’m the big bad Ivan Moon.

What’s the story behind your latest track ‘Cellophane’?

I wrote the song about over-communication from social media, everyday impulses, and how you lose your youthful innocence from it. I started recording it in the first lockdown, and it’s the first song I’ve ever written, recorded, performed, and produced by myself.

What’s your earliest memory of music?

My first memories of hearing music was when I was two or three years old in my dad’s car. The first song I remember is a song from Manfred Mann’s Earth Band called Tribal Statistics. I also remember hearing a lot of Madness around that time which I think rubbed off on me.

What’s your process when writing a new song?

I take different approaches in writing. Traditionally I would start with an acoustic guitar and write words with the riff I made. Now I’m recording my own music I tend to start with the music with a vocal melody in mind.

Your sound is similar to that of Slaves and bands of that ilk, do you draw any inspiration from these?

Surprisingly not. I’m more into the old-school punk bands than the new ones. I don’t knock any of those bands, they're all great but I’m more influenced by The Specials than Slaves. Although I have a punk sound, I’d say the last few years I’m more into Hip Hop and RnB like Outkast, and The Internet. Saying that I’m a massive music fan and I love discovering music everyday.

Is there anything that particularly motivates you to make music?

Music is my voice, I doesn’t matter if I don’t headline Glastonbury (Though I really would) the important part is that I make music for myself and try not to compromise my art. If my music makes me happy then I will continue to make it.

Imagine this, we’re back to a Covid-19 free world and you’re heading out on tour, who would you support?

I’d love to support Slowthai, some of my tunes have a grime tint that would complement his music. I would love to support Fat White Family although they scare the shit out of me.

What does the future hold for Ivan Moon?

I’ve got a single that’s going to drop sometime at the start of June. With a crazy video to follow it. I’ve got several releases scheduled after that so I will be plotting and filming a lot of music videos with them. On top of that, I should have my first gig towards the end of the year. Hopefully after that world domination then celebrity bake-off.

 Lana Williams

@swimdeeplana

Image: Provided by artist

Music video Link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AN58ekv_QI