Interview with The Moon In June

How about we begin by talking about introducing yourselves and letting us know how and when was the band formed, the music production and the lyrics

The band took form as a duo in 2014 with Nick Drivas on guitar, bass, programming and Marily Kitsiona on vocals and piano. We had collaborated together in previous bands (Starblind, Soho 6) during the 90s and 00s and after a long absence from the scene we decided to do something new again. It all started when I finally recorded a song I had in mind for at least 25 years! Even back then when I wrote the song I knew it was destined for a duo with female vocals. So it was just the right time now that we decided to form the band just the two of us. Nick usually records the songs first and then Marily adds the vocals and melodies to lyrics written by both.

Do you consider your music to be part of the current ethereal/dream pop scene, or any scene? Defining one's sound by genre can be tiresome, but do you feel that the band identifies closely with any genre? How do you feel about genres in music, in a general sense?

We are not aware of any current ethereal/dream pop scene, although we do see a lot of new music made by bands of the genre from America mostly. I think our sound does define our music as ethereal/dream pop. We also tend to have a darkwave direction as well since one can say that that’s where Nick’s music origins lay. Marily has a more indie background.

What do you think of modern ethereal/dream pop artists, any favorites?

I really like the latest album "The Edge of Winter" by the Australian band Eden. Also we found the new single "Undone" by Californian shoegaze band Soft Science to be very good. It’s nice seeing great music of this genre still being made. You can discover something new every day.

Listening to your music, Cocteau Twins or Sarah records style come to my mind. What artists (musicians or otherwise) have most influenced your work?

The Cocteau Twins are a definite influence. The whole idea and structure of the band revolves around them one might say. By having female vocals up to using a drum machine. But we also have a more pop side in the likes of bands such as Lush, which we are very fond of. But we don’t tend to just try and just copy bands such as these. We just let the music evolve on its own. You never know how a song will turn out in the end. Usually we have different a picture of the song at the beginning, when it is first recoded by Nick, but when the vocals are added later by Marily things change a lot from the original idea. The writing process is the most rewarding part for us.

What do you think about advances in recording technology as you don’t have to hire a pricey studio in order to produce something?

In our case it is a really big advantage. Because of our personal commitments, work, family, etc. we don’t have a lot of time. So now that we can record and demo the songs at home, it makes us able to write material and have the band. Otherwise it wouldn’t be possible. But we do go to a professional studio to record the vocals and do the final mix. We want at least the final result to the best possible.

The internet has obviously opened things up massively .What do you think about the new forms of spreading music?

It’s great. Now with a band page and some uploaded songs or videos you can have your music listened by people all over the world. That’s fantastic. The only thing is, is that there is so much out there, it take some digging to actually find it. But many good bands surface in one way or another, as with various digital compilations. I think the "Stimmen Der Seele" compilation series by Die Seele do a fine job in that sense.

Your songs take part in several compilations. Can you tell us what the band has been working on and what you've got forthcoming in the near future (new songs, any physical releases, live performances, etc.)?

We released a 7" split single that featured our debut song "Grey Skies April Skies" with the band Remain In Light back in 2016. Since then we have participated in the Paul Roland tribute "Alice’s Curiosities" with our dream pop cover "Alice’s House" and the "Stimmen Der Seele" compilation series with the tracks "Shadows Fade To Light" and our latest "Drown In Shallow Ground". At the moment we are in the progress of writing new material for our first full length album. We have finally reached a good amount of songs to achieve this and there’s always a new idea popping up. So it’s just a matter of time to finalize them so as to have something to release. We are thinking of releasing the album in some sort of physical form. We like having physical releases. Although if until then we are offered to participate in another compilation we will be glad to do so. It’s a nice way to put yourself out there and motive us to do something. As for live appearances, well that’s not something we have in mind at the moment. Our goal is to prepare the material. If in the future an opportunity turns up and we feel up to it, it might happen.