The Big Moon are an all-girl four-piece out of London. And while Soph Nathan (guitar, vocals), Celia Archer (bass, vocals), Juliette Jackson (guitar, vocals), and Fern Ford (drums) have known each other for just a little over a year, they sound like they've been together for at least a decade.
Their music is confident and cohesive, as heard on their debut single "Sucker," a brash, grungy song produced by the band themselves on the independent label Hard Up. It might be a little while before you can catch them in the States, but if you're across the pond this summer, The Big Moon will be making Britain's excellent festival circuit, and will be releasing a limited edition (100 copies) tour cassette to go along with it, featuring three new songs. It's only a matter of time before they begin work on their debut full-length, and the world gets exposed to the sounds of The Big Moon.
How would you describe your aesthetic?
J: Grainy, goofy, messy, soft, cuddles. Trying to seduce but stepping in dog poo.
How did your career get started?
J: A mixture of hard work and pure, beautiful luck.
F: All of the above.
What is your favorite driving music?
J: Gary Numan. Or Weezer. Or Elvis. Kraftwerk is the best music for doing the washing up.
C: Yes Gary, yes Weezer. Tears For Fears and Bruce Springsteen. Anything I can yell along to. Music always sounds best when you are in a car with your friends and it is really really loud.
S: The Doors, specifically "L.A. Woman."
F: Nina Nastasia, The National.
Whose career would you most like to emulate?
F: Sigur Ros. They continue to make incredible music 20 years on and yet have managed to remain completely grounded and private.
S: Neil Armstrong.
What famous person dead or living do you most wish you could have as a roommate?
J: Dunston from Dunston Checks In.
F: Eleanor Roosevelt. I’d love to have breakfast with her everyday.
C: Tavi Gevinson.
S: Buzz Aldrin.
If you had to live in a past time, what do you think would be the most fun era and why?
J: I'd like to have watched the moon landing and felt all that optimism and wonder.
F: The '90s. I want to do the '90s again. I want to hear "No Matter What" by Boyzone for the first time again.
What activities do you most enjoy doing alone?
J: If my housemates are out I'll take off all my clothes and play guitar and sing really loud in the living room.
S: Singing whilst cycling, with my clothes on.
F: Carpentry. I love wood.
How do you wind down before bed?
J: Masturbate? I mean, i'll try and read a book but the mind wanders.
C: Same. Although I have to listen to something as I'm falling asleep. My brain gets too noisey. It's usually the dulcet tones of Ira Glass.
F: Not a problem. I can sleep on cue.
What kind of person were you in high school?
J: Gangly, awkward, quiet, square. Obsessed with any boys who surpassed me in height but too shy to approach them.
C: Painfully self-aware.
Can you tell me a quality about yourself that you are genuinely proud of?
J: People tell me I am calming, which is a lovely thing to say.
F: I’m the funniest person I know.
C: I'm like a sexy imdb.
Do you have any phobias?
J: Slugs and snails. It's embarrassing. Even photos of them send shivers down my spine.
C: Snakes. I have nightmares about them and when I wake up I can't move in case there are any in the bed. Though I'm not as bad as my sister who checks the toilet every time she goes in case there's one waiting for her that's come up through the pipes.
F: Heights. It’s completely rational. Gravity will get you eventually.
S: And this is why we want to move to the moon.
How do you hope to grow as a creative person?
J: By remaining curious? Just investigate everything, chase adventures, don't go home early, try to be brave.
C: NEVER go home early. EVER.
If there was a phrase that you think best sums up your approach to life what might it be?
J: Life is full of things, tiny weedy things that fill up in little stacks and try to devour you and some things are worth it and some things are not.
F: Be silly, be honest, be kind. Ralph Waldo Emerson said that.
C: Stand firm for what you believe in, until and unless experience proves you wrong. Remember, when the emperor looks naked, the emperor is naked. The truth and a lie are not sort of the same thing. And there is no aspect, no facet, no moment of life that can't be improved with pizza.
