Q&A: Grace & Moji Turn Relationship Struggles into Epic, Quirky Music
NEWLY MINTED HUSBAND-AND-WIFE DUO GRACE & MOJI are making waves with their debut EP, a deeply personal exploration of their journey as a couple and creative partners. But their road to musical harmony wasn't always smooth, as they reveal in this exclusive interview.
From navigating the challenges of blending their diverse backgrounds to using music as a tool for healing and self-expression, Grace & Moji offer a glimpse into their creative process and the deeper meaning behind their music. They discuss how their unique approach of recording in their home studio and translating real-time relationship experiences has fostered authenticity and depth in their sound.
This intro sets the stage for the full interview, piquing the reader's interest in the couple's story, their creative process, and the message they hope to convey through their music.
LUNA: Congrats on your debut EP! Can you share with us the journey of creating this EP and what listeners can expect from it emotionally and musically?
GRACE & MOJI: Thank you! It is definitely a bit of a journey and a look into our relationship - in fact it is all about our relationship. The whole project Grace & Moji was born out of necessity for our relationship to survive. We got married very quickly, after only 3 months, and there was a lot of stuff that came with that. Being a creative couple is hard and there was a lot to work out. But being us, the whole experience is delivered in a tongue-in-cheek way with love and humor rather than an overly serious tone. It IS serious but even in the serious moments our personalities shine through in the lyrics, we think.
LUNA: "Simple Love" seems to be a pivotal track on the EP, exploring the depths of your relationship and experiences as a creative couple. How did the writing process for this song unfold, and what inspired its emotional rawness?
GRACE & MOJI: Oh man. Simple Love was the first song we wrote together. It came out of the biggest fight we had ever had, where we were seriously close to ending it. We agreed that coming together in a creative process was what needed to happen. Martin (Moji) had already started Simple Love, which was just a couple of melodies and chords at that point, and the song just automatically transformed into what it wanted to be.
LUNA: How do your diverse backgrounds influence the creative process and dynamics of your music?
GRACE & MOJI: Since Grace has a background in hardcore corporate America and I (Moji) have an entirely creative background, we definitely come from different places. Grace start making music much more recently and her creative process is very different, and often focused a bit more on concept and lyrics while I am a total melody and production guy. Her brain just works in a different way, it is hard to explain. We're very different, but we fit together like two puzzle pieces when we make music. She is a brilliant wordsmith and we allow ourselves to really be ourselves in our music and express whatever it is that needs to be expressed.
LUNA: Your music has been described as epic, quirky, and emotionally charged. How do you balance the intricacies of your personal lives and experiences while translating them into your music for a broader audience?
GRACE & MOJI: I think we can connect deeply to ourselves through the experiences of others, particularly when the details are intimate and deeper than what you might share in normal everyday conversation or even with close friends. While our songs were all inspired by experiences we were going through as a couple, we also had in mind how relatable the themes we were grappling with are. We hope that through our experiences, it helps people feel less alone in the struggles of navigating relationships…the feelings of being misunderstood, not being seen, healing, and forging a sense of togetherness while also maintaining individuality and autonomy.
LUNA: Can you walk us through your approach to songwriting and production? How do you navigate the complexities of your relationship and translate them into cohesive musical narratives?
GRACE & MOJI: One thing I will say is that every single song we've written has been very inspired by something we've experienced. The way that it usually works is that we record a guitar or piano bit recorded as a voice note on the phone, and there it will stay until a concept comes to us. It always somehow comes to us, we never try to come up with anything. Then we match it with whatever guitar or piano bit I already had, and we decide "ok, that's a song." And then we go into our home studio, and Martin starts building out the track and Grace starts pouring loose lyric ideas onto a page in her notebook. She tends to fill a whole page with whatever comes to her, and then I will have a look and immediately connect certain lyrics with melodies, and we piece things together. And that's how we start a song.
LUNA: As a husband-wife duo, what are the advantages and challenges of working creatively together? How do you maintain a balance between your personal and professional lives?
GRACE & MOJI: I think there are a lot of benefits to us working together. We have gotten much closer as a couple and we never had a big problem with egos in the studio. It's always a bit of a whirlwind to go in together but when we do, we usually end up with something that is special to us. Balance between our personal and professional lives does not exist. We do everything together - we run our own label and creative agency, Parasol Music, a creative community, multiple artist projects, Grace is also a consultant in private equity and I work as a producer and composer. There is A LOT going on at all times. I think work-life balance might not be for us, haha. We love working because we're building things. We don't clock in and out, we are always talking about the future and 12-16h workdays is the norm.
LUNA: Your collaboration began with a series of demos recorded in your home studio, addressing challenges in your relationship in real-time. How has this intimate and organic approach influenced the authenticity and depth of your music?
GRACE & MOJI: I think we have grown tremendously as songwriters and producers! This process has allowed us to express ourselves in a way that didn't feel possible before, and now it feels like it's the only way! All of our music comes from a deep place of growth, spirituality and personal transformation. To be honest I always struggled to write songs in the past, and it's something that completely transformed in my life because of this process of just having fun with it. When you let your personality shine as much as possible, it can't help but become unique and real in some way.
LUNA: What message or emotion do you hope listeners take away from your debut EP, especially considering its exploration of deeper meaning and connection?
GRACE & MOJI: That healing is work but worth it. That healing is serious but doesn't always have to be thaaaat serious (see Sad Times). That self-expression is one of the most fundamentally important things about being a human on this planet. That you can name drop your own band in a song if you feel like it.
LUNA: Grace, returning to music after a career in international development and corporate executive roles, marks a significant transition in your journey. How has your return to music impacted your personal growth and artistic expression?
GRACE & MOJI: It’s an evolving process, one where I’m discovering and developing a completely different side of myself. The most impactful change has been connecting to my emotions. I spent most of my career being robotic in a way. As an Asian-American woman in corporate leadership roles, I felt a certain awareness around being taken seriously and being respected, which often meant being really careful about presenting myself as calm and objective, especially in the midst of chaotic and challenging situations. Over time, I came to a place where suppressing my emotions became a habit. Music is the opposite - it is about emotion, tapping into a feeling. Coming back to music later in life affects the themes I tend to write about — the search for self, my process of loss, healing, and navigating change. I’ve had many chapters in my life and have spent the greater part of the last decade on a path of personal growth and hope the messages and lessons come through and connect in the music.
LUNA: Looking ahead, what intentions do you have for the upcoming months?
GRACE & MOJI: Right now we are hard at work building our company Parasol Music, which is a label and creative agency for consciously focused artists who have a strong positive message in their music. Through Parasol Music, we can connect them with opportunities with brands, in film and TV and get that amazing music out there. Parasol Music will also have an educational component, in-person events (events is something we've been doing for a few years already) and more! And apart from that Grace is currently releasing music under her solo project Nolo Grace, Grace & Moji is working on both an album and some covers, and Moji will release his new music under his producer moniker, Martin Wave. Like we said, always a lot going on! But we love everything about it.
