Music Q&A: Moulettes

What informs your music and songwriting?
Hannah Miller: All things! History and human experience, social justice, science, visual art, dance, nature, friends and lovers.

How have you evolved as an act over the years?
HM: Each album moves on from the last, and whatever happens next will be another leap to a new place. Each album has had quite different instrumentation, some different members. We set out to challenge ourselves and evolve. We don’t like sitting still.

What are you up to at the moment artistically?
HM: We do the final phase of touring Preternatural, our fourth album, in December (Band on the Wall, Manchester, 5 Dec) and then we will be making new things. It’s not easy to find the headspace to make something new when you are in a touring mindset, I find, so all energy is going in to making the final tour the best it can be – lighting design, supports, projections and poster artwork.
Raevennan Husbandes: I’m sessioning for some other artists, working on my solo material again and doing the final push in promoting this last Moulettes tour of the year.

What’s on your rider?
HM: Ideally gin, tonic, cucumber, lemons and four postage stamps if we’re abroad. It’s nice to send cards but it’s always tricky working out where stamps are sold in other countries!
RH: Food mostly. We like food.

Tell us your most embarrassing or surreal experience.
HM: We once ended up, via a house gig, test driving a fighter plane simulator at a Nato base in Germany. That was surreal for a bunch of pacifist musicians. You can simulate and change the weather, you can see detailed maps of everywhere you fly. I think only Jim managed to land without crashing.

What song do you wish you’d written?
HM: So, so many! First one that popped up in my mind is Björk, Jóga. I fell in love with Björk very young, and this song still hypnotises me. I love the string line, and the lyrics are enchanting.
RH: I wish I’d written the score for Appalachian Spring. VIII Moderato especially.

What’s your worst lyric?
HM: Hmm, that I wrote? There are lots that make me gently cringe, just because I wouldn’t express myself like that now. I used to collect words like a magpie and put them in there just because I found them fancy or curious and they made me laugh. I work much harder now to try and refine exactly what I’m trying to express.