On the back of the release of his third studio album ‘Deeper’, The Soft Moon aka Luis Vasquez has released details of a huge tour spanning both sides of the Atlantic, as well as a new video for one of the albums stand-out tracks, ‘Wrong’. The album itself alternates between dark and eerie electronica, and more experimental IDM. Vasquez made the album in Italy, and deals with thoughts of suicide, vulnerability and what it means to heal.
We spoke to Vasquez ahead of the tour to find out a little bit more about the album, the video and the tour.
You’ve just announced a huge tour, taking in the US and Europe. Does that excite you, the travelling and playing?
I guess after a while the excitement of traveling starts to fade and becomes more of a way of life. It’s the nature of the job. What does excite me however, is visiting new places. It’s exciting to know that the music is spreading more and more allowing me to perform in countries/cities i never thought i would make it to. There’s a possibility to visit Australia, Mexico, and South America in the near future.
Are you busy rehearsing then? Or are you fairly relaxed about live shows, and let things be more free?
At the moment we’re in the process of updating our show for the last part of the year. We’ll be bringing back some songs that haven’t been performed in while, performing songs that have never been performed live, as well as performing a new song or two off of “Deeper”. Doing things like this keeps things interesting for us as well as the audience.
Some of the music seems like it might be difficult to replicate on stage, is there a lot of equipment to realize this?
Yeah, sometimes it can be challenging replicated a song off an album for a live show but i’ve always been open to challenges. In fact i embrace challenge and it’s a process i enjoy. The feeling of making a song come to life is very rewarding. There is always a way to make it work if you’re creative enough.
Who do you take with you – are they people you can trust, and enjoy spending (a lot of) time with?
My entire crew are very hard working, passionate, and great at what they do. But most importantly it’s their character that i like most. There’s a deep closeness, a high level of respect for one another, and i consider them family. I never forget how lucky i am to have the team i currently have.
Have you had time to look back and assess Deeper? Is it a piece of work you’re particularly proud of?
I’m still very much in Deeper at the moment. More time will have to pass in order for me to reflect on that chapter in my life. For me, the touring that comes along with releasing a record is a whole. Once touring is over i can finally look back and gain perspective and realize what impact Deeper had on myself and the fans.
Its difficult music to pin down and describe – would you agree with that, and if so was that the intention?
It might be difficult to describe because ultimately the music is about my life, my thoughts, emotions, experiences, and as a means to conquer my inner struggles. To pin down the music would be to pin down the person i am. We never truly know someone completely and i feel thats the relationship listeners have with my music. The Soft Moon is alive and evolving just like every human being.
You worked on the record in Italy – you were living there at the time I think (?) did that change things (your surroundings etc) when making the record? Did it influence anything on the record?
The biggest impact living in Italy made on the record was that it allowed me to be away from everything familiar and everyone i know. It allowed me to live in solitude which is what i wanted. I needed this type of situation in order to dig “Deeper” in myself. I wanted all influence for this album to come from me and nothing from the outside.
Lyrically, there seems some fairly dark and introspective stuff on the record – Being for example seemingly lost, or unsure of your place perhaps. Was this based on what you were feeling, or was there some poetic license going on, or putting yourself into another characters feelings? Or some of both/all?
“Being” represents how i always feel on a day to day basis since i can remember. It expresses the ultimate frustration with not knowing anything about existence. I’m frustrated not knowing my purpose on this planet and why i’m a human being. I feel as if i was forced to live in this existence and i definitely feel like i don’t belong here. For this is the reason i have questions and i ask some of these questions in lyric form on “Being”.
Catch The Soft Moon on his UK Dates in October.
19th October – Dublin, IE – Whelans
20th October – Manchester, UK – Night & Day
21st October – London, UK – Electrowerkz
22nd October – Glasgow, UK – Broadcast
23rd October – Brighton, UK – TBA
24th October – Bristol, UK – Simple Things Festival
