Based in Brighton, Moxxy are seven of the city’s most exciting musicians who use their love for funk, neo-soul and blues to deliver phat grooves, intense guitar riffs and fearless vocals. The band takes influence from a mixture of artists such as Betty Davis, Funkadelic, Chic, Anderson Paak, D’Angelo and Kendrick Lamar to create a sound that is both raw and sophisticated. Fronted by the ridiculously talented Kymara Jap Ngie, alongside backing vocalists Zara Haynes and Emma Measey, guitarists Thomas East and Neil Munro, bassist Turlough McHugh and drummer James Rigby, the band are ready to take their sound to a bigger stage.
Here, Moxxy talk about their debut single “Untouchable” which came out last June, their recent change in name and their plans to spread their music around the rest of the country.
You’ve recently released your debut single “Untouchable”, how has the response to the single been so far?
We've had a really positive response! We’ve noticed a gradual following of people from different cities around the world, notably Amsterdam which we feel incredibly grateful for. It’s great to know our work and sound has translated through a different country and culture!
How was it to release your first single as a band?
We’ve been together with this line-up since last November but we’d been going for a few years before that. We’ve been eager to release a single for a long time, but it was this year that we felt like we’ve found our musical identity and that it was the right time to get ourselves out there and it’s been a really proud experience so far!
What is “Untouchable” about?
Our lead singer Kymara wrote the lyrics inspired by a very sad incident that occurred when her brother was refused entry into a nightclub because they had reached the limit of black men they were allowed to let in on that night. The song essentially deals with the isolation and pain caused by the nonsense of institutional racism.
Why did you decide to go with “Untouchable” as your debut? How does it represent the band?
It’s a straight to the point song which has all the main elements you can associate with our sound – sassy, sensual vocals, a groove you can really strut to, a fun crazy mid-section and a cheeky mix of funk, soul and a little disco!
You’ve recently changed your name from HUSH to Moxxy, what was the reason behind the change?
We had the name HUSH since the band first formed, it's been only recently that we've started heading in a different direction musically. The name Moxxy seemed to fit our mutual idea of what the group should represent - a sassy force of drive, character and determination.
With yourselves creating Spotify playlists as well to share the band’s influences, do you think there is still a real need for albums when more and more people seem to listen to their own curated playlists nowadays?
I (Thomas) think albums have lost some power and significance in the music industry due to music sales being based online. Playlists are great and a good way to find new music and overall it’s an easy way to distribute music and put all your favourite songs into one place.
A Facebook post mentioned you are ‘taking your work to the next level’, what is in store for you guys?
At this moment we are busy planning for the next few months. We have some more releases scheduled before the end of the year and we’re also making our first music video for our next single! And of course we’re super eager to book our first gigs outside of Brighton and begin to spread our word around the rest of the country!
How has BIMM helped you on your journey?
It’s probably fair to say all the experiences we had in class or on stage at BIMM helped to inform what we do in Moxxy. Whether in song-writing, performing or business, we were taught a lot about music and the industry and that’s been an invaluable resource for us and our work to move into the direction of becoming something big.
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