Marty Willson-Piper on MOAT

Former the church guitarist Marty Willson-Piper’s latest project with Swedish multi-instrumentalist Niko Röhlcke of Weeping Willows, MOAT, is their second LP together, Poison Stream. Jason Barnard catches up with Marty about his new release.

Firstly, congratulations in producing another brilliant album. Am I right that it’s been 8 years since the first MOAT album? Why so long?

Yes, it is 8 years. The thing with collaborations is that you are often not in the same place, not in the same country and it’s not like a band where you all sleep in the same bed, so time goes by with you working on other things simultaneously, touring (remember that?) or simply trying to figure out how to make a living as a creative type.

‘Helpless You’ is your new single – what was the spark of inspiration for that track?

Well, Dare who co-produced and engineered the album with us told me he can’t listen to the lyrics because it freaks him out! Haha. There’s certainly something demonic about it. There are some bizarre goings-on beyond the fence, rustling in the bushes and are those scratch marks on the door? Or is it all in your head?

‘Helpless You’ also has an evocative video. How was it produced and were you involved in its idea?

My wife Olivia has been writing poetry and has found a girl, Seg in Morocco, that does animated videos to animate her poems. The images were collected by Olivia in reference to the lyrics and Seg put them together.

How does Poison Stream compare to the debut MOAT release?

More time was spent on it, more thought went into the production and more time was certainly spent on the vocals.

How long has been the writing and recording process?

Well, as it is with collaborations, it’s an on and off process, so it’s hard to judge real time spent.

How do you and Niko Röhlcke write together and how does that process compare to your solo work and other collaborations?

We have different ways, Niko composes for film and TV and he comes up with great short little moody sections and atmospheric chord progressions. We work on those and attempt to lengthen them into real songs, adding bits where needed. I then take them away and write the lyrics. Sometimes melodies are in the pieces and sometimes not. Niko is very musical, playing guitar, bass, piano, piano accordion and pedal steel but he doesn’t sing or write words, so it’s a perfect situation when we approach songs this way. Otherwise, we sit together and try and put a bunch of weird chords together with capos all over the fretboard. Other songs like Helpless You and Tears Will Come are mostly written by me but Niko comes in and adds some other little thing to improve them.

When did you first meet Niko? Was it clear that musically you complemented each other so working together could produce something special?

We have a mutual friend in Stockholm, producer, engineer, bassist, Sigge Krantz and he got it into his head that we would work well together and arranged a meeting – he was right.

Tracks like ‘Gone By Noon’ have a grand, film-like quality. Was this a sound you consciously aimed for?

That comes from Niko’s work with film and TV. That piano line is so evocative and it inspired me to write the lyrics and use the theme as a starting point for the melody.

You seem incredibly prolific. What do you do to keep your creative well topped up?

I’m eternally enthusiastic about the process and I’m a rabid record collector as well as having eclectic tastes. I also like to write and take photographs so I feel like I’m always exposed to another idea. I also study French every day.

‘The Ballad Of Sweet Marie’ has a Jacques Brel quality. Is he an artist you admire?

I love Jaques Brel but I recently read that he wouldn’t meet Bowie because he was bisexual…an amazing writer though and musical poet. Fabulous observational lyrics.

What artists inspire you?

Oh dear, how much space do you have, everything from The Beatles to FKA Twigs, Stravinsky to The Sweet, Frank Sinatra to Black Sabbath, Robert Wyatt to Solange – I could go on.

What are your highlights from your time in music?

Travelling the world, it really should be compulsory. Just learning and improving and being involved with the arts at all is a real privilege.

How has the pandemic affected you?

It kept me in Penzance, Cornwall, for nine months, so much for travelling. I haven’t been in one place for so long since school or the first jobs. But it did allow me to concentrate on my Songwriting & Guitar Guidance project collaborations and I have now finished three projects with sessioneers, Space Summit (album), Arktik Lake (EP) and Ahad Afridi (album).

MOAT

What are your plans for the rest of 2021?

Well, we’ve just moved to Portugal so I’m trying to get a home studio set up so I can continue with the collaborations more easily, working with Logic Pro and exchanging music files. Trying to find a decent Portuguese course (I hate Babbel, and Duolingo only does Brazilian Portuguese). We hope to get the Arktik Lake and the Space Summit releases out this year, not sure about Ahad Afridi, it’s only just finished. Other sessioneer projects are works in progress. There will be a Record Store Day record. I’m working with Jerome Froese from Tangerine Dream, Brix Smith from The Fall, Paul Simpson from The Wild Swans, singer/songwriter Salim Nourallah in Texas, a potential second Atlantaeum Flood instrumental album, fifth Noctorum album is started and then there’s Anekdoten in Sweden, plus Olivia and I are trying to figure out how to record songs from our live set for 12 string and violin.

Where can we buy MOAT’s Poison Stream and keep up with your latest projects?

Best get MOAT’s Poison Stream from the label, Schoolkids Records, but you can keep up with all my projects by reading my daily blog or going to www.martywillson-piper.com

Further information on Marty’s music can also be found on his Strange Brew Podcast episode.