Today, we sat down with Martin and Kevin from Movment to talk their inspiration to write music, heroes, and much more! Read about their advice for musicians as well as the type of music they grew up listening to!
Interview:
What is your inspiration to write your music? Is it your
surroundings?
Martin: We are inspired by other bands and music, and by many dark elements – goth, metal, horror, alternative vibes. That is our inspiration when writing songs and choosing what to write about. And we write mostly about life, through our eyes, as we see it.
Kevin: I don’t think our geographical location has been our inspiration. I’d say it is mostly what we have heard in music, or seen on TV, or nowadays what we consume online. We are inspired by the darkness of art and movies and music. We gravitate towards that. We are attracted by realism, not something that is fake or phony. I don’t think we generally tell stories. We describe life, our existence and how we see things.
What type of music did you listen to growing up?
Martin: In my teens I was into metal, Iron Maiden, Dio, AC/DC. I have since gotten into lots of genres, rock, punk, alternative rock and more. I’m a big fan of Nine Inch Nails, and New Model Army.
Kevin: I started listening to Top of the Pops in my teens but discovered Joy Division in the mid-80s, and they are a big influence. I listened to a lot of post punk bands then, but I have expanded my taste in music. My blog, roughcalmhead.com, is where I list the bands I like.
Is there someone you looked up as a hero?
Martin: Trent Reznor is up there. And Danzig, as well as David Yow from the Jesus Lizard. But I’m not sure if I have heroes as such. I like the music they create. Frank Black and the pixies are very influential as well.
Kevin: Perhaps the Stranglers No More Heroes stuck with me. I’m not sure I have heroes. There are lots of artists and bands I respect a lot. Bowie, The Smiths, At The Drive In. And The Jesus and Mary Chain are a favourite of mine. Not sure liking their music is the same as looking up to them.
I can name lots of bands that influenced me a lot. Fugzai, Sonic Youth, Stone Roses. I suppose they are kind of like heroes to me. I list them all on my blog!
If you weren’t a musician, would you be doing today?
Martin: Music is our main focus, but we have to pay the bills, so we have jobs too. I’m not sure there are many independent musicians that are full time. But that doesn’t stop us from writing and recording songs, releasing albums and playing some gigs. I can’t think of anything outside of music that is more important to me.
Kevin: Yeah, I work on the web, but I have plenty of time to focus on music too. Working on songs and going to gigs are very important for me. I just saw the Death Cult and Therapy recently.
What advice do you have for our fans out there that want to create
music?
Martin: Keep writing and recording music. It is so easy now to record, create interesting sounds, and release music yourself. There is nothing to stop you doing this, only your own inertia.
Set up a home studio. It is so much easier to do this now. If you want to be musically creative, there should be nothing that stands in your way.
Kevin: In 2023, to write songs, record them, get them mixed, and released, it is so easy to do. And the quality of equipment and software is improving all the time. We have been using Maschine to write songs, over the last 5 years or so. But whatever method you use, it will still be easy to write and record what you have in your head. Everything is getting better, DAWs, drum machines, synths, guitar effects, and digital drums and midi instruments. It just depends on what style of music you are interested in creating. I cannot see any reason to give up and stop. The tools are out there. Go for it!
