Music
Discover the Artist: Fia Moon
Irish singer and song-writer Fia Moon blend of R&B-tinged pop has drawn comparisons to the likes of Halsey, Jhené Aiko, Banks and Snoh Aalegra.
‘Discover the Artist’ is our new blog series where we introduce you to artists you might not have heard of yet… but need to listen to.
Soulful. Honest. Heartfelt. These are just a few of the words that crop up time and time again in conversations around Irish singer/songwriter Fia Moon.
Genre: Pop / R&B
From: Dublin, Ireland
Style: The juggernauts of jazz and soul like Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Eva Cassidy and Norah Jones moulded Fia’s musical tastes from an early age. Performing since the age of five and surrounded by music thanks to her parents, who are of Irish and Italian heritage, her father a classically trained musician and her mother a music teacher. Fia began gigging while studying in Dublin, posting covers online and developing her sound before she made the jump to London.
The authenticity of those past musical legends is what inspires Fia’s emotion-laden and deeply personal songwriting, meaning it’s little surprise that her lyrics are often what garner her a lot of praise. However, it’s the range and power of her classically trained vocal that allows her words to soar and truly connect with people.
Discover Upcoming Fia Moon Shows »
If you like: Halsey, Jhene Aiko, Banks & Snoh Aalegra, Laoise, Eve Belle, Lyra.
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Listen to… all her songs on Spotify ♥
Watch… the lyrics video for ‘Better Days’
The soul-bearing song touches on loss and insomnia, while also expressing perseverance and determination to never give up. Fia explains, “When we wrote the song, I had only done a handful of sessions and didn’t really know what I was doing. I was struggling to balance a break-up, music stuff, moving house, and a full-time job, which I later quit. So, in a short space of time, my whole life had suddenly been totally uprooted and in a big city like London, you can feel very alone. The lyrics – it’s 5 in the morning’ is just me lying awake at night, questioning myself, unsure whether I was on the right path.”
The verses move the story along with their sombre yet relatable lyrical content (‘All I hear is an echo / Of the doubt I can’t let go.’). This is in stark contrast to the uplifting and positive chorus and its high notes which amplify the feeling of determination to never give up that she subsumes in her battle against that all-too-familiar inner voice of self-doubt.
“When I think of the song, I think of the contrast between light and dark, day and night, and between beauty and pain,” Fia explains in regards to her thought process as the song came together. This isn’t only exemplified through the song’s lyrics, but also in its production, which, while inherently pop, is dark and atmospheric through the verses before slowly climbing to an uplifting, upbeat crescendo as the chorus kicks in.
Recent Release: XX, 24 July 2020
‘XX’ is Fia Moon at her confident and most empowered best, with its self-assured tone (“I know you still want me, loving all my body”) emphasising its sensual lyrics.
‘XX’’s atmospheric production sees Fia return to the dark sound previously explored on ‘Water Runs Through’ and places her firmly in the same alt-pop category as the likes of Rina Sawayama and Kim Petras. ‘XX’ was co-written and produced by London based Swedish songwriter Tannergard (BTS, LVNDSCAPE, Martin Jensen) with Dutch songwriter Marcia Sondeijker and mastered at Abbey Road Studios by Christian Wright (Ed Sheeran, Laura Marling, Coldplay). Sonically, it showcases everything Fia does best in the soaring vocal tones and sweeping synths, blending the old with the new in the alt-pop style that she has become known for.
Speaking on how the song came to fruition, Fia says “I had recorded a voice note of the chorus melody and lyrics one night, which I played to Misha and Tannergard at our session. From that, we started talking about how I was feeling being newly single and about my most recent ex but also about my first boyfriend. We were laughing because they were getting confused between the two, so we would call one ‘x’ and the other ‘xx’, which is where the title came from.”
Discover Upcoming Fia Moon Shows »
