MOBS Say Anything Interview

You Want Beauty

In the space of the last twelve months Melbourne four-piece, MOBS, have bunkered down in the recording studio and developed a sound that somewhat places them in a similar category to artists like DNCE, MKTO, The Vamps, Sheppard and Last Dinosaurs – to name a few. Don't be quick to pigeonhole the band though, as you'll soon come to hear, the band have been busy experimenting and drawing sounds from a retro era, writing songs from the perspective of the main character of specific 80's or 90's films but the sound not wavering too far off course that fans have come to know and love.

'We knew going in that we wanted to incorporate an 80s pop vibe, but we also wanted to do something different at the same time," says singer Jordan Clarey.

The band – featuring Jordan Clarey (Vocals/Keys), Michael Ashfield (Guitar), Matt Purcell (Drums) and Scott MacDougall (Bass/Keys) – first rose to prominence under the guise of Move On Be Strong, a pop-punk band that had moderate success touring with the likes of Short Stack, At Sunset and With Confidence and who had released two EP's and three singles since their inception in 2013. However after tweaking their name to the acronym of MOBS at the beginning of 2017, it has helped the band to find a rebirth musically.

The group released their debut single, Dark Side of a Good Thing, on January 27 2017 – their first under the guise of MOBS – followed by the fully fledged 'Bad Love" EP on May 12 2017. The EP saw the band's first success on commercial radio with the single receiving airplay on Melbourne's Hit FM and KIIS FM as well as live TV appearances on MTV and Channel 9.

With the promise of two new EPs, the first of which to be released on Friday October 26 and titled 'You Want Beauty?" and featuring the lead single 'Say Anything" due to be released on Friday October 13, MOBS is set to have a fast finish to the year and plan to keep fans excited and engaged with the comfort of new music moving in to the new year and, with it, plenty of new content and live shows.

Say Anything was written about the Cameron Crowe movie of the same name but written in the perspective of the protagonist, announcing that he will do whatever she needs him to do, as long as he can make her happy. ''Say Anything', to me, is the most relatable song we have," says Jordan. 'The song is simple at heart, it's about wanting someone and willing and wanting to do or say anything possible to make their relationship possible. He will always be there for her".

MOBS, who have always entertained and won fans over with their catchy melodies boosted with their high energy, describe the forthcoming single and EP as 'day and night" when compared to anything they've released previously.

'Our songs focus on a more unique, more fun experience - melodically, thematically and musically," says Clarey. 'We want to inspire an 80s nostalgia while still being relevant in today's market. The songs we've recorded have the most depth to anything we've done before".

'We want to show the world who we are. We love what we do and we want to continue to write more music together".

Single 'Say Anything" available now 7 via iTunes and Spotify
EP 'You Want Beauty" available Friday 27th October 2017 via iTunes and Spotify

www.mobsmusic.com
www.facebook.com/MOBSmusic

Interview with Jordan Clarey

Question: How would you describe MOBS' music?

Jordan Clarey: Fun 80's inspired pop. Phil Collins meets Whitney Houston.


Question: You describe Say Anything as 'the most relatable song" you have; can you tell us about the inspiration behind this track?

Jordan Clarey: The song is simple at heart, it's about wanting someone and willing and wanting to do or say anything possible to make their relationship possible. He will always be there for her. Something we have all experienced, not being able to be with the person but wanting to do whatever needs to be done I wrote it about the 80's movie of the same name. I wanted to write a story based on the themes of the movie.


Question: Which is your favourite song to perform live and why?

Jordan Clarey: I think it would have to be dark side of a good thing from our last EP.

We used it as our closing song on our last tour with Short Stack and it's just so high energy, fun and also quite a heartfelt song!


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend your show, who would it be?

Jordan Clarey: Hopefully someone that could take us on a nice long world tour! I think honestly just any artist that we respect, it would mean a lot to hear someone we regard as quality musicians to like what we are doing! I'd say someone like Phil Collins or even Ed Sheeran.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Jordan Clarey: Both are great. I love the process of sitting down with a story, writing a song and watching it grow BUT nothing can take away the feeling of playing live and mixing things up!

Question: What is the story behind the name, MOBS?

Jordan Clarey: It's just an abbreviation or acronym of our last name; nothing too crazy about it.


Question: Why the name change?

Jordan Clarey: It just felt like a natural progression and evolution from our old name. Fans would already call us MOBS so we decided to go with it when we launched the new sound, it's simple and easy!


Question: How did the band come together?

Jordan Clarey: Through the wonder of email actually! Michael emailed me one day about wanting to start a band and jam so we did, then the rest kind of just fell together as I went to school two and four years above Matt and Scott.


Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Jordan Clarey: For me it's always been about venting or expressing the way I am feeling.

I love the battle of starting with nothing and ending with a story, its liberating and challenging and I wouldn't have it any other way. Although for the single and the upcoming EPs I decided to step outside my comfort zone and wrote songs based on nostalgic movies. I wanted to blend music and cinema!

Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Jordan Clarey: I'm looking at my current driving playlist and it's all over the place - Carley Rae Jepsen, George Michael, Chet Baker and JP Cooper! Every genre possible.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Jordan Clarey: I've just always been around music from a young age. I used to listen to the same two cassettes daily on my walkman when I was very young: The Beatles and Elton John, nonstop. It's always just been the easiest way to express myself!


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Jordan Clarey: 1975, Phil Collins or Shawn Mendes - that would be awesome!


Interview by Brooke Hunter