Jim Moray Interview: SXSW 2010

Jim Moray is an English folk singer with a twist. Not many folk singers collaborate with grime artists to produce a song described as "an English murder ballad". Praised by critics all over the world, the Bristol-based folk singer is set to do big things. He mixes the past and the present and turns them into the future of folk. He is all set to light up SXSW with his unique sounds. Spinner talked to the man himself.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Quiet bit. Building slowly. LOUD BIT. CYMBAL CRASH. Quiet bit again. LOUDER THAN BEFORE. Double chorus to end.

How did you start performing?

I walked over to the piano and started pressing random keys until I found a combination I liked. Still the method I use today.




What are your musical influences?

Studio One reggae. And only Studio One reggae.

What's your biggest vice?

Using incorrect grammar on purpose.

What's in your festival survival kit?

A guitar, a change of shoes (dancing shoes vs. "sensible"), those fizzy vitamin C tablets (for prevention of scurvy), gaffer tape.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I don't really feel guilty about music at all - that seems like a silly thing to do. If I was going to feel guilty about anything it'd be accidentally boiling my sisters goldfish by putting him on the window in direct sunlight so he could "have a nice view". I didn't derive pleasure from that though, so it probably doesn't count.

Beatles or Stones?

The Beatles all the way.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Belgium. In a good way.