MusicWeek Staff: When/How did you become interested in music?
MOXXY: We have all been creating music since we were very young! Bri started off playing cello in an orchestra; CJ was first a drummer as a kid, and I (Lina) started off singing in Broadway shows when I was 7! Of course our taste in music and genres changed a lot over the years, but to be honest, everything I learned from doing musical theater has helped in creating our stage show for Moxxy. The style of music is very different, but concepts of using space, creating choreography, handling props, and projecting our personalities on stage are all the same! We all love writing music; all of us just sort of ooze lyrics out of us. Growing up we all wrote poems, raps, songs for fun…and now we get to do it as a job! I remember one road trip with my family I was on- by the time we had arrived at our motel one night, I had written an entire musical in the back of the car!
MusicWeek Staff: How did you come up with "MOXXY"?
MOXXY: I (Lina) founded Moxxy, but now all three of us own and run it. I was working with another band, an all-male EDM project, that had live musicians. I learned so much from that and loved it, but my heart really longed to create something that I could, for lack of less cliched phrase, “change the world” with. I wanted to create something with other women, who could unite to be stronger together. Over my time in the music industry, I kept seeing imbalances; on many occasions my male co-workers would receive far better treatment than I on tour. I was often brushed to the side or not taken seriously. I saw many stereotypes, prejudices, and unreasonable expectations for my beauty and body that the men I toured with were not subject to. I was supposed to be constantly fit and sexy; but if I was too sexy I was “shallow and phony”. I was supposed to not look too young, but not too old. Be not too smart but not a “dumb bimbo”. It felt exhausting and depressing: would I ever be right? Could I ever be enough? I was burned out and I realized I couldn’t do this alone. I needed a team of strong women, who also needed me, who could unite together and be a force! We started to see that other women needed us too; we inspire others to follow their passions and not lessen their dreams. I also wanted a project where we could have a full stage show: dancing, singing, costume changes…GIRL GROUP was the perfect model! The world is ready for this and needs Moxxy!
MusicWeek Staff: How would you describe your music to people?
MOXXY: I call our music Pop for the People. It’s definitely pop music, but…“you can sit at our table”! We love pop music, but it’s not like pop music that creates a vibe that is overly trendy or shallow, like this genre can get a bad reputation for. Our lyrics are very intentional, our music videos are inclusive of many types of people, and we have a message behind all of our art. We also have some tracks that cross over with house music, EDM, trap, hip-hop, and of course R&B. what is trending in female pop (and hip-hop/pop) right now, is authenticity, creativity, and power. When you look at artists like Lizzo, Doja Cat, Meg the Stallion, etc., you can see a true trend in girl boss energy. We are all about this.
MusicWeek Staff: The project you are currently promoting, how did the idea for it come about?
MOXXY: Our current big project is promoting our new track, “Extra”. We wanted to just have an anthem that was high energy and very danceable that encourages everyone to never settle for less. It really came out as a true summer banger that you can blast in the shower to pump you up for a job interview or date, or just that you rage to at your summer BBQs!
MusicWeek Staff: What is your process in composing your song?
MOXXY: This song we worked on a dope team of local LA producers and writers with! All our other songs we have written ourselves. We write based around ideas- all our lyrics and concepts have intention. We want everything to be a part of the Moxxy world- a world that gxrls can hide in from the real world and pressures of society. One where you are safe, strong, and powerful. We hope anyone (of any gender) will receive this energy and bring it out into their lives!
MusicWeek Staff: How did you describe your process of creating "Extra" compared to your other song?
MOXXY: Again, we worked with a team of writers and producers in LA on this one. Normally, we write all our own music, and bring in different guest producers. For this track, we met with the team in advance and we had a few long meetings where we went over in detail exactly the type of energy we wanted to create and what our intentions for our music are. They were very good about honoring our brand and vision! We are proud to be an all-female, queer and POC-owned company and we would not choose to work with any teams where they pressured us into something off-brand or off-vision. We are a pretty fierce force to be reckoned with. Some male producers have told us we kind of scare them haha. That’s not our goal- but we definitely didn’t come to play. I think people are not always expecting that much ferocity from 3 cute, sexy girls haha.
MusicWeek Staff: Your song "EXTRA": did you wish you had done something differently? Or have you changed as a person and would change styles/lyrics now?
MOXXY: This is our most recent song and it speaks for us now! We won’t always be working with a team on our lyrics. In general, we love to write things ourselves from our own stories and experiences, but we are open to more collaborations in the future too. On our next track we are working with a queer, female producer. We are hoping to have more fxmale collaborations in the studio, although we are open to anyone who brings a good energy and great skills!
MusicWeek Staff: What do you consider to be the most important ideas and concepts to impart to aspiring musicians?
MOXXY: Learn to take real advice faster, and ignore the haters faster. There will always be a reason (or 100) that you are “wrong”: Your words, your image, your body, your age, your race, your personality. The bigger you get in music, the more fans you will have, and conversely the more haters you will have. People will tear you apart online and sometimes to your face. You just have to find a way to ignore it, or get support from a great network of friends or fellow artists. If you don’t, you will never make it, no matter how great of a musician you are, because you will quit from the pain and pressure. I literally feel that, in this industry, those who make it, are often just those who didn’t quit. Of course you have to be talented! But so many talented people drift away because they don’t have the emotional strength or psychological bandwidth to take the pressure. In between the big wins, it is going to be exhausting, unfair, and grueling. How much passion and vision do you truly have? You better check in with yourself.
On the other side, when someone genuine gives you good feedback or advice, the quicker you can drop your ego and incorporate these new ideas, the better. If a truly helpful and respectful person has good advice from the industry for you- don’t be too defensive to take it. It could be the thing that makes or breaks your career. The trick is to know who really cares and is trying to help, and who is just a hater bringing you down. I would say as a guideline: Go with your intuition. If someone feels skeezy to you…they probably are!
MusicWeek Staff: Where can potential fans find out more about you?
MOXXY: Come join the Moxxy fam:
TikTok @wearemoxxy
Instagram @we.are.moxxy
Or book/collab with us at www.wearemoxxy.com or [email protected].
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