We wanted to delve further into the mastermind of Mord boss, Bas Mooy, so we asked Bas to take us through his musical memories and day to day listening…
As a child, what song was it that made you take notice of music?
Don’t really recall what the first music was that made me take notice, but I think I started to develop an interest in music around 1984, when I was about 8 years old. We had a proper stereo deck at home, which had a separate turntable that used to belong to my grandfather. When he was still alive I was never allowed to even go near it. After he passed away it was still quite a big thing to actually use it, I always had the feeling he was watching me 😉 First single I got was for Christmas, it was Aha – Take on me. Also around that time I got my first vinyl albums. A lot of old ones that used to belong to my father (Bob Dylan, but also John Denver, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis etc). I just played whatever was available. The first album I bought was ‘Like a Virgin’ by Madonna I think. At school you were either fan of Michael Jackson, Wham or Madonna. I guess I had a little boy’s crush on Madonna. The crush on Madonna slowly disappeared, but I still got that album though.
What is your favourite song to come out of Manchester?
Well, that a tough one. It has to be a tune by either Joy Division or the Stone Roses, which have been two of my favourite bands since my teenage years.
I have played ‘Turns into Stone’ hundreds of times. That album actually helped me through a lot of difficult times. I was fifteen, my girlfriend broke up with me and my father had just left us. I was living at my aunt’s house for some time with my mother and brother and I remember playing the album every day after I got home from school. It still touches a nerve when I hear the intro of the first tune. It takes me back to those days instantly, but not in a particular sad way or anything. That record gave me a lot of strength and really got me digging for more music, it was sort of a start of a new phase in my life music wise.
Those teenage years where you are so hungry to discover new music all the time. I guess if I would have to pick a song from that album it would be ‘Elephant Stone’, just because it’s the first tune on that album and it’s the perfect start of the record. Choosing a song by Joy Division is even harder, since I love that band so much, it’s impossible to choose a number one track. If I have to point one out it would probably be ‘Disorder’, it’s the first track on ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and I have a special connection with it.
What is your favourite song from Rotterdam?
That has to be something electronic and I guess that’s Speedy J – Pannik, I said this many times before, but this feels like the song that captures this Rotterdam vibe best. The fierceness, attitude and face of the city I love so much. Besides that Jochem is a proper legend of course, massive influence to me since I started.
What demo have you been playing most at the moment?
At home it’s a demo by a legendary artist I’m doing an album from soon. It will be Mord’s third album after the UVB and Stanislav Tolkachev albums. I can’t reveal the name yet, but I’m really happy to have him on board. We are discussing the tracklist now, so I’m listening to the tunes a lot and can’t wait to put this out. At my gigs I don’t play a lot of demos to be honest, since I usually wait for the tunes to be signed and mastered before I actually play them out. I do play some of my own upcoming tunes. I’ve been experiencing a lot of ear problems since early this year, so haven’t been able to do lots of studio work, but can tell you that I finally finished a new EP for Mord, which will be out soon.
What song do you sing in the shower or in the car?
I shower in silence usually, which I think is highly appreciated by my neighbours, kids and girlfriend. Would have loved to be a singer in band, but it’s just not something I’m good at unfortunately. Same story for instruments, tried the guitar, but failed miserably…My daughter is playing the piano and she actually has talent so it seems, great to see how she learns so fast. In the car we are usually with the whole family and I am powerless basically, we usually listen to the music my kids select, them being 9 and 4 is a guarantee for me not to know any of the tunes they like to play. I never listen to the radio myself and I guess the older you get, the less you know about the current state of pop music. I know most of it sucks pretty bad, but I guess my parents probably said the same about my music.
History repeating…Those times I try to ‘educate’ my kids with some of my selections, they usually beg me to turn it off, haha, but these days my daughter sometimes asks me what I’m playing, when I put on a record at home. She sometimes likes stuff outside the standard radio stuff, which is nice. I guess they need to find their own way in music, so I won’t be pushing too much 😉 My son dances to techno, that’s also a start I guess…
What tune did you play most the past year?
I guess one of the tunes that got played in almost all my sets was Pfirter’s remix of Exium’s track ‘Subshell’. I think in 25% of al the videos that people took of me I’m playing that track. Haha, so I guess it’s also a crowd favourite. The moment I play it, people start filming so it seems… Been trying not to play it every now and then, but it’s always tempting to put it on and then I usually think: what the hell, why shouldn’t I play it, it’s a killer tune. I used to have the same with Jamie Bissmire – Number & measure (Chris McCormack remix), that was in loads of my sets from 2000-2010, never disappointed me and I actually played it again recently. Thing is that you always want to make sure you play different sets and then these ‘key-tracks’ just turn up every set and you worry a bit that people might think you play the same set etc. I never do that, I always come with new stuff, but some tunes become personal favourites and you just want to share them which each different crowd you play for.
Finally, on the theme of ‘Mord’ what song would you have playing at your funeral?
Really something I don’t want to think about too much to be honest, especially since Mord means ’murder’ 😉 When the day comes the people close to me will know what to play.
Bas returns to Meat Free on Friday 6th October alongside Paul Birken and Myler, tickets are available online now!