An Interview With The Toronto Singer-Songwriter FRANK MOYO!

Never one to become complacent, Toronto’s Frank Moyo broke out on his own with an acoustic guitar and a piano and zeroed in on songwriting and performance in its purest form.  Focusing on small gigs and open mic’s to polish his craft, he has played over a 100 acoustic shows in the Toronto and the surrounding area since 2014.  An avid fan of all genres of music, Frank has also been working diligently in the studio to fuse several styles, with the firm belief that collaboration and originality best include his listeners in the musical experience.

Reunited with the members of his former band, he has recently been in the studio putting the finishing touches on his first solo effort, ‘Waves of Emotion’, which was released on October 28th, and planning for an independent Canadian tour.

Learn more about Frank in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! Now that we are well into the fall of 2016, what are some words you would use to describe this year? What have been some of the highlights for you and your music?

Now that 2016 is coming to an end, I find that the past couple months have been quite productive. Especially with the upcoming E.P release and the single launches, I find that things have been picking up. Some highlights I have to say have been the shows I have been playing. I have been gigging pretty steadily the past couple months and it has really helped with my performance skills. My songwriting has excelled as well, I haven’t had as much time as I would like to write, but the songs that I have finished, I am very proud of.

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?

Since I can remember I have always wanted music to be my primary focus in life. I remember singing and playing Elvis with an imaginary guitar at family functions as a kid. My first memory that sits in my mind is buying my first guitar. I had passed by the window of a music shop that was run by my grandmother’s neighbor and immediately fell in love with it. After I bought it, the owner of the shop gave me some lessons and quickly after that I began writing my own songs. Using simple chords, I began to write nearly a song a day, rushing home from elementary school just to play my guitar until I had to go to bed.

Later this month, you will release your newest and first solo effort, “Waves.” Can you talk about the inspiration behind this collection? Was it like putting it together?

I am so excited to be releasing Waves. It has been a two and half year process of recording about twenty songs, and now it’s time to release something. The songs recorded on Waves were all recorded between May and September 2016. The inspiration mainly behind this project was basically the fact that I had to get my career started. Putting out an E.P. is perfect to get some music out there and introduce people to what I’m all about as a musician. Writing the songs on Waves was a bit different from what I usually do during my songwriting process. I wrote more about social injustices and the hardships of life rather than love, which is a subject dominant in many of my songs.

Putting the E.P. together was exciting to say the least.   I still am working to finish some artwork for the album as well as the final editing on the “Let You Down” video. I have plans as well for a release show, so the whole E.P. as a process is a lot of hard work that hopefully will pay off.

What’s it been like working on an album on your own? Do you find that you work a lot differently on your own in the studio?

Working on this project as a sole songwriter was different. I did have Matt (my producer) that worked almost day and night to help finish everything. His mixing and production was amazing, and his hard work really shows in the final edit. Going to the studio and working on this was intense, but it was also the most rewarding feeling to leave every night with the satisfaction of having come one step closer to finishing the E.P.

I’d love to know how you chose to mash-up Drake’s “Hotline Bling” and Calvin Harris’ “How Deep Is Your Love”? Are these two of your favorite songs? Do you plan on making more of these?

When these two songs came out I absolutely loved them, they both had such a catchy hook. I noticed they were being covered so often by so many different artists, so I knew that if I wanted to cover one of them I would have to make them unique. Mashing up the two songs seemed like a great idea at the time, just because this way I got the chance to explore even more possibilities musically in the songs. Mashing up songs is always great because it really shows how versatile some songs can be. I definitely plan on doing another mash up sometime in the near future.

Who are some of your favorite artists and what bands continue to inspire you all and your music? Who would you still love to work with in the future?

Some of my greatest influences have been a mix of singer songwriters and bands. Growing up I went through musical stages where I found myself listening to a wide array of genres. Band and songwriters that have stuck with me to this day are Coldplay, Radiohead, Incubus, and The Kooks. I find so much inspiration vocally from Chris Martin, Thom Yorke and Brandon Boyd. I also love classical music, most notably Giuseppe Verdi and the greatest operatic vocalist of them all, Luciano Pavarotti. I would love to work with Chris Martin in the future, it would be an absolute dream come true.

When you aren’t performing, working in the studio, what do you like to do for fun? How do you all unwind from it all?  

In my free time I love to read and play sports. I am an avid soccer fan and have been playing it my whole life. I also love to play hockey and the occasional game of pool.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I hope my music conveys a message of positivity and meaning. I don’t write music, just so I can have something I can show people. I write music as an outlet for my thoughts and my opinions on matters. I want listeners to enjoy my music, and have an understanding of who I am as a person. I want listeners to appreciate the message in my songs and relate to it.

Is there anything else that you would like to share with our readers about yourself or your music?

I am very grateful for being featured and hope that my music and thoughts on it translates well with people.