Even if you’ve never heard Rob Moose’s name, you’ve probably heard him—the violinist/guitarist/composer/arranger/et al. has collaborated and performed with many an OC-favorite. Bon Iver? Check. Sufjan Stevens? Yep. Those heartbreaking strings in Bon Iver’s "Wash"? All him. The National, Antony and the Johnsons, St. Vincent, and tUnE-yArDs are on his CV, as are Jay-Z, Paul McCartney, and Dr. Dre.
“People are always like, 'Who are you?'” Moose says. “Are you a string arranger? Are you the guy who plays violin and guitar in these bands? Are you a classical chamber musician? If someone asks what I do, the answer is just, well, what have I been doing lately?”
Nowadays, that answer involves a residency at New York’s Lincoln Center with his chamber orchestra ensemble yMusic, culminating tonight in a collaborative performance with Swedish singer-songwriter José González. Of course, there’s also Moose’s most recent work with Alabama Shakes and the Decemberists, plus an upcoming tour gig with Glen Hansard.
We caught up with the musical polymath prior to yMusic’s performance with José González, bonding over a shared love for Lady Gaga and lamenting the Bon Iver Mariah Carey cover that never was.
JESSICA CHOU: You were commissioned to arrange ten of José González’s pieces as chamber arrangements. Had you worked with him before?
ROB MOOSE: I’ve really liked his music for a long time, and we’ve peripherally been around, but I had never met him. So, we didn’t meet until way into the collaboration—we had an e-mail dialogue going and he was just like, choose any of the songs from my catalog. It was both an honor and sort of a daunting task when someone says, "Yeah, do whatever you want."
How did you decide on the final ten?
He sent me three or four new songs that haven’t been released yet, one of them at least he’s never even performed live, and I chose two of those. Then I just created a playlist of everything he’s ever recorded and listened a few times without taking any notes, just letting it wash over me. Then I started taking notes, and putting it in two camps: “Maybe,” and “No.”
That sounds incredibly daunting.
I went on a retreat to do this work because I felt like it was such a big task to go into someone’s body of work, and I wanted to take myself out of New York and not get distracted. So, I went out to Orcas Island in northern Washington state, and it was amazing to be in a tranquil, quiet, natural place and to shut out this continuous background noise. I think it lends a sort of purity to the experience for me.
A lot of work you’ve done can sort of be classified as “pop” (like Sufjan Stevens). But, it seems like people don’t really give songs classified as “pop” the same respect they might give an indie band, or classical music.
There’s such a craft to really anything that rises to the top. Whether it meets your taste criteria is a different question, but I think it would be shortsighted to not at least admire something about a popular artist, even if you don’t like them. There’s something you can always learn from other people.
Right. And with a lot of popular hits, people don’t really listen because it’s “ju
“People are always like, 'Who are you?'” Moose says. “Are you a string arranger? Are you the guy who plays violin and guitar in these bands? Are you a classical chamber musician? If someone asks what I do, the answer is just, well, what have I been doing lately?”
Nowadays, that answer involves a residency at New York’s Lincoln Center with his chamber orchestra ensemble yMusic, culminating tonight in a collaborative performance with Swedish singer-songwriter José González. Of course, there’s also Moose’s most recent work with Alabama Shakes and the Decemberists, plus an upcoming tour gig with Glen Hansard.
We caught up with the musical polymath prior to yMusic’s performance with José González, bonding over a shared love for Lady Gaga and lamenting the Bon Iver Mariah Carey cover that never was.
JESSICA CHOU: You were commissioned to arrange ten of José González’s pieces as chamber arrangements. Had you worked with him before?
ROB MOOSE: I’ve really liked his music for a long time, and we’ve peripherally been around, but I had never met him. So, we didn’t meet until way into the collaboration—we had an e-mail dialogue going and he was just like, choose any of the songs from my catalog. It was both an honor and sort of a daunting task when someone says, "Yeah, do whatever you want."
How did you decide on the final ten?
He sent me three or four new songs that haven’t been released yet, one of them at least he’s never even performed live, and I chose two of those. Then I just created a playlist of everything he’s ever recorded and listened a few times without taking any notes, just letting it wash over me. Then I started taking notes, and putting it in two camps: “Maybe,” and “No.”
That sounds incredibly daunting.
I went on a retreat to do this work because I felt like it was such a big task to go into someone’s body of work, and I wanted to take myself out of New York and not get distracted. So, I went out to Orcas Island in northern Washington state, and it was amazing to be in a tranquil, quiet, natural place and to shut out this continuous background noise. I think it lends a sort of purity to the experience for me.
A lot of work you’ve done can sort of be classified as “pop” (like Sufjan Stevens). But, it seems like people don’t really give songs classified as “pop” the same respect they might give an indie band, or classical music.
There’s such a craft to really anything that rises to the top. Whether it meets your taste criteria is a different question, but I think it would be shortsighted to not at least admire something about a popular artist, even if you don’t like them. There’s something you can always learn from other people.
Right. And with a lot of popular hits, people don’t really listen because it’s “ju