motel void

MOTEL VOID: I haven’t found much information about you on the internet. Could you tell us more about you and where you’re from?

Mox: Yeah, I definitely try not to have much of an internet presence aside from my music, it’s funny to see that in action. My name’s Mox, I’m a 20 year old songwriter from Merced, California, and I spend most of my days writing music and playing chess. This is funny, I feel like I’m filling out a dating profile or something, “ I like long walks on the beach and staring directly into the sun for extended periods of time” hahaha.

MOTEL VOID: You released your latest album ‘Heart’ this April. Could you describe the process of writing and recording the album?

Mox: Sure! I started writing this record basically when I started writing music in general, which was around March 2021. I didn’t really go into it planning on making a record, I just got to a point, around the same time in 2022, where I had all of these songs that were very dear to me and I was showing them to my friends and they were super stoked on them. I had always dreamt of having a finished record so it just felt like the thing to do.
The recording process was a lot less whimsical, it was a lot of trial and error. Having finished this record I can say that I feel pretty confident in my recording abilities, but starting off I really did not have much of a clue about what I was doing! I just knew what I liked and how I wanted it to sound, so I just tried my best to translate.

MOTEL VOID: Are you satisfied with the reception of your last releases (‘Heart’ and EP ‘4lilmonkeys’?

Mox: Oh my goodness, yes! I finished recording Heart the week of Thanksgiving, and was incredibly close to just self-releasing it when I got in touch with JB at Cherub Dream Records. With JB’s faith in the record and Cherub Dream’s support, this record has reached so many kind ears, and there’s been an overwhelming amount of positive feedback, which is definitely a trip but I am super grateful for it all nonetheless.

MOTEL VOID: What was the biggest inspiration for you?

Mox: Musically, I would say Alex G and Elliott Smith were huge for me. The Breeders, Sonic Youth, stuff like that. I have a couple friends that were writing around the same time as I was, Ted Barber and Commercial Break. Seeing their creative processes was definitely also an inspiration and driving factor for this record.

MOTEL VOID: How was your 2023 so far, musically, and what are your plans for the rest of the year?

Mox: Musically, my 2023 has been killer, life has changed so much so quick! A lot of gigging and meeting new super talented people. As far as what I’ve got coming up, I’m working on a record that I finished writing a couple months ago, and I’m in the process of trying to open an all ages music venue here in Merced. We have a UC, so there’s so many new 18 year olds coming into town every year, and they have no way to get into the music scene unless they hear the whispers of house shows. I want to change that! So yeah, hopefully that’ll be coming into fruition pretty soon. Those are the two big things, plenty of gigs on the horizon as well.