| Fresh off the heels of her timeless 1970s-inspired breakup song ‘Crying In The Swimming Pool’, Berlin-based solo artist Moli (born Molly Irvine) wraps up 2022 in style with a cover of ‘Fool Again’ off the 1999 multi-platinum selling debut album by none other than the quintessential boy band Westlife. A version performed live at the Denniz Pop Awards back in September, Moli puts her very own Gen-Z spin on the song written and recorded by legendary Cheiron Productions in Stockholm, a company with substantial musical pedigree credited for a string of hits by Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, NSYNC, and Britney Spears during the late 90s and early 2000s. “It’s still one of the most popular Westlife songs,” Jörgen Elofsson, the original lyricist and co-composer, explains. Elofsson and his co-writer Per Magnusson put this down to Fool Again’s “timeless qualities”. Both men are also equally thrilled by what Moli has done with the song. “I love Moli’s version,” Magnusson admits.“She’s definitely made the song her own and has transferred it from a British pop-tune to a new blend of intimate singer-songwriter and Bee Gees-vibes.” While the original instrumentation banks on the complex vocals and elaborate string sections, Moli marries humble strums on her Fender with rhythmic piano patterns and puts them centre stage atop rock solid, crystal-clear low end. Her cover of ‘Fool Again’ is as faithful to the original as the stylistic makeover she has gone through in 2022. “It’s been such a dream to be asked to cover a song from the Cheiron catalogue. It made me to take a deep dive into their legacy and rediscover a lot of music from my childhood,” Moli revealed. “I fell in love all over again with Westlife. The harmonies, the melodies, dramatic music videos. Such a great throwback. ‘Fool Again’ stood out to me – I remember listening to it on a train and just itching to get home to try it out on my guitar and when I did, it felt so fun to perform. It just made sense.” “It was also a very interesting process to try and bring this song into the musical world of my own project. I had a great time working on it with producer Johannes Roemer who I collaborate with quite a lot, so he already knew where my head was at in terms of sound,” Moli states. “We were inspired by a combination of the 1970s pop – ABBA, The Police, Elton John, Prince – and sounds from today’s indie pop world.” |
| There are artists who are known by their trademark sound, and then there are artists who are the polar opposite of that, moving between styles with remarkable fluidity, surprising us at every turn. Belgian singer-songwriter Moli (born Molly Irvine) is the latter kind. Having a chat with her at Passenger Espresso in trendy Wrangelkiez before her afternoon writing session, we look back on her career so far. Dressed up in a classic light blue denim jumpsuit, her contagious radiance soon lights up the dim back corner of the café. Putting out her shiny, soulful debut EP ‘Résumé’ when still a teen, and subsequently moving to Berlin determined to make a living from songwriting, Moli soon reinvented herself with pulsing dance-pop heater ‘Nowhere’ followed by triphop number ‘Lonely Nights’ before being signed to Embassy of Music and releasing the second EP ‘Préface’, her own take on disco-era vibes. “I always had a bit of a rediscovery phase between each piece of work,” she explains. Soon after arriving in Berlin, she realised writing for other artists alongside her solo releases was a viable option. “I found a lot of pleasure in writing for other people, and it enabled me to explore different genres of music,” Moli says. With over 70 writing credits under her belt for songs with streams soaring into hundreds of millions on Spotify – such as ‘Breaking Me’ by Topic and A7S for which she received a BMI Pop Award in 2021 – her track record is as rock-solid as her work ethic. 10 minutes into our conversation, this character trait has already become evident. “Collaboration has been at the heart of finding my sound, finding people who have the same kind of taste as I do,” she elaborates, leaving no prizes for guessing where she got hers from. “My dad is a huge music fan. We would often be in the car cause we would go to the South of France on holiday and he would be the DJ,” she remembers, smiling, and mentions ‘I’m On Fire’ by Bruce Springsteen. “Those are the songs that were stuck with me.” That’s not to say fellow musicians of the Generation Z – Wet Leg, Phoebe Bridgers, Holly Humberstone – are off the table. And she doesn’t say no to football chants and power chords either. “I’ve had really different phases recently. Over the summer I listened to a lot of punk-rock, like Idles. Cause I went to Tempelhof Sounds 2022 and they were playing, and I just completely fell in love with the chaos,” she admits, laughing. “This man yelling at me in a really heavy British accent, I loved it!” Shared musical palates aside, when describing a perfect working relationship Moli makes an interesting analogy. “Sometimes I compare collaborating and dating. You just have a feeling you’re on the same page, you can just be yourself,” she describes. “It’s the same with finding a producer. It’s like you’re speaking the same language musically, they understand where you are coming from.” As the conversation moves on to her experiences in the music industry and the lessons she’s learnt along the way, it becomes increasingly clear just how down to earth artist she is. “I feel like the whole industry can be ego-first,” she states. “I think you should leave your ego at the door when it comes to creating music.” Where Moli’s maturity really shows is in her understanding of her own limitations. “I would have loved to be a bit more educated. But then on the other hand the education came from the mistakes that I made,” she ponders. “I can’t think of anything I’d do differently because I’d be scared that if I’d worked or done something differently, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” The most striking thing about her is the fact that all her commendable output and intense collaboration comes down to a singular, universal driving force. “I think love is the biggest source of inspiration for many types of art,” she sums up without any hesitation. “If I look at it in a deeper sense, we’re all craving for this validation as artists and validation being receiving love from other people for what we do, and so that also intertwines with working and getting love back and being inspired by love.” When describing the key to happiness and mental wellbeing, Sigmund Freud famously said, “Love and work… work and love… that’s all there is.” And sometimes, just sometimes, those two merge seamlessly together in unexpected, spectacular ways most of us can only dream of. “[Moli] breaks apart the ambiguities of modern romance… ” (The Line of Best Fit) “Anglo-Belgian newcomer Moli doesn’t let anything stand in her way… Bright, vivid, neon-lit pop music, each song makes a deep and lasting impression, with an astute lyrical touch that seems to nail each topic.” (Clash) “She can freeze her instrument into a brittle falsetto, then soften it into a soulful, sultry dripping substance that snags on every syllable with grace and agility.” (Paper Mag) “The pop singer making music you can dance or cry to” (Wonderland) “This 19-year-old Anglo-Belgian electropop diva’s blasé attitude is everything.” (Girls Are Awesome) “Singing live is a challenging feat for anyone, especially on camera – but Moli took the challenge in stride” (Majestic Casual) “… featuring fresh, soulful vocals sitting effortlessly on a beat which is ready-made for your speakers.” (Complex) |
