Step into the world of Mojave Grey, Zander Bleck, and Pozzi as they take us on a mesmerizing journey through the creation of their latest masterpiece, ‘Ride the Fire‘. In this exclusive interview, we delve deep into the spiritual background of the song, uncovering the hidden layers of meaning and inspiration that make it a true musical gem. But that’s not all – we also get a sneak peek into their exciting new projects for 2024, leaving us eagerly anticipating what this talented duo has in store for us next. Listen to ‘Ride the Fire’ at the end of this interview.
EDMTunes: Hello Everyone! This is Oscar Yerushalmi from EDMTunes. Today we are with Zander and Pozzi. Better known as Mojave Gray. Guys, how are you today?
Mojave Grey: We are great Oscar. – Thanks for having us. – Thanks for having us, yeah.
EDMTunes: Thank you for taking the time to talk with us about the release of your new song ‘Ride the Fire’. You guys describe this song as a sonic odyssey, this already sounds fascinating to me. But would you mind explaining to our audience what you guys mean when you say so, and what is the spiritual background behind this song?
Mojave Grey: Yeah, so this song has a lot of meaning for us and it kind of, it’s a little bit more like we approach the song as a soundscape more than normal, a typical song per se. It evolved a lot live. So we had kind of written the initial aspects of the song and we just kept adjusting and evolving the song as time went on in response to how the audience was reacting. We wanted to create, sort of like a mood more than ever before. The song, we wrote it based on a pretty powerful experience that we went through, and yeah, we just wanted it to be sonically aligned with that, and I think we accomplished that.
EDMTunes: Okay Pozzi, do you have some words about these?
Mojave Grey: Yeah. just talking to you now touching on the spiritual element of it. Zander and I have been sort of exploring our spirituality this year and trying to implement those experiences into the music, more and more each time. This song I would say we went a little bit further down the rabbit hole more than what we normally do. And so I think that’s a pairing. I think we tried to capture, as Zander said, an energy and overall feeling. I think we got it there eventually.
EDMTunes: While reading about the song, I noticed there is a Shaman involved in it, and it seems it’s been an experience that led you guys speechless. How relevant or how much did this Shaman influence the creative process of this track?
Mojave Grey: Tremendously. More or less she just said the phrase “ride the fire” and almost as soon as she said it we both looked at each other and were like, “well that’s the name“. It was truly a beautiful moment. We were almost in a very anxious state. We were both so far out of our comfort zones. And basically what she was describing was that anxiety and that fear that was creeping up on us. And like, she created, almost this imagery that we were in a room with a locked door with some kind of energy, this fire, this woman, this goddess, behind that door, and she was pounding at it while we were so nervously holding the door shut. And she’s like, she just wants to come in. She just wants to play with you. She wants to invite the fire in, ride the fire. As soon as she said that, I was taking it back, we both were in awe of how powerful that message was. We were one with that thought of allowing that fear in and facing it head-on, and that just was such a vivid metaphor and point that just, I mean, the song almost wrote itself.
EDMTunes: And besides the name and this experience you describe, what else do you think that the Shaman added to the song?
Mojave Grey: I mean, it was definitely something we had never experienced before, going through such an intentional, psychedelic journey. I think, we just wouldn’t have had the name, nor the vibe of the track. I think it really affected us as a group. And I think this song represents a little bit of a pivot in how we want our music to be perceived, that is, a little bit more on the experiential level. On top of just writing really great Dance and Pop songs, we want to create a mood. You know, we’re based in the desert here. I feel like we wanted to incorporate these types of experiences, this nature that we’re immersed in when we write these songs and just all of those elements into our music. And this song in particular feels like we kind of brought all three of those together. It features guitar in a really organic way and it has a little hypnotizing nature to it which is really what we were going for.
EDMTunes: I can see ‘Ride the Fire’ is a mix of a lot of different types of elements. From Zander’s vocals, Pozzi’s instruments, live music, Rock and Roll… How could you guys put all these pieces together that are so different at the same time, and deliver such a great song? Is this challenging at some point?
Mojave Grey: Yeah, it’s definitely challenging, but it’s also something that comes naturally to us because we’re both, you know, kind of in the classic sense, we’re songwriters and we’re real musicians and we play a lot of instruments. So we actually approach most of our songwriting from, like Zander or I will write something on piano or guitar. It happens that these lines themselves are really solid and then we start building something from them, and making them into what you hear. So we like to keep those organic elements as strong and prominent as possible, because they really represent who we are and what we’re bringing to the space that’s sort of different than most other people around. We also want all our songs to be able to be performed, you know, if it’s just posing on a piano or an acoustic guitar that we still can, you know, soak and translate the feel, whether it’s on the decks or just very intimate. We usually take that approach with a lot of those organic elements, and, as you were saying, it really shines through in this song.
EDMTunes: Okay guys so far, today we have the release of ‘Ride the Fire’. What else are we missing for the rest of 2023? What can we expect from Mojave Gray in 2024?
Mojave Grey: Yeah we’re just getting started, Oscar. We’re excited, we’re ambitious. We have our debut album coming out in the spring.
But regardless, we’re probably going to be releasing, I’d say, a song every five weeks up to the album and then after the album. But we have a pretty large body of work that we’re actually working on as we speak. You caught us kind of right in the middle of working on all these new songs and ideas and concepts. So I think we’ll have a very aggressive live schedule. Next week we’re in Miami for our Boswell, and the following week we’re in Mexico City. I think we’re going to start kind of accelerating that and getting this message of our desert Dance spirit, and we’re going to just keep getting that word out.
EDMTunes: Thank you for your time and answers. To close the interview, do you guys have any messages for our EDMTunes family?
Mojave Grey: Just to say hello, and we’re Mojave Grey. We’re so excited for you guys to take a step into our little desert world. To enjoy each other’s company very soon. Yeah, and thanks for welcoming into us and your community.
About ‘Ride the Fire’
As the journey begins, the soundscape of ‘Ride The Fire’ unfolds gradually, drawing listeners into a realm of tranquility and anticipation. Zander’s magnetic vocals take center stage, their melodic allure beckoning the audience to delve further into the depths of the composition. As Pozzi’s electric guitar enters the fray, as the tempo reaches its peak, a hauntingly beautiful recording of shamanic chants emerges, infusing the track with a ceremonial essence. These ancient chants, which, as you would know by now from reading the interview, served as the inspiration for ‘Ride The Fire’. Listen HERE!
