Moira Jean, vocalist for Raw Collective and solo performer, runs through the five songs that shaped her life.
Moira Jean, vocalist for Raw Collective and solo performer, runs through the five songs that shaped her life.
Moira Jean is the vocalist for Wellington's modern soul 10-piece Raw Collective. They've just released their new LP, The Good Things, and play Auckland's Tuning Fork tomorrow night.
Ain't No Way Aretha Franklin
My mum introduced me to this song. We grew up listening to a lot of Aretha. It's a beautiful showcase of what a voice can do. I was always amazed at what Aretha can do with her voice.
I felt instantly connected to whatever she sang. It's hard not to be moved by it. Then her technical ability is out of this world. This speaks to my love of soul music and I listen to it all the time. It's hard not to think of mum when I listen to it.
I love 80s music. Particularly pop and rock. I started off in a rock band when I was 12. It was my first gig and I was singing AC/DC and Alice Cooper songs.
But Blondie covers both the rock and pop bases of the 80s. This song also has high sing-along value, another reason I picked it. I actually started an 80s cover band in Wellington a few years ago called Fanny Pack just so I could boost my love for 80s music.
I've been playing this live for years. It's one that pops up in nearly every set list. It represents my love of modern soul which Raw Collective dives a lot into at our gigs. I've always liked this tune.
I first heard it when I studied at the New Zealand School of Music doing jazz performance. There's a lot of sharing the latest tunes and everyone was listening to this and playing it for a while. At the time it felt like a slightly different take on a love song; it wasn't 'I love you baby," it wasn't cheesy. It was more real. It has beautiful chords, and great direction but the lyrics are awesome.
Secret Love Doris Day
I have a real love for musical theater from watching Doris Day films at my granny's place as a kid. This song is in the rolodex of tunes that always get stuck in my head it evokes happy childhood memories for me.
My granny had a Doris Day box set collection on videotape, there was Lullaby for Broadway, Tea for Two and Calamity Jane. She watched them with us at first but because I wanted to watch them over and over again it became her putting them on and then wandering off to do something more productive. I sing this song to my daughter now. It's a beautiful love song. I like the idea of it being something to pass down. That makes it feels extra special.
Wellington's Raw Collective are currently on a NZ tour for their new LP The Good Things.
Free Room Ravyn Lenae
This is an absolute banger. It's fun and playful and an example of where I draw inspiration from in my own compositions today. I really dig her style and vocals and it's a song I really love playing live. It's a really fun song to jam out. I also play it at home as well when I'm hanging out with my 3-month-old girl and I want to put some music on in the background to keep energy levels up.
I made a couple of playlists before going into labour because that was one of the things that people told me would be nice to do. I made a 'Baby Zen' playlist and a 'Baby Bangers' playlist that had this and other favourites like Ariana Grande and Dua Lipa on it because I didn't know what the mood would be or how it was gonna go down. I did not end up listening to my 'Baby Bangers' playlist at all. It was not the right mood...
* As told to Karl Puschmann. Raw Collective play the Tuning Fork tomorrow night. Their new album The Good Things is out now.
