R&B-Electro-Pop-Fusion Duo Moxxy Jones Release New Single 'Never'

'Never' is the second release from the independent artist duo Moxxy Jones's debut synth-pop album, 'Unnoticed,' to be released October 21st, 2022 in Dolby Atmos.

This is a body of work that emanated from their fearless creative process - a relentless push and pull that isn't restrained by ego, genres, or boundaries of the music business. Long-time San Francisco friends - keyboard player, Frank, and guitar player, Milan - share their latest collection of work that showcases the signature style and sound that sets this skillful songwriting and production team apart.

A sound that's untraditional, unexpected yet familiar, modern, energetic yet dark, and that has boundless sonic range paired with classical elements, catchy melodies/hooks, driven beats, juxtaposed lyrics, and layered harmonic underpinnings. Through sound, 'Unnoticed's' deep dive into the exploration of the juxtaposed duality of the human experience allows fans to ride the wide sonic rollercoaster of emotions, sit comfortably in discomfort, see beauty in brokenness, and experience harmony and dissonance all at once.

After their well received first debut single 'Leave the Room,' their follow-up single 'Never' continues the release schedule featuring singer/songwriter Trent Park and bassist Uriah Duffy; providing a surprising glimpse into the band's broader palette range - industrial, R&B, electro-pop, funk, blues, rock - and darker synth-pop, vaporwave elements of their sound. Unlike their last release, described to be more upbeat, energetic, dancy, sexy, playful, this track is a contrastingly moody, expansive, emotional, introspective, and angst-filled pulsing groove.

"This single best encapsulates the balance of influences that we have and offers a starting point from which everything else branches. Sonically, there was a constant push and pull between the clean and dirty, traditional and adventurous, beautiful and broken. The blending of different genres and sounds really sets this song apart. There are industrial, R&B, blues and rock elements to the song that all take the lead at one point or another," Milan opens.

Frank adds, "'Never' combines lots of textures that we don't often see put together - industrial synths, funk bass, and a harmonic structure that is both simple at points and full of movement in others. I think the 'ah-ha' moment came when we figured out how the puzzle fit together - both structurally as to the song parts (verse, chorus, bridge, breakdown) and the different standout performances (Trent Park on vocals, Uriah Duffy on bass, and the very curated production)."

This single extends their dynamic collaborations; featuring the smooth, soulful, R&B vocals of singer/songwriter Trent Park, Los Angeles, CA, anchored by the dynamic musical structure laid out by Moxxy Jones (keyboards, Frank, San Francisco, CA, and guitar, keyboards, programming, Milan, Portland, OR), and world-renowned bassist, Uriah Duffy (of Goaplé, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Fantastic Negrito), Oakland, CA.

Outside of the clever compositions and sonic range, the relatable, empowering, and charged narrative provides another hook. Milan elaborates on his process, "To me, the song is about never letting anyone tell you who you are, what you're worth or what you're capable of. No one can stop you from fighting to be yourself. In setting the mood for the song, I drew upon a childhood memory of staying up to watch Miami Vice with my dad.

Think late at night in Miami while the neon lights reflect off the water, cruising on a very expensive speedboat, wind blowing through your hair, the tunes are cranked. The intro credits to that show with the visuals and the Jan Hammer soundtrack left a huge impression. I was trying to recreate the feeling of that intro. Musically, I wanted to blend more traditional organic R&B guitar with the hard-hitting industrial music elements I grew up listening to.

I'm a real gearhead and the guitar community right now is very focused on vintage/boutique sounds and gear. The track was a great opportunity to lose myself in that aspect while not ending up like just another roots rock or vintage dated sounding band. With that said, I crafted an industrial-style drumbeat and improvised as many guitar parts that I could come up with that were the complete opposite of what the beat was doing. Fairly quickly, the main guitar riff just dropped into my lap. We then layered in pianos and synths before dropping the guitar completely in parts and letting the ancillary parts take over.

Nine Inch Nails' 'The Fragile' has had a really big impact on my production goals that I tried to incorporate into 'Never'. The ability to blend organic elements/sounds with really harsh sonics and hard hitting drums is something that I've been striving for and feel that I had really just started to execute well in our music on this track. I spent way too much time trying to get the kick and snare to be perfect, A' / B'ing specific kick and snare hits from my favorite industrial records for hours.

The kick had to have just the right amount of body and punch while the snare had to have the right snap but just enough crunch. When we finished 'Never', it felt like the first step towards where we're trying to go with Moxxy Jones. I'm still trying to figure out what our music really is, blending hard hitting drums and harsh noises against beautiful clean chords and melodies. It strikes me as a combination of beauty and pain."

Frank expands, "This was a truly collaborative process with everyone contributing key elements that make this song so unique. Milan came up with the main idea for the song, starting with the verse, and really set the mood of the whole song with his early production. I came in to help get the harmonic structure for the pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, and musical interlude. Trent's vocals then were layered on top and really complemented the feel that we built with the instruments.

And then having Uriah Duffy lay down a bass line that added some great movement and groove - particular in the choruses and bridge - gave this a new dimension entirely. We each have our own personal narrative and interpretation of the song, which is what makes music so personal and powerful. To me, the song is about being so close to something that's everything you wanted, yet deliberately not letting yourself reach for it.

In writing the song, I wanted to capture the sense of longing, heartache, sadness, remorse, and even a bit of self-sabotage. Imagine hearing something like George Michael (think 'Jesus to a Child' or 'One More Try') layered with the pop sensibilities of The Weeknd or even early Prince, but still keeping an underlying groove that borders on industrial."

Trent Park joins in, "when I received the music from Moxxy Jones, one of the qualities that stood out to me was the dark curiosity in the music. The chords are open. There was an ambiguity that helped to paint the narrative. With the lyrics, I wanted to convey the sense of choice - the ability to choose your forever, the opportunity to activate it because you have the control.

If given the option, would you choose love or something different? If love was really close, would you want to know or live in the bliss of not knowing? I enjoyed the lyrical dynamism in the considerations that we played with in this songwriting process. What further makes this track unique is the unconventional change from minor (moody) to major (brighter) in the chorus. Taking all this into consideration, I focused on a vocal delivery that was more in the lower range, speak singing in lower tones to maintain an overall calm, soft, and moody vibe.

To achieve their vision and sound for 'Never,' Moxxy Jones joined forces with GRAMMY®-recognized producer, Starita, a collaborator that isn't foreign to pushing the envelope of sonic ranges and unique genre blending styles (recognized for his work with Childish Gambino, A Tribe Called Quest, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah, Third Eye Blind, Madame Gandhi, Rebelution, Los Amigos Invisibles, Michael Franti and Spearhead).

"There's a lot of push and pull in this song production-wise. It's very moody and somewhat aggressive in parts but then becomes intimate and expansive in the choruses. This was all very deliberate and I must say took some time to accomplish without it feeling forced. My approach was to really balance the light/dark, gritty/smooth aspects of the song and to also not get in the way of the vocal melody. The synths really had to be perfect in creating the vibe and mood without filling everything up and getting in the way. Also the drums had to be very persistent and driving which maintains the tension.

This album and Moxxy Jones' writing style, in general, has juxtaposed elements. Even within the song, there are opposing forces of Trent's soaring melodies along with dark production and chords. It's definitely moody and there seems to be a tension throughout the entire song that 'never' quite gets resolved. The opposing forces at play throughout really make this special and fun to listen to.

The challenges were trying to keep all the opposing elements sounding like they were supposed to be together and not forced. How do we get gritty but then be beautiful? How do we sound harsh but smooth? It was one of the biggest challenges. I always like working with Moxxy Jones because it's a balancing act of Frank's approach being very musical and somewhat technical and theory-based to Milan's desire to push into somewhat atonal territory and obtain more gritty sounds," Starita shares.

"After the last chord of this track is played, we hope listeners don't walk away. Instead, have a groove, think, daydream, escape,' Park signs off.

The full production team on 'Never' include band members - Milan, co-producer, recording engineer, songwriter, guitar, keyboards, programming; Frank, songwriter, keyboards; Trent Park, vocals; Starita, producer, recording and mix engineer; Jaimeson Durr, recording engineer; and Gabriel Shepard, recording engineer. The album was recorded at 25th Street Recording, Oakland, CA, and Studio D, Sausalito, CA. Mastered by Joe LaPorta of Sterling Sound Studio. Creative direction by Tam Starita. Released by Starita Records, a division of Starita Music.

Watch the new music video here:

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