Moray wants to be the artist he needed growing up
Up-and-coming pop artist, Moray, is coming in fast and hot. Just in his second year at USC Thornton, Josh Grossman has already released a full-length album and four singles. His latest song, titled, “Want Me or You Don’t,” was released at the end of June and has already received over 10,000 streams on Spotify. The perfectly crafted pop song is a story of heartbreak, as he switches the sad narrative into one high-energy track. If this is where Moray has started, there’s no telling where he’ll go, and he is probably set to be your new favorite pop star
OTR: Let’s start off by talking about your name. It has a deep family meaning. Can you talk about the origin of that?
M: So my full name is Joshua Moray Grossman, and my middle name is Moray, which is my stage name. The name Moray comes from my great-grandfather. He actually pronounced it Murray, but he owned a jewelry shop in Michigan and all of his customers would call him Moray. So that kind of became his nickname. And then my parents gave me that middle name.
When I was getting ready to start trying to figure out how I was going to debut as an artist. I was like ok, the name Joshua Grossman is fine, but I need something that has a ring to it. So I was like ‘I have a very unique middle name, it kind of feels like it has that pizazz,’ and I went with it, and here we are.
OTR: You have a really extensive dance background. How does that contribute to your stage presence? And do you feel as though you have the full package to be a pop star?
M: 100% yes. I've been dancing as long as I can remember, but I started doing musical theater in elementary school, and also almost went into a theater major in college. [But] ultimately went the pop music route. I’ve been doing musical theater my whole life and most of the performances I did growing up –dance, singing and acting– were so intertwined that I think they shaped who I am as a performer permanently.
I also think there’s a sense that for me music and dance bounce off each other, one art form reflects the other. And I also will say my biggest influences are all pop stars. Beyoncé is my biggest influence of all time, and she does three-hour sets of insane choreography and singing.
OTR: What about hip-hop drew you to the dance field you specialize in?
M: I think the biggest thing about hip-hop for me was that growing up I definitely had some confidence issues, and I just struggled with it. I think watching Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Ariana Grande get up on stage and do this like super ultra-confident hip-hop inspired me. And I think I was like ‘wait I can do that too’. Dancing hip-hop has been able to bring out a natural confidence in me that I think is a little bit harder for me to pull out otherwise. That’s why I love dancing while I’m performing so much.
OTR: What draws you to pop music out of all the genres?
M: I would say number one it's what I grew up on. And to me I think pop is such a beautiful form of art because whether you're happy or super depressed or heartbroken, all of that is translated into a fun, upbeat song. You can translate anything into something that defies the narrative of what you think that emotion should feel like
OTR: You released your first album titled Mirror, Mirror in May. You’ve said that this album “captures the past 6 years of [your] life.” What out of that time period do you feel you've put into this album?
M: I pretty much just wrote that album as I grew up. It wasn’t like I worked on all these songs in a span of six months. I really think that this album captures my experience of growing up, figuring out who I am, what it means to grow up being queer. And what it means to create a relationship with yourself. I went through a lot during high school, as we all did, and I think that writing this album was a way for me to almost console myself and solidify the lessons I needed to be learning in my head. I think what's interesting is that a lot of that writing I was doing then was for myself. Whereas a lot of the writing I'm doing now for future projects I've been thinking about writing for the young gay kid, who as an artist I wish I had when I was 15-16.
OTR: You do a lot of the behind-the-scenes when it comes to producing a song. Do you like that part of the process or do you like just being the artist?
M: Oh I love doing everything. I self-identify as a singer, songwriting, and producer. Up until I got to college, about a year ago, I was doing pretty much all that stuff myself besides mixing and mastering. Even before I started writing I was producing songs. All three of those things I would say are just who I am as an artist and are super important to be a part of. Even if I'm working with another producer, I’m sitting right up at the desk. I’m definitely one of those people who have a vision and hyper-fixates on it.
OTR: In your latest single, “Want Me or You Don’t” there is a ‘Moray’ adlib at the beginning; is that a trademark? Do you plan to keep adding that to all your songs?
M: Oh for sure. I did that one other time in my other single “Your Loss.” And that one just starts with the ‘Moray,’ then goes into the song. So this one is a little different. I think that will definitely be a little trademark for the more poppy songs.
OTR: What was the creative process behind that single?
M: The way that song started was my friend Magnus Ferrel DM’d me on Instagram and was like, ‘hey, would you be down to write something with me and Gabe sometime?’ So we got together and we were all just talking and hanging out and they were kind of asking me what was going on in my life. So I was talking to them about this boy who we ended up writing this song about. I’m pretty sure we wrote the whole thing, or at least up until the second chorus, in the first session. It was super cool because the three of us were on a little Google Doc bouncing lyric ideas off each other and it was a super natural easy writing session, because we're all kind of just goofing around. A few months later we ended up recording the final vocals. Gabe Yaron is who produced the song. He’s the most talented guy ever and the sweetest person I know. We kind of went back and forth tweaking the production. And I guess that’s how we did it.
OTR: What is a typical songwriting process?
M: I think it depends. When I'm writing alone, either I will start by producing a super basic track on Logic and start humming melodies over that and kind of filling in lyrics. If I know I want to write a sad song, I'll hop on my keyboard and do the same thing with chords. Since I’ve gotten to college, I’ve had the opportunity to collaborate with so many songwriters in the pop program at USC and have been lucky to do a lot of collaborative writing sessions with my friends.
OTR: You’re in the USC pop program. How has this has helped you develop your career more than by yourself?
M: One of the coolest things about this program is that they take us in as we are as artists. Instead of trying to shape us into one certain box, I think the idea is that they are enhancing who we already are. They give us training in music theory, performance training, and put us in songwriting classes, teaching us about record deals and publishing companies, managers and contracts, and providing us with the background and origins of popular music. I think it has given me so much foundation in all of those fields and is 100% preparing me to go out into LA and at least know what I’m doing a little bit.
OTR: You play with a band during live performances. How does that contribute to the live Moray experience?
M: That’s a great question. I mean I think it’s such a different vibe. I only started playing with a live band in March of this year. Up until then it was just a backtrack. I had my very first performance in LA at the very end of March and I just got together with a bunch of my friends from the pop program and it was kind of super chill, seamless experience. Just ‘Hey I'm doing this show, would you be down to play together?’ We all knew each other super well and were able to work together, and it's nice to have that community of people on stage with me.
OTR: What do you want people to take away from your music?
M: What I want people to take away is that it's okat to have super strong and deep emotions and also celebrate that. We're human. I think my latest song really encapsulates that. The story about “Want Me or You Don't” could've been a depressing song. But I was like, you know what, we’re going to turn this shitty experience into a fucking party. I think that's kind of the essence of what I want to do with my music.