LISTEN I WILLY MOON

You’ve heard his song “Yeah, Yeah, Yeah,” quite possibly, two hundred times in the past few months as Apple hounded holiday shoppers to buy iPod mini’s, bouncing in every which direction across television screens.

But Willy Moon is not just your average one-commercial hit artist.

The 23-year old New Zealand native is one of the most anticipated artists for 2013 landing on countless to-be-watched lists including Vogue’s 2013 Hot List. His cool, demure look infiltrates his fashion and demeanor as if he has just stepped out of a 1960’s Parisian Nouvelle Vauge film— have you seen that pout???

But he is no retro crooner.

Moon’s sound is at the cutting edge of sound making. It’s not new for artists to mix genres to produce new music experiences but there is no blending on these tracks. Moon manages to arrange a handful of genres into battle formation and yell “fire in the hole!” He plucks elements from hip-hop, rock n’ roll, contemporary, electronic dance and more and smashes them together to create shockingly enjoyable and intriguing music.

Moon attributes his lack of musical boundaries to his challenging childhood growing up without parents after his mother passed away from cancer and his father took off to find work in Saudi Arabia, leaving the 12-year old and his 16-year old sister to fend for themselves. Soon after, the gifted student resented authority and eventually sought an escape through music in London.

He hit the scene with an online release of “I want to be your man” in 2011 with overwhelming reception, particularly for a virtually unknown name. Now, his full-length album “Here’s Willy Moon” has entered the arena— well, as full-length as he can be. The 12-track album is only 29 minutes long with just one song lasting more than 3 minutes. But that’s not because Moon’s creativity hinders. Short songs are a conscientious decision to have each track standout as a bang of energy without allotting time for boredom.

Sampling from Kanye West’s Jesus Walk, “Railroad Track” captivates listeners into 1930’s chain gang stomp.

“She Loves Me” borrows from early Beatles pop and injects heavy electric guitar to get a dancy vibe.