Roy Moller
Roy Moller is a Scottish singer, songwriter and poet. He was born in Edinburgh in 1963; his parents were from Toronto in Canada, and he was adopted soon after birth.[1] His early musical influences included Elvis Presley, Joy Division, The Fall, Ivor Cutler and David Bowie.[2] He attended Trinity Academy, then moved to Glasgow where he studied English at the University of Strathclyde.[3] While there, he won the Keith Wright Poetry Competition.[4]
Roy Moller | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Roy Møller |
Born | Edinburgh | 3 July 1963
Website | roymoller |
Moller played in bands including Meth O.D. and The Wow Kafe. His first solo work was 2003's "Maximum Smile".[3] He has collaborated with Stevie Jackson from Belle and Sebastian[4][5][6] in a band called the Store Keys.[7] He played with Davy Henderson in the band Jesus, Baby![3] When Marc Riley interviewed him on BBC Radio in 2011, he called Moller "Scotland's best-kept secret".[8]
In 2013 Moller moved to Dunbar.[4] In 2014 he took My Week Beats Your Year, his musical tribute to Lou Reed, to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe;[9] Gus Ironside called it "witty, mesmerising and highly poignant".[10] In the same year his poetry debut Imports was published by Appletree Writers Press,[11] and his album One Domino was called "intoxicating and compulsively habit-forming".[12]
Moller has been involved in the Dunbar CoastWord Festival,[13] and with Neu!Reekie![3][5] He contributed a poem to The Sea, a 2015 anthology to raise funds for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.[14] Louder Than War called There's A Thousand Untold Stories (2016) "a tour de force of sparkling lo-fi gems".[15] In 2017 he performed Redemptions, an evening of poetry and song, with Paul Hullah and Martin Metcalfe, at the Scottish Poetry Library.[16] In 2019, Dionysia Press published Moller's poetry collection about his birth and adoption, "Be My Baby" [17]
Moller's musical work has been compared to Julian Cope, Vic Godard,[18] and Iggy Pop.[7] He is dyspraxic, and believes his experience of dyspraxia has influenced his work.[2][19]
Discography
- Speak When I'm Spoken To (2006)
- Playing Songs No One's Listening To (2011)
- The Singing's Getting Better (with Sporting Hero, 2012)
- One Domino (2014)
- My Week Beats Your Year (2014)
- There's A Thousand Untold Stories (2016)[20]
- There's A Thousand More Untold Stories (2016)
References
- Blizzard, Christina (13 February 2016). "A mystery from the Toronto Telegram days". Toronto Sun. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Ironside, Gus (2 June 2014). "Louder Than War Interview: Roy Moller- Outsider Now!". Louder Than War. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- "Roy Moller". Stereogram Recordings. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Clarkson, John (25 August 2015). "Roy Moller - Interview". pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Pollock, David (20 September 2012). "Preview: Neu! Reekie! at Summerhall, Edinburgh". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Sung-an Lee, Ann (15 July 2015). "Belle & Sebastian's Stevie Jackson - Bad Sounds Magazine". Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- McKay, Alastair. "New Albums: Roy Moller: One Domino". Uncut (August 2014): 76.
- "BBC Radio 6 Music - Marc Riley, Roy Moller - Interview with Marc Riley". BBC Online. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Awde, Nick. "Reviews of Edinburgh Festival 2014". Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Ironside, Gus (19 August 2014). "My Week Beats Your Year: The Whole Works, Edinburgh – review of the Lou Reed inspired show". Louder Than War. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- "Roy Moller: Imports". Edinburgh City of Literature. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Ironside, Gus (15 April 2014). "Roy Moller: One Domino – album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- "Not Burns – Dunbar!: The SWH! Podcast Talks To Roy Moller About The Dunbar CoastWord Festival…". Scots Whay Hae!. 19 May 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- "The Sea". Rebel Poetry Ireland. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Ironside, Gus (27 July 2016). "Roy Moller: There's a Thousand Untold Stories- album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
- "Redemptions". Scottish Poetry Library. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- Ironside, Gus (2 November 2019). "Roy Moller: Be My Baby". Louder Than War. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- "Roy Moller". thebeautifulmusic.com. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- "Roy Moller's Story". Dyspraxia Foundation USA. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- "Roy Moller Discography at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 15 July 2018.