Introducing… Moon Panda

Moon Panda’s Gustav Moltke [left]: “We used songwriting more as a self-soothing thing”

Maddy Myers and Gustav Moltke are a chill pop duo soothing listeners with their soft, mellow sounds and psychedelic lyrics

Name: Moon Panda

Location: Denmark

Style: Dream-pop

Look out for: New song Falling out now with a debut album to follow in March

Website: moonpanda.bandcamp.com

Together, American vocalist/bassist Maddy Myers and Danish guitarist Gustav Moltke make up the band Moon Panda. Both musicians attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston and met while studying abroad in Spain. Myers and Moltke quickly began collaborating, forming their band shortly after. The group released EPs Pastel Pool in 2019 and Make Well in 2020, which both gained strong reviews from fans and critics.

Moon Panda are American vocalist/bassist Maddy Myers [left] and Danish guitarist Gustav Moltke

The duo make relaxing songs that are easy to escape in and are the result of improvisation sessions from in which the music is formed. The next step is for Myers to add lyrics over those compositions. Already comfortable with their dreamy sound, the pandemic inspired them to further develop an aesthetic that radiates peaceful vibes to listeners.

“We have, in the last year, leaned into the softer side of things just because… the world went all crazy and just hit everyone,” says Moltke. “We used songwriting more as a self-soothing thing. [With] all of our music, we were kind of gearing it towards being this calming presence [for] anyone who’s listening.”

Moon Panda’s Maddy Myers [right]: “I want to make something that makes people… happy… serene and calm.”

In recent months, the band have put out two singles, Vacationer and Cloud Watching. The former track’s lyrics, “Vacationers only stay until the real living begins / A vacation is all I need so I can come back home again,” form a hypnotic hook influenced by an expedition the group took after a performance was cancelled due to the pandemic.

“We were all just stuck at my parents’ house for two months, and we ended up renting a van and driving out to the Grand Canyon and just making a big adventure of it all,” Myers says. “That song is about that time when we were all just exploring, and we were really far from home.”

Back in the autumn, the band completed a set of six live shows throughout the UK, including a performance at The Lexington in October. Next up is new single Falling, shortly followed by the release of debut album, What On Earth. Due out 4 March, they are also slated to perform at SXSW later that same month.

With an exciting few months ahead, Myers and Moltke will have an even bigger opportunity to spread good vibes through their music. “I want to make something that makes people… happy… serene and calm,” Myers says. It sounds like just the tonic to us.

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