The Moonsongue EP was recorded over the span of two years, and finally released on the first full moon of 2021. It is a veritable potpourri of ideas patched together by an assortment of psychedelic folx; a testament to the power of friendship. The title tracks are split in two to represent the phases of its celestial namesake. Moonsongue Pt 1 waxes into a bright and energetic fullness, the climax of which is not climactic at all but instead a choir laid bare, reverberating into space, meant to celebrate the moment the full moon shines into your eyeballs. Then Moonsongue Pt 2 wanes into the mysterious darkness of a new moon, perhaps hinting at a journey to the dark side. If you listen closely to the darkness there, you can hear the laughter of true friendship. This EP is a supernatural saga, an ode to nature as we find our true place among the stars—whatever that means.

Moon Hammer is a ragtag supergroup of Moon Magneteers featuring Sean Dandurand & Dylan Johnson {Dandu/Other Black/Retrofette}, Ishka Bee Phoenix {Ghost Tapes}, Mark Emmons, Megan Crooks {Ancient Elk/Other Black}, Jeremy Averitt {Esmé Patterson}, Neil Lyons, Kevin Netz {Yonbre}, & Reed Fox {déCollage/Bun Bun}.

Moonsongue EP

Covering “Time of the Season” by The Zombies was like playing the game Operator. We started with everything nice and neat, put together and finalized. We then pulled each vital organ of the song out and spread them across an operating table built out of curiosity and the spirit of re~imagination, finally making the executive decision only a supremely confident four year old would, that the liver belongs where the heart was and the chorus should be in 6/8. This is both a nod to the Zombies for their groundbreaking psychedelic take on music, and a f*#@ you attitude towards the formula we’re told a song should follow. The cover was initially written and recorded in two hours, then we spent a few weeks adding more sounds . Ben couldn't make it that night and later recorded his synths in one take without ever hearing the cover, it was crazy. 

Megan Crooks ~ Vocals
Ishka Bee Phoenix ~ Vocals
Mark Emmons ~ Drums
Kevin Netz ~ Bass and Lead Synths
Ben Weirich ~ Synth
Jeremy Averitt ~ Guitar
Reed Fox ~ Production/Synths

Mixed & Mastered at Moon Magnet Studios by Reed Fox.

© Moon Magnet
℗ Moon Magnet Music

Time Of The Season {Zombies Cover}

“Unravelled” was written by Megan Laurel Crooks, mixed by Neil Lyons and Reed Fox, and mastered at Moon Magnet Studios, but prior to that, a lot went into the actual writing and recording process of this track. Says Fox, “Moon Hammer is a writing collective and most of our shows feature a lineup of different members. Everyone can bring songs to the group to play and it's usually Megan Crooks (Ancient Elk) or Ishka Bee Phoenix (Ghost Tapes) because they're genius songwriters. Megan showed us her song ‘Unravelled’ two years ago and everyone was eager to bring it to life. Usually the songs are recorded and released quicker, but this one took longer because we kept reimagining it and adding stuff to it, which is ironic because it is the most minimalist recording I've ever been a part of. The process was a lot like the quote I'd never credit because it came from Bono: ‘Making records is like making sausages, the end result is palatable but you don't want to see how it's done.’ Basically we recorded a ton of things and all agreed it was best to scrap almost all of it.”

In the end, the complex, two-year recording process of “Unravelled” almost mirrors the lyrics Crooks wrote from the start. Adds Megan, “This song is about letting the force of change and chaos take control and gracefully bowing to its power with faith that things will fall back in place for the better. I wrote the [lyrics] on a whim two years ago, pulling the knowledge from the ether, not knowing I was preparing myself for exactly this time in my life.”

"Unravelled" premiered on Bolder Beat: http://bolderbeat.com/musicnews/2019/7/14/premiere-listen-to-moon-hammers-new-unravelled-the-band-tells-us-how-this-track-was-sewn-together


©Moon Magnet
℗ Moon Magnet

Unravelled

It’s about embracing the shadow self so tightly that it starts to embrace back, and in my head it looks like a shiny terrible soup that you and what’s left of your friends made with enchanted craft supplies in your bathtub at 3am. Steaming and bubbling over and falling on the floor and hardening into a kind of callous substance that is impossible to scrape up, so the memory of it all prevails until the end of time. And so maybe you all dive into that terrible soup and dissolve into eco-friendly glitter and leave the world behind. 

I love the Moon Hammer writing process; we all get together and drink shitty beer and laugh and hug and give each other butterfly kisses and sometimes cry, until someone asks "hey whatchu got?" And the ideas just tumble out. Quite an interesting group of people. ~Ishka

Slack Jaw

Slackjaw

Moonsongue

Moonsongue Pt 2

Moonsongue Pt 1

Moon Hammer is a kaleidoscopic supergroup of Denver musicians who are also cosmic bffs. We formed the group in 2017 after the relocation of Moon Magnet, Reed’s studio originally founded in the basement of an old Victorian house, which was demolished to make way for an evil villain’s secret lair. In those times we would all crowd into the garage, which doubles as a rocketship. There was a constant bustle there, a living thrum that permeates into our music: a beautiful flow of people coming and going, talking and laughing, having sudden ideas and then laying down tracks quickly before their Uber arrived, and of course the sacred saturnalia of Baba Pizza. Nowadays we stick to zoom calls, and email tracks back and forth, which we were doing anyways so really the main difference is we can’t Baba Pizza like before. Regardless of how we get together, we write freely and without pause. When we create, the cast of characters is always shifting so that each track sports a different assortment of folx. Because of this, we consider each session a serendipitous thing; it could be any of us playing the Xylophone that day, or blessing the pizza, or holding their mouth open so the mic can pick up the sound of the Pop Rocks. We continue to create with gusto, and look forward to blasting off into a dazzling future of music, pizza, and bestfriendsforeverness. Moon Hammer is a ragtag supergroup of Moon Magneteers featuring Sean Dandurand & Dylan Johnson {Dandu/Other Black/Retrofette}, Ishka Bee Phoenix {Ghost Tapes}, Mark Emmons, Megan Crooks {Ancient Elk/Other Black}, Jeremy Averitt {Esmé Patterson}, Neil Lyons, Kevin Netz {Yonbre}, & Reed Fox {déCollage/Bun Bun}.