BIOGRAPHY
Tixia - songwriter, vocals, melodies
Ben Henderson - instruments, recording
Ben Henderson was the former guitarist, saxophonist, percussionist and composer with UK band Bôa, but formed the separate musical project Moth with Tixia Henderson in the year 2000.
Harking back to a time when songwriting was king, Moth's music flutters around genres, settling for a moment on one style before taking to the wind and finding new inspiration and instrumentation from different eras, Meaningful lyrics, haunting melodies and rich instrumentation are the trademarks of Moth's sound.
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Their sound draws on a wide spectrum of influences from the 1920's to modern day Electroswing. This is reflected in their dedication to playing real instruments, which provides a warm, rich backdrop to the hand crafted melodies. Each album is full of songs with different styles.
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Ben Henderson provides the instruments and recording, and their recording studio is littered with ancient instruments and recording devices.
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Tixi's voice is the glue that binds all of Moth's music together - and with a mixture of instruments being played and recorded by Ben, they serve up a platter of originality that is hard to find these days.
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Moth have played at Steampunk events such as Lincoln Asylum, Phoenix Alternative Festival, Steampunk Village at Chatham Historic Dockyards; and have had their music featured in the multiple award winning documentary 'Cathedrals of Steam' directed by Jeremy JP Fekete for “ARTE découverte”.
Justine Barker, award winning composer for film and tv says: We've come to expect a certain standard from Moth; lyrics that are real poetry - no schmaltz, a real variety to keep you plugged in and excellent, inventive production - 'Not Before Time' does not disappoint.
Moth are currently working on their forthcoming album: A Chance to Daydream.
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When two Steampunks live together in a recording studio surrounded by instruments, this is the music that results.
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HISTORY -
Ben Henderson was formerly guitarist and songwriter of the internationally successful band Bôa.
Bôa was originally a funk band formed in 1993 by drummer Ed Herten, who invited to the band keyboardist Paul Turrell, bassist Alex Caird and his school friend Steve Rodgers on guitar and vocals.
Steve's younger sister, Jasmine Rodgers, was invited to sing the chorus part of one of their first songs called "Fran", and she soon became the lead singer of the group.
Ben Henderson was recruited shortly afterward to play saxophone.
Their first live performance was in 1994 at London venue "The Forum", and they were well received by the audience. In the summer of the same year, Herten left the band, and they recruited a new drummer, Lee Sullivan. He brought a rockier feel to the group's sound augmented by Henderson's migration from sax to guitar. Ben found the guitar a more useful composition tool, and ditched the sax in favour of the Les Paul guitar.
Bôa honed their live performances with many gigs in across the South of England and, in 1996, they accepted a recording contract with a Japanese Company, Polystar. Although the album was recorded and produced in the UK, Jasmine and Steve traveled to Japan in 1998 to promote their debut album "Race of a Thousand Camels", which was released only in that country.
The first single, called "Duvet", was used as the opening theme of a new anime series of that time called Serial Experiments Lain. The international popularity of Lain introduced anime fans all around the globe to Bôa.
In 2000, Ben Henderson left Bôa and formed Moth with his wife, the talented singer songwriter Tina Henderson.
Tina Henderson originally studied under vocal trainer Celia Civic, where she received classical and choral voice coaching.
A prolific singer songwriter, she has performed at various festivals and venues in and around London, the UK and also gigged in Europe. Her easy laid back tone is the one consistent that marks each Moth song a a signature sound.
Moth record all their songs in their own studio, Black Valve Studio in Surrey, with Ben carrying out engineering and producer roles as well as playing all the instruments. Tina is prolific, and writes the lyrics and melodies, constantly trying out new ideas and styles.
Originally an eight piece band, Moth have been a constantly evolving project, with live performances and gigs leading to the release of their debut album, "Songs for the Lost" in 2002. Moth's approach of blending old and new styles of music, and recording with both vintage and modern equipment, creates an individual style that runs parallel with Bump and Thumper's general ethos.
Moth have written well over a hundred songs, and have performed live at many venues in and around London, and further afield, at events such as Phoenix Alternative Festival and Steampunk Village at Chatham Historic Dockyards. With the combination of traditional and modern songwriting styles, alongside both old-fashioned and cutting-edge production values, Moth have created and shaped a totally unique style of their own.
Moth perform live every week, and organise the Music Cafe at the Carshalton Environmental Fair which aims to promote environmental issues to around 10,000 festival goers every year, as well as organising The Surrey Steampunk Convivial three times a year.