Bob Moses Celebrate 'The Silence in Between'

Sitting on the cusp of groovy underground house and mainstream electronic are Canadian-born duo Bob Moses— aka Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance. Their reverent and emotional sound has been well established since their 2015 debut. And while their sound has seldom wavered, they’ve managed to evolve with each release. Even for lauded acts like Bob Moses, relevance is not a foregone conclusion, yet even after their third album they continue to be a staple of the festival and club circuit throughout the world, and remain true to the sound that helped form their dedicated fan base. 

The duo met in Vancouver, Canada, while in grade school and high school. “We weren’t super close friends until seven or eight years ago. We ran into each other in Brooklyn then. As two lost Canadians in America do, we scheduled a dinner, then a studio session together, then Bos Moses was born,” says Vallance. 

Their 2015 album Days Gone By saw their single “Tearing Me Up” garner the most attention kickstarting the duo’s massive crossover appeal. In 2018, “Nothing But You,” off their sophomore LP Battle Lines, continued their success. 

The duo has added more musicians to the mix for their new LP. “That process of pulling elements out of our records and making them a live element to our show has also informed our writing style,” says Howie. “On Battle Lines (our second record), we leaned more to the indie rock scene and used guitars a bit more. We always had our live atmosphere always influenced our studio process. Playing live reflects in our sound.”

The duo’s third album, The Silence In Between, does not mess with the Bob Moses formula. It sees the duo combining the influences of 2015’s Days Gone By and 2018’s Battle Lines into this third effort. 

“I think it’s us taking that formula and just trying to push the envelope on all the possibilities. Every time we go up to bat to write a new record, we try to take anything that inspires us that’s happening around the world, trying to make sense of it all, and condense into what we are feeling. Whether it be production-wise, past music, our own music, or where we are at in our personal lives. Making a record is a very personal experience for a band,” Vallance says.

Vallance adds that timing is everything when putting together a new batch of songs. “Where you are, what’s happening around you, and what you are into; all those factors come out of the speakers at the end of the day. Our formula and the original ethos have not changed. Us, as producers and writers, have changed and for the better. Every time we do this, we learn. We have taken all our experience and thrown it into the new album.”

The duo’s first new single, “Love Brand New” saw the band sharing the scope with a team of Swedish-born, Los Angeles-based writers. It was the first time they worked with a team outside of the band.

“We were kind of going for a rolling bass line and a radio heavy guitar riff and we were pouring our influences into it. Being in Los Angeles, being in love, and experiencing everything as if it is for the first time. We wrote it based on the city of Los Angeles.” Howie said.

Bob Moses has always been on the cusp of the quickly evolving EDM and house music genres. And Vallance says that it’s easier now to produce Electronic Dance Music than when they started. 

“When we were teenagers it was way less accessible. Electronic music exists because of technology. It continues to change—you go from Underworld, Deadmau5, to Skrillex. So, the technology always changes and therefore so will electronic music.” 

While the world shut down between 2020-21, they did not let the pandemic dampen their spirits. Likewise, the duo didn’t let things get stale despite touring and festivals being off the table. Instead, they cooked up plenty of new tunes while off the road. 

“We are super excited to play in front of people again and play festivals this summer and see our fans again,” concludes Vallance. “We released a lot of music during the pandemic that we couldn’t play live,” says Vallance. 

“There’s nothing more rewarding than playing in the live arena,” Howie adds. “Both touring and recording are essential [and] tied together in our minds. You can’t have one without the other. It’s like a yin and yang.”

Bob Moses continues to have a deep connection with their fans, evidenced in the indelible comments on their social media pages. Dedicated is an understatement. 

“Music, is for us, is a cathartic experience. If we can connect to people and have them come rock out to our shows with us—that’s essentially the best thing you can do as a band or as an artist.” 

Bob Moses is back on tour supporting their new album The Silence in Between and scheduled to appear at summer festivals including Lollapalooza, Life Is Beautiful, Day Trip, III Points in Miami, among others. 

“I think the audiences at festivals are ready to rock,” says Howie as he explains the multi-layered experience of a music festival. When art and music coalesce, magic happens.

Despite the music industry’s dizzying highs and crushing lows, Bob Moses considers themselves lucky at the end of the day. “I think the music industry is challenging. My wife told me it’s the hardest industry that exists. The music industry has been pretty good to us. We try not to get caught up in all the fanfare and stay grounded. We grew up in Vancouver. We always go back to our friendship, where you grew up, and where you came from and staying grounded is key to survive,” states Howie.

Bob Moses’s third album, The Silence In Between, is out now.