Geography of the Moon were first interviewed in LengPleng in 2019, on their second visit to Phnom Penh. Post-COVID they returned to Cambodia and were interviewed in 2022 and 2023 – in the spirit of an annual GOTM article we present Virginie and Andrea’s look back at 2024.
LP: Welcome back to Phnom Penh.
VI: We got back a week ago today.
AN: Feels like a year.
VI: It doesn’t feel like it’s changed very much.
AN: Very familiar.
VI: The end of the year is a good time to think – what’s this year been like, before we close it, and we can get on to the new things. What have we done with the year? I am for sure planning to take a break at some point.
AN: That means a week off.
VI: Yes, but a whole week off! Even turn off my phone. It’s a long time to turn off your phone when you’re managing your social media accounts and things like that. I’ve set myself for the first 48 hours of not looking at socials. I’m going to do that right after Christmas. And then at some point I need to do a week when I’m just not going to be there, have a holiday. Maybe go to the beach. And write. Get a little place, start writing, without being on the road. That’s something we haven’t done in a long, long time. That’s on my list for 2025. A little less travel. When you travel a lot you never know what kind of bed you’re going to sleep in, so you never know what kind of state you’re going to wake up in.
AN: We played 170 gigs this year. Coming up we have some dates in Cambodia, a festival in Thailand in February, and then nothing planned – some gigs here and there, and then in mid-May we’re playing in Japan again.
Photo: supplied
VI: We haven’t stopped. We spent three months in Japan this year, touring on and off. Geography of the Moon is gathering momentum there. It’s also gathering us personally. We found a place that we like, and we made some friends, and found a bit of a community of artists. One day we sat in our kitchen and I thought wow, I feel good, I feel happy, like I could stay here. Making art on the kitchen table and baking bread and playing music and writing music – both of us feeling inspired. It’s quite rare to feel that peaceful. It’s not new, it’s clearly happened before in our lives, but it felt like we’re in step. Japan has really provided a very sober environment for us, and very creative as well. We managed to slow down and stop a little bit, geographically, and that made us more creative. Time to take stock of my life, do some writing, some reading.
AN: Start going again to exhibitions, to museums, things that are available everywhere in the country. We were walking 12 km a day!
VI: It was very healthy. And also in Japan you have access to buy musical and studio gear, so much very good second-hand stuff that is very affordable. We could potentially set up a studio there.
AN: This year was the third time we’d toured Japan. We had the honour to be selected for a festival which is held once every 12 years – on the bill were two or three western DJs and us, the rest was Japanese. We played to full houses in new places and places we’d been before.
VI: And we got to see some really, really interesting bands.
AN: We were usually supported by two or three other bands. This was one of the best experiences of my life – bands I would pay $60 to go and see, and I get to hang out with them backstage. Every genre – prog rock, punk, post-punk, erotic hardcore punk.
Photos: supplied
VI: Some really extreme performances.
AN: And everybody was excellent. We were scared of Tokyo this year – it takes your energy, makes you wonder what you are doing with your life. The first night was a Tuesday, and in just one area, Shimokitazawa, there were 700 gigs a night, so the competition is intense. There’s gigs everywhere else in Tokyo, but 700 just in Shimokitazawa.
VI: A new trendy area with all the cool kids.
AN: The venue was half full, the owner loved us. We’d played there before, he liked the new songs. Then we played Halloween in Shibuya which was a big deal – the gig was packed, imagine Oscar’s on the Corner without the columns full of people dancing. We had people in the front row singing along with the songs. I was really embarrassed. Vi was happy, I was looking elsewhere.
VI: I just think it’s beautiful. To have somebody singing your songs back at you is, like, wow. They actually listened enough times to know the lyrics. That’s so cool. It’s an honour, actually. We know more people, we have more contacts, attendance is getting better. We’ve been working on this since 2020, and now it’s gathering some momentum, which feels nice. It’s been quite crazy in the last few years. Some serious ups and downs, especially in Cambodia. We are growing as people. Growing old maybe [laughs]. I feel like this year has been a rollercoaster. I feel like maybe it’s getting better now. I feel a little more secure as a person, knowing what I want to be, not so much second-guessing myself. And Andrea has now been sober for one year.
AN: Almost: 11 months today. We record a lot of gigs, and sometimes people re-post videos of us playing, and since I stopped drinking I’m not scared to watch those videos. I actually remember everything. Also with the writing – I thought that you must be completely off your face all the time to write music, but completely sober music – wow! There’s a lot of major chords now. The first couple of months was horrible. Festivals, clubs, bars, exhibition galleries – all of these gigs have alcohol and other temptations. I just stay away from everything. Good food and long walks, playing classical guitar. Starting again, old style. I got some gigs as a solo artist, Don Rubbio was born and did very well. It was a joke that I started with Greg some years ago, Greg said you should call yourself Andrea Amore. It took me two years to take this sort of joke and make it serious.
LP: Let’s talk about your releases this year – particularly the album Aberdeen Hiroshima and the video/single Pick it up and put it down.
VI: Aberdeen Hiroshima was well-received.
AN: It’s still getting received – as we’re doing everything ourselves, we sent out a thousand emails, you need to send them a thousand times. At the first stage a lot of radio stations picked the songs, plugged the songs without even asking.
VI: It was album of the week on a couple of radio stations when it came out. We could really do with more marketing. We’re always busy, that’s the thing. You can’t really expect yourself to be doing absolutely everything perfectly all at the same time, it’s just impossible. If you try to do everything at once, something will suffer.
AN: It’s done really well, got played everywhere. Some celebrities liked it as well of course – the usual Robert Carlyle endorsement, every time we release something. Good job, guys! It helps a lot. The last time we went back to Scotland was two years ago, so it helps us to be there. BBC Radio Scotland played us immediately. There’s a station in Belgium that’s playing Counterproductive, Pick It Up is every day played on different stations in the US. Kampot Radio is playing us a lot as well, that’s very nice to see. We released three songs as singles; all nine songs are being played on the radio somewhere.
Photos: supplied
VI: We want to do more video. We were lucky to work with Boris in Bangkok for Pick It Up. That song took us six years to finish – we started writing it in 2017.
AN: Boris said let’s meet in the middle of Soi 9 – we had a gig to play the same night, and it was a long way to go. But in one hour we did everything, and then a week later he sent us the video – wow! Really good editing, and the use of light. Very simple, like the song.
VI: Video is something I want to get back into. But again, doing everything at once…
AN: Her videos were outstanding. She was doing post-90s warehouse party videos.
VI: That’s why I want to stop a little bit and gather myself and think about the other things I haven’t had time to do. I want to record my own songs next year. I think they are pretty much ready, I just need to do it.
Geography of the Moon will play in Kampot at Monkey Republic on Friday, at PepperFest on Saturday, and at the Nesat Market Festival for New Year’s Eve.