Consisting of two Russian-born vocalists and an American Drummer, Boston-based band Major Moment has come from distant parts of the world to form a true modern alternative rock band.
Spearheaded by Andrey Borzykin (Vocals/Rhythm Guitar/Synth) and Sasha Razumova (Vocals), Major Moment has quickly developed a diverse and kinetic sound that integrates heavy guitar riffs, multi-layered synths and melodic vocal blends.
Major Moment’s 2018 debut EP, one small stEP, was dedicated to the late Chester Bennington, and their tribute cover song “Leave Out All The Rest,” was shared by Chester’s sister Tobi Bennington and by members of Grey Daze, Chester’s first band, increasing Major Moment’s visibility on an international scale.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with the band about the last song they listened to, challenges, technology, their latest project and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
We are a Boston-based alternative rock band with some international roots. Sasha came from Moscow, Andrey from Chelyabinsk, both Russian cities, Adam was born in New Hampshire but has Canadian origins, we also had several guitar players, most of them were coincidentally from Brazil. We make music that we truly love, but each of us brings a piece of culture to the table, and that’s what makes our sound unique.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?
It’s interesting, because each of us had their own reasons to follow that path. Adam is the only professionally trained musician, Andreywas involved in different music activities and projects his whole life, but never before on a professional level. He always wanted to pursue a career in music, but never had time to dedicate to his passion, was busy creating and running several businesses. Sasha is a former pro tennis player, whose passion was also music. She really joined Major Moment by lucky accident.
As far as motivation, we all enjoy challenges, and overcoming them, so that’s definitely a part of what makes us wake up every day. Witnessing an idea come alive and turn into a song people relate to and respond to as well. Song is a message, and the goal is to be able to have some impact on our listeners, to help them overcome some trouble times, to motivate them finally go after their dreams, or to spark an idea. And then while performing those songs live, getting that energy exchange with the audience – it’s priceless.
How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?
This release is very different for many reasons. Well, firstly, it’s a cover song we recorded in the studio and shot our first music video for. It’s a tribute song dedicated to late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, that played a huge role in lives of millions of people, including Andrey and Sasha. Their love to music of Linkin Park was the reason they even met. When the tragedy happened in July of 2017, we took it very close to heart, as if it happened within our family, so it was only natural for us to express our emotions and how much it all meant to us through music. One of our main goals was to be respectful to the original composition, keeping the main elements of both, a studio and live versions Linkin Park has performed through the years, yet apply a Major Moment touch to it, make it our own by rearranging it from scratch.
And, secondly, it was important for us to turn this tragedy into something good, and we didn’t feel like it was right to monetize on our tribute, so our obvious choice was to donate all profits to a mental health campaign, 320 Changes Direction, funded by Chester’s wife, Talinda, to help them save lives and really make a difference in mental health.
We released our single last summer and received an overwhelmingly positive response from fans all over the world, and even Chester’s family and friends, so we decided to take it a step further and make a music video. We are so glad that we had a chance to work with Ben and Connor from Project 2 Studios (who are on their way to Grammy’s at the moment!), they did a phenomenal job at bringing our ideas to life!
Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this oversaturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?
The biggest challenge would be delivering our music to people who like that kind of music. We get a lot of compliments from people who love our songs, now we just need to find a way to multiply and replicate our success. The other obvious problem is a necessity to constantly keep investing funds and time in development. Studio time, video production, social media marketing, gear upgrades, everything needs a lot of money.
The technology has definitely helped us, at least to connect with each other, as we all met through internet, one way or the other.
What was the last song you listened to?
Andrey: Oh boy. The last song I listened to was honestly one of our upcoming singles. I’m going to shamelessly say that I love our new tracks and they kick some serious ass, so I do listen to my own music, yes. But apart from that, I seriously enjoy the latest album by Bring Me The Horizon! It’s been on repeat for a few days already.
Sasha: Completely agree with Andrey, but I also make it as a habit to listen to some new music once in a while. Not only from a professional standpoint to know what’s going on, but personally, because I am finding some artists that I really like. For example, the last one was “Are You In There” by NeverWake. For a very long time before I got myself in a band, I was listening to my library of late 90’s-early 2000’s alternative rock hits, and I know many people still do since that’s what most of the radio stations spin 24/7. I’d like to see people appreciate new music more, since there are so many talented musicians out there!
Adam: “Everybody is a Goddamn Ni99a” by MonoNeon.
Andrey & Sasha (in sync): Are you serious?!
Adam: I mean.. you asked for it, lol. This was, in fact, the last song I listened to.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
We think, it’s safe to say that all of those formats serve their own purpose. We do actively use MP3s when we need to share our unreleased song or a demo idea with someone, both vinyls and CDs are good if they’re made with love and have unique art, a booklet, that would be unavailable let’s say on streaming services. It’s more of a collector’s item in a way, we still buy some once in a while just to have something to hold in our hands. That’s also why we decided to release our debut record “one small stEP” in a CD format as well as, obviously, digitally. It has a nice packaging, a 28-page booklet with our stories behind creating this record, it adds another dimension to our music for sure.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Adam is all about Spotify, Andrey and Sasha are more in the Apple Music camp at the moment, I guess it’s a matter of habit.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
We’re available on all platforms and social media networks, I guess if you connect with us on one, it’s easy to follow us on others as well. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube are where you definitely need to connect with us as we’re constantly putting out new content, and some of it is exclusive to the platform.
Anything else before we sign off?
Thank you for having us! As you probably know, we recently released our brand new single “Living You Life Like This”, and there are 3 more to come, each one with a thoughtfully done lyric video and art. Together they will form a new EP we titled “The Sequel” that will be out this Spring. We hope you enjoy our music and if you did, connect with us!
