Why I Love: Moriaty on The White Stripes

By Special Guest on 4th November 2020 • ( Leave a comment )

From Devon, England, the blues-rock duo Moriaty is known as the “two-headed riff monster.” Jordan West (Vocals, Guitar, Baritone, Keys) and Matthew Partridge (Vocals, Drums) cite an interesting set of inspirational and influential bedfellows that range from rock legends Rage Against The Machine, Muse and The White Stripes to hip-hop heroes such as Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. Their second album, The Die Is Cast has just been released (our review here) and now Jordan comes to the barrier to explain why he loves The White Stripes.

I am going to go with The White Stripes. It may be a little cliche, being in a two-piece band, but in all honesty, there is a reason I am in a two-piece band – and that reason is The White Stripes. (although The Pharcyde, Wu-Tang, Manic Street Preachers and Radiohead very nearly drew the straw!!!)

Why I love them

I love them because of the mystique they created, the imagery, the simplicity, the philosophy… but most of all, the sound of Jack White’s guitar. The whole concept of being really childlike – making music with pure innocence, but doing it with the background of soul-wrenching power blues was just a real spectacle to me. The tunes, the tunes are great.

When I first heard them

The White Stripes came along at that magical age for me. I had become, well, not a terrible guitar player by the age of 14 or 15, but just had no inspiration for a few years after that. I was probably 17 or 18 when my mate came over to my house with a tape recorded from a John Peel show with this band The White Stripes upon it. I think I heard Hello Operator and Little Bird and just thought – this is my bag. Not long after that, I went to Amsterdam with college and my friend Dev had White Blood Cells on CD. I made him play it non-stop for the whole weekend.

The moment when it all clicked

I think it clicked from that first moment, listening to that tape of the John Peel show. However, I travelled in Australia a little while later. Whilst I was there, Elephant came out. I found it in the only record shop there and couldn’t believe my luck that I could buy it, 2.5 days before release day (2 days because the record shop didn’t care – the point 5 was the time difference). I immediately took it back to the digs and heard Seven Nation Army and just thought – ‘wow’ this is the real deal.

How they inspired me

Hearing The White Stripes quite simply inspired me to pick up my guitar again. Without them, I probably would not have had the experiences I have had in my life as a result. I was always a blues fan having been brought up on Jimi, but I went deeper into blues and into rock n roll because of The White Stripes. I listened to way more Led Zeppelin as a result. I guess Jack White just spoke to me because he listened and did the same stuff I was always into, but that band just bolstered my style.

How they influence me

When we first started out, we had a very similar sound to them for sure. Over the years that’s become our own thing, very different from the stripes. But my singing style/ guitar playing/melody/ sound remains a constant nod to their brilliance.