Molly Mogul wrote “Run” in a camper van in Bristol, which feels fitting for a song about not being able to escape yourself. The track, out January 9th, started as something stripped back and has evolved into something that mirrors the very escapism it’s interrogating.
“One of the first demos written on my own out of my camper van in Bristol, the song is a reminder that you can’t outrun your fears and eventually the things you don’t look at will catch up on you,” Molly explains. “Whether it’s in relationship to yourself or other. At the end what’s left is yourself. Minimalistic demo turned into a more energetic track with the second verse going more into a club scenario / frantic atmosphere of escapism.”
That production shift isn’t just aesthetic, it’s the point. The second verse pushes into club territory, all frantic energy and movement, capturing that feeling of trying to lose yourself in noise and realising it doesn’t actually work. By the time the track reached Ciel Rouge Studios in Paris with producer Yann Rose (Brodinski, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Christine and the Queens), it had transformed from that van demo into something urgent and propulsive, but the core stayed the same.
Molly’s path to this debut album has been circuitous. They moved from a small village near Munich to Bristol at 19, initially for love, then stayed to study art and got pulled into the UK’s underground music scene. They co-founded Dirty Spread Collective, a queer and FLINTA-led platform for experimental music and performance that runs art-focused events across Bristol, the kind of grassroots space where artists who don’t fit neatly into genres can actually find an audience.
The self-titled debut EP was recorded while living in that van, working with collaborators like Niki (Young Hoffi) and Bristol producers including BIPED. It’s the kind of scrappy, DIY approach that’s become less common as bedroom production has gotten more polished. But Molly kept moving, to Barcelona for a Master’s in Creative Performance Practice, then Munich to write the album with long-time collaborator Niki, then Paris to record.
The bilingual element isn’t a gimmick. Molly writes in both English and German, code switching naturally between the two. It reflects the constant geographic and cultural shifts that have shaped their work—never quite settled, always between places and languages.
“Run” kicks off a release schedule that stretches through April, with the full album A Bouquet of Hopes and Dreams dropping at the end of that month. If “Run” is what the rest of the album sounds like, we’re in for something good.
“Run” is out now, follow via @mollymogul
