The ever-pivoting fluidity of modern life seems to have inspired an epidemic of isolation among young boys – lonely boys, if you will. At the bottom of this lies our increasing reliance on social media. More often than not, music seems to have become the ultimate cocoon of escape.
“I have the hardest time navigating social interactions (not exclusive to online ones) that I think the mystery becomes instinctual”, explains MXMNT on maintaining an almost ghost-like presence on the interweb, and further credits the enigmatic essence to his lack of belonging.
MXMNT, pronounced ‘moment’, expresses that the alias, “embodies everything I am and fail to be simultaneously. Because of the stream of consciousness behind actually making the music, I feel it is in these moments that I am able to exist.”
The East-Rand based musician ventured into music on a whim of writing poems just after primary school. He recalls watching his brother record killer tunes growing up and says that the jump from writing poems to writing songs wasn’t a very large one, as he’s been at it ever since. He continues to explain that “there’s something ethereal about music though because in a way it consumed my life without me even noticing. It’s like I had so much to express and I’d finally found my medium.”
The soothing symphonies and emo lamentations in MXMNT’s music merge into a melancholic cocktail that teleports me to a past lifetime filled with withdrawal and yearning. I spoke to him about his ventures in sound.
What has inspired your composition choices?
When I first started out, there was a lot more compromise regarding choices of compositions. I was really just choosing from what I could get and it wasn’t the broadest array of choices. I think spending more and more time on Soundcloud and meeting some new people helped me get to where I am now.
The compositional choices are based off a feeling. Most of my songs come out of a sort of stream of consciousness writing, this includes melodies and often the content.
What has the general response to your work been? How do you interact with your audience?
It’s no secret that I’m quite reclusive but I think it is a secret that I’m really friendly lol; I’m nowhere near as intimidating as I supposedly look. Interacting with fans has been interesting because a lot of the time it’s hard to actually process that REAL people actually listen to my music – behind the streaming numbers and follows are real people – wild. The “fans” that have met me have really made me feel amazing about what I do and have also helped me see past the seemingly abysmal void that is the internet and I appreciate that a lot.
Your last EP dropped just over a year ago, could you tell me more about your previous and present sound ventures? What are you currently working on?
Break [EP], was inspired by intense loneliness. I found myself drowning in an online world, having contacts on my phone but really no one to talk to or no one that, I felt, cared about me – that’s a really shitty place to be. It was too much to take at the time so before going off the grid, I released the EP. I managed to write and record the three songs within a week, and released them when it felt right.
You can expect an EP in October, the SOmBRE EP to be specific. So far, I’ve released one song from it (All I Need) and the rest will follow.
Keep it locked to MXMNT’s Soundcloud for more details on the anticipated drop.
