MTMBO

Photo Courtesy Of MTMBO 

WHERE ARE YOU RIGHT NOW AND HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED THERE?

I'm at my home in London. I've moved around south London a bit but this is the longest I've been in one place.

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND BROUGHT UP?

Born in Sussex, brought up in Zambia before moving back to the UK.

WHAT'S THE BEST THING ABOUT YOUR PRESENT CITY OR HOMETOWN?

When I travel the first thing I usually miss about London is the mix of cultures that co-exist here.

WHAT ARE SOME YOUR FONDEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES?

I spent a lot of time in cars growing up. We would travel a lot as a family so it would be any one of those trips, sitting in the back of a car watching the world go by. There was never a dull or uninteresting moment to me. I don't drive but I enjoy being driven around now, probably because it reminds me of my youth.

WHY MUSIC AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

Music was the one thing I always took a more than casual interest in, I'm not sure why it moved me so much. I wanted to know who made songs I enjoyed, I wanted to know the stories behind songs and then eventually I was so consumed by it all I just wanted was to be part of the narrative. I remember putting instrumentals onto a CD player, taking it to school and sat next to a friend who complained there were no lyrics on the songs. That's the first time I realised that not everyone consumed music the way I did. I spent a long time trying other things in my teens and early twenties but when I returned to music, I just began by making songs on my laptop and uploading them to Soundcloud.

WHAT'S YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS?

It changes often but some things are constant. For example I usually don't know what I'm going to write about when creating a piece of music until I'm in the moment. The meaning I attach to songs through lyrics is never premeditated. I do give a lot of thought to composition, sounds and the structure of a piece of music beforehand though. I also limit myself to a handful of instruments in my studio. I work better without this feeling of having an infinite amount of possibilities with which to execute the vision.

 

IS THERE A MUSICAL PASSAGE OR MELODY THAT NEVER FAILS TO MOVE YOU?

"Time" by Hans Zimmer comes to mind, that's quite something. One of those pieces of music I wish I could hear for the first time again.

WHO OR WHAT HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?

I'm not too sure. I think everyone I meet plays a part in shaping who I am. The same goes for the things I take an interest in, the places I travel to, the moments I experience. It's difficult to give anyone or any particular thing or moment credit for that. It's a constant process and all I can say to that is I feel a very intimate connection to many things that influence my art and how I am as a person every day.

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR PERSONAL AESTHETIC AND HOW HAS IT EVOLVED OVER TIME?

I've always appreciated attention to detail. I like being able to unpick the thought that went into the creation of things. If I can feel a strong intention behind something, I usually connect to that and a desire to make that thing a part of myself starts there. That hasn't really changed much. Things I bought when I was 17 had this quality to them, even if I don't own them anymore.

WHAT DO YOU GET UP TO WHEN YOU'RE NOT WORKING?

Right now my favourite thing to do is to walk or read in the woods.

HOW DO YOU UNWIND?

I've been working on fixing an old bike and a friend of mine has put me onto making jewelry. I find anything that involves using my hands and a lot of concentration very relaxing.