Q&A: Mami Moon
By Justine Hooks | Shot & Styled By Nina Koyfman
DAZZLING, DREAMY AND DYNAMIC —Mami Moon’s new EP The Cost of Living showcases the young singer/songwriter’s talent for creating catchy songs about love and heartbreak with an intoxicating sound. Over the project’s five tracks, she explores a range of emotions, from the warm and fuzzy feelings of love to the pain of a relationship falling apart. Some of the tracks tough on love and heart break, while “Kissing On Me” was written to inspire promiscuous woman, and “Power/Time” “Sulk” are both melancholy songs about healing and taking power over your life and state of mind. On the heels of The Cost of Living’s release, 2020 is forecast to be an exciting year for Mami Moon. Read more about her musical beginnings, creative process, and inspirations in our Q+A below + check out her new EP.
LUNA: When did you make the transition from pursuing music for fun to pursuing it as your career?
MAMI MOON: When I dropped out of High School. I didn’t perform well academically so the environment really damaged my self esteem and I was also just going through some heavy family stuff which put me in a pretty depressed and rebellious state. I just gave myself an ultimatum when I dropped out like “Okay, if I do this, I’m really going to commit to this music thing.” But even so, I wasn't taking it as seriously as I have been this past year. I still work a regular day job. I think I’ll really feel like music is my career once I’m not taking orders from people and cleaning up after them. I hate that shit. I want my daily life to revolve around music.
LUNA: What are some main elements that make your sound yours?
MAMI MOON: Hahaha shit! This question definitely amplified some of my insecurities initially. I would say probably the blending of genres and my voice. I’m excited to hone in on my skills as an instrumentalist more this year... I’ll give a better answer to that question next time it’s asked.
LUNA: Who are some references, both musical and non musical, that have shaped you as an artist?
MAMI MOON: I think all artists who taught me something helped shape me. Q-Tip is my favorite rapper, so I learned phrasing from him. I learned how to sing by just singing along to Amy Winehouse records (I really couldn't sing at all when I first started). Amy was also a HUGE inspiration for my guitar playing, I’ve literally watched every single video of her playing guitar on YouTube. Nilufer Yanya who’s a newer artist from the UK inspires me a lot, too. Her voice, guitar playing and overall sound are very unconventional, I listen to her pretty much everyday. Non- musical inspirations are definitely my friends.
LUNA: Can you talk a little bit more about the creative process for The Cost Of Living?
MAMI MOON: Hahaha, a trip! Dang. Yeah man, I mean - I had just gotten out of a serious relationship with someone I was living with. When I first moved out of my space with him, my mom and I weren’t on good terms so I was just floating around my friends' homes. All I wanted was to be in a fucking room with my studio shit. I had so much brewing inside of me, I really needed to create. After a couple weeks my mom came around (as usual, love you Mom!) and I finally got to take my guitar out of storage. That’s when I started writing the hook to ‘He Thinks I’m Mad’. During that time I worked close to 60 hours a week, saved up all my money and within a couple months, I moved into my studio apartment. I was fucking tired and depressed out of my mind, but the idea of having my own space was my motivation to wake up at 6 am everyday. When I got my space, I just put 100% of my time into writing. I was in so much emotional distress, I couldn’t do anything else. I had started writing some of the songs on the EP earlier in the year, and some much later on in the year. I wrote the songs, recorded the vocals and some instrumentation and mixed the vocals a bit (had 0 idea what I was doing) in order to help set the vibe for each song. Next, my buddy Caleb Buchanan came by my studio. That was actually our first time meeting, but he’s a really close friend now. He’s the shit. Insanely talented. He recorded bass on most of the songs. I recently had crossed paths with a band called “CoolNasty”and I asked them if they’d be down to work on my project. They were down from the get go which was super exciting for me. I really trusted them musically and I knew I’d learn a lot from the experience. I first met with Myla, Ben and Phiyl, and we tracked some more instrumentation at their home studio. It was an incredible experience seeing these songs go from demos to fully produced records.
Next, I met with Wayne to record live drums which was a crazy experience. He’s brilliant. Mixing was a cool ass experience. I had been feeling insecure about my music not sounding like the stuff I was loving from other artists, so when we started mixing I was like “Ohhhh bitch, thats why!” For Mixing, I worked with a new friend named Paul Baddoo. He taught me a lot, and valued all the opinions and ideas I voiced. I was annoyingly picky and we did around 8 revisions, but we’re both really happy with how the project sounds now. It was fun as fuck, but it was also really challenging to gather all the funds, get to and from every session and make sure everything went smoothly. But aye, we did it! All of these people have become great friends and mentors, and I’m really lucky for that. Yeah man, that's just the process for the music. The branding, marketing, and making the visuals has been a whole other trip though, haha.
LUNA: Which track means the most to your from the EP?
MAMI MOON: Dang, that’s a difficult question. Maybe “Enough!” because that was the first time I didn’t start a song on the guitar. I started that one with keys, and it was also my first time messing around with chopping up my vocals and guitars. It was also my first time tweaking the pitch of some of those chops. I was like “I didn’t know I could have these kinds of ideas!” It was cool because I inspired myself. I think making that song was when I realized I was going to defy genres with this EP. It’s kind of a pop song which I never thought I’d make because I don’t listen to pop music on the regular. I think it’s the drum groove I chose for the demo. Wayne replayed that shit crazy though, he’s wild with the drums.
LUNA: Which track was the most difficult to make?
MAMI MOON: Emotionally, “He Thinks I’m Mad”. It was hard to write because I kept crying like a bitch while I was writing, singing, and recording it. But you can hear that in my voice on the recording, so that makes the song as powerful as it is. I tried really hard not to cry at my rehearsal for the release show too. That song has a lot of imagery for me so it’s just hard not to imagine certain things when I’m seeing them play out visually in my head.
LUNA: If you could share any words of wisdom to young women trying to get into the music industry, what would you say?
MAMI MOON: Recognize your genius! I say that to myself and others all the time. We’re so quick to put ourselves down when we aren’t great at something or when we mess up, but rarely show ourselves love and appreciation for the things we’re good at.
Know yourself and have a vision, and stop at nothing until it’s executed. You can not fall victim to the anxious and fearful mind. You can’t make excuses. I did that for way too long and I suffered for it. Know what your skills are and use them. There’s always money floating around. I recorded people out of my studio for hella cheap. I picked up a second job for a month to make quick cash. I even sold clothes and some of my music equipment. Another very important thing is to surround yourself with people who believe in you enough to call you out on your bullshit.
LUNA: What do you want people to know about you as an artist?
MAMI MOON: I believe in myself!
LUNA: You’re hitting the ground running this year! What do you hope 2020 will bring you?
MAMI MOON: 2020 will offer me the space to get better. I’m going to spend more time honing in on my skills as an instrumentalist and singer. I listen to a lot of greats, so it feels hard for me to call myself a singer or an instrumentalist or a producer. I really want to get to a place where I’m comfortable claiming those titles for myself.
I also have tons of songs I’ve written over the years, so I’d love to collaborate with musicians all over LA and execute those songs too. I hope to find someone trusting and supportive enough to manage me, and I also just want to play hella shows. Oh yeah, and I’d love to start writing for other people - I think writing lyrics is the thing that comes easiest to me. I’m just excited as hell for this year. Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to come out to my release show on January 30th! You can find all the info on my instagram @MamiMoonMusic
