Monday, June 17, 2013

INTERVIEW WITH: MS MR


I was introduced to the energetic and catchy musical stylings of MS MR during my research leading up to the Governors Ball and I'm so happy that they have found a place in my life.

I got to sit down with the New York-based duo and chat about their first Gov Ball experience and what went into the making of their debut album. I also saw their live set and they absolutely nailed it; I love their stage presence!

Lizzy & Max, MS MR

Have you guys been a part of Governors Ball before?

Max: We haven’t! This is both of our first Governors Ball as musicians, and as fans. Even though we are a New York band, we haven’t been here yet, so this is cool for us.

How did you prepare for this show?
 
Lizzy: We didn’t prepare too much. We used to be much more nervous about shows. I remember at the beginning, I would agonize all day about a show that night and be so anxious. Now that we’ve been doing it for about a year, it’s wonderful to feel this sense of calm and I think, honestly, that just makes for a better performance. I think the more relaxed and engaged and fun we’re having in a very real way, it translates into the performance. For us, we got here this morning and we’ve been super excited for the show all year since we found out about it. It’s our favourite line up of the summer and it’s awesome to play here in our home city. And so we got here and we’ve been drinking.

M: Started the day off with whisky Redbulls. Questionable mixing.

L: We have tons of friends from the city who are coming out today so it’ll be a great day for us to perform as artists but also a great day for us and all of our friends and it’s nice to do both those things. That won’t be the case at every festival, but because we’re home, it’s something a little bit special.

For people who haven’t heard your music yet, how would you describe it to them?

M: Our umbrella term is pop and we’re really proud that it’s pop music and not shy away from that at all. It’s dark, moody, atmospheric, it’s a mixed bag. But pop is definitely the key term.


Being from NYC, has the city influenced you and has it played a role into where you are today?

M: Absolutely.

L: In a huge way. We can’t overstate enough how important it is to us that we are both New York residents and that we made our music here and what a huge influence it’s had on the music. For us that means a variety of things. One, that we’ve been a part of this incredible music community and so many of our friends are artists and musicians or are on the business side of things. So we’ve been a part of this world for a while. I think people expect it to be a little bit more competitive between bands, but that’s really not the case. Especially in New York, which is really interesting given the nature of the city. But also, just the city itself. We recorded in Max’s bedroom closet and incorporated the sounds of the city into the music.

M: Along those lines, I think there’s something uniquely New York about the DIY way we made the record. You have to make albums in apartments and work with what you have and that was a big part of our recording process. We don’t have a studio, we just have a microphone and a keyboard so we’re just going to fucking do this and make it work. And I think that was uniquely New York.

L: I always write my best lyrics and melodies when I’m walking around and I’m definitely that weird person down the street singing into their phone. I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s something about being in motion, but now that I know I write that way, I should be walking around cities more. New York is hugely important to us, something we’re very proud of, which is why Governors Ball for us is such a special thing. It feels like a little bit of a homecoming and to be on this list of incredible list of artists playing. The fact that it’s our first year, our first record, that we’re on this line-up…it’s a huge deal for us.

 We even matched — yay for florals!

Be sure to find MS MR on Facebook & Twitter and also check them out at http://www.msmrsounds.com/

- Christina
Follow my adventures on Twitter: @christinaaa28

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