It’s half past 9 pm on a Tuesday night. It’s a bit smokey & I have a bit of cotton-mouth.
The musician known only as ‘ms.ery’ hands me a water bottle, stares sleepy eyed, while asking, “Do you like LED lights?..”
“I never thought I’d be putting out music, the way I am now. I always thought I’d be in a band or something. ” he remarks.
-“Was it on purpose?” I ask
“No.. just kind of happened. ”
When initially approached for an interview, ms.ery was a bit taken aback. With only 5 months of releasing music under his belt, he “didn’t think anyone cared”
“It’s not like I dont believe in my music. It’s one of the most privileged things I get to do in my life. I just wasn’t expecting anyone to resonate with it yet, especially while I’m still figuring stuff out. ”
I have to admit, I wasn’t expecting this much self-criticism or doubt I should say. The music sounds like it was made from a veteran who knows exactly where he’s going and how. The music is unpredictable, catchy, and honest. He wrote and released what he wanted. It’s something that resonates with me.
“I knew not having a niche or a theme to my music was going to hurt getting any sort of following, that’s fine. Music wouldn’t be fun for me if I couldn’t do what I wanted.”
Collaboration has been a big part of ms.ery’s roots. Aside from growing up playing in bands, his first 2 songs were written with Kyd Barrett, a darkwave artist from Los Angeles
“We went to the same high school. He’s dope. I thought it was cool that he was still doing music, so I hit him up. Collaborating with him is super easy. I just send him the instrumental, he kills it, & we keep it moving ”
ms.ery doesn’t do any vocals in the songs with Kyd Barrett. He sticks to making the music. However, he says that will change soon.
“We have one coming out soon where I did the hook. He killed the verse and then did the hook too. It’s dope. ”
“Whats your favorite instrument?” He asks
-“Probably the bass”
“Cool, you’re gonna love this next one.”
He proceeds to play me ‘candy’, an energetic Gorillaz like anthem, mixed with an otherworldly drop, super tight production & a world-class bassline. It’s pop perfection.
“Pop is the best genre in the world, in my opinion. People sort of trip when I tell them NSYNC was the first music I latched onto in 1st grade. Then, in 3rd grade, I discovered System of a Down & everything changed. ”
“I bugged my parents for a guitar enough & finally got one when I turned 12. It was so sick.”
candy, which fittingly starts off with a a single note guitar riff, eagerly pulls the listener in with the first lyric – ‘if everything was raped & taken from me, I’d turn to you & ask if you’ve seen my drink’
‘It means exactly that, – that I’m an alcoholic’ he laughs.
‘Its a song about doing drugs & how they make you feel. I wanted it to feel that way anyway’
ms.ery leans back, satisfied with what he’s hearing.
With songs ranging from metalcore, to darkwave, to pop & beyond, what kind of song is coming next?
“I think I’m gonna rap on a few songs, I got some shit to say” he says while cracking up to himself.
I genuinely cant tell if he’s serious, & the idea itself sounds hilarious, but I wouldnt put it past him..
Candy is out everywhere March 8th, 2024
