In the Middle of Nowhere with Monét
As a twenty-something in 2020, it’s hard not to feel stuck in the middle of nowhere right now. COVID-19 is making the world feel like it’s at a stand-still for young people in a transitionary period of life. Post-grad plans for internships and jobs have been crushed. Music and art scenes are virtual and distant. Friendly and romantic relationships seem to be harder to maintain than ever.
Monét’s new coming of age EP, Middle Of Nowhere, Demos, tackles these feelings of being stuck and not knowing what to do next in life. The lo-fi hip-hop project of Bay Area native Monét Ngo began in 2018. On his latest EP, he produced everything himself for the first time. Middle Of Nowhere, Demos finds Monét expanding and developing his sound and songwriting style, getting closer and closer to figuring out who he is through his music.
I talked with Monet about how he started writing music and his process of figuring out who he wants to be as an artist.
When did you start playing music? When did you get into writing and recording songs and what artists inspired you to start writing?
I started playing music at a pretty young age, but I wasn’t a fan of structured musical learning. Even though it provided me with a basis for creating music, it made me hate playing music all around. I didn’t realize how much I actually liked to play music until after high school, but it wasn’t so much about playing music; it was more about creating music in the moment and releasing all my emotions. I started writing and recording songs around the same time I started rapping and freestyling, so I was definitely leaning more towards a hip-hop type of sound. I think just starting to freestyle on random beats on YouTube gave me a feeling that I was already familiar with through playing solos and improvisation on the guitar. It gave me that feeling of just being in the center of the world in the moment, playing whatever I felt like, and that got me wanting to actually write and record songs. When I first started making music, I was really into 88rising; listening to Keith Ape and Joji was an eye opener for making music because they make music that is really accessible. You don’t need a full band or any instruments. You just need a beat and a vocalist and you are golden.
What was the process like writing and recording Middle of Nowhere, Demos? How was it different from your previous releases?
The process was essentially me in my bedroom feeling all my feelings and writing songs about them. The songs in that EP are all songs I made in the span of about half a year. This is my first year of producing music, so it was just me experimenting with sounds and attempting to figure out how I want to express myself. Usually the songs would start with some chords and some lyrics I freestyled and that pretty much would be the basis for the whole song. Then I’d add guitar lines, electronic drums, synths, and other vocals. All the tracks I’m releasing now are self-produced from the bottom up and that changed my sound significantly in that I can’t rely on someone else's production or sound, it’s just all unapologetically me.
You were born and raised in the Bay Area. What's the local music scene like? How has it shaped your music?
To be honest, I’m not necessarily attached to the local music scene here. I have friends who make music, but I’d say we are all pretty independent in how we sound and how we approach music. I think growing up in this age, the internet is kind of the local music scene. Having access to different communities online and different sounds influences my music the most.
Your music has evolved from earlier synth & beat-based tracks to songs that are more guitar focused. There's definitely that 2010s indie rock vibe, with chorusy guitars reminiscent of Captured Tracks acts like Mac Demarco on the opening track, "OUCH_85." But I also sense some emo and pop punk influence in the gritty distorted guitar, belting chorus & themes of unrequited love on "REAL ASS LOVE STORY_53." What made you start writing with the guitar and what artists helped influence this new sound?
I started writing more on guitar and leaning away from the synthy, lo-fi beat tracks because I pretty much got bored of how I sounded, and I didn’t feel it was a perfect representation of me. Or maybe it was me, but me from a past life. I’ve always played guitar and I feel like I never was able to utilize that in the past, but now that I am making songs based off guitar, I feel things come more naturally. It’s much more intimate and vulnerable because I have so much control of how I want to sound. I definitely also had a big big emo phase with My Chemical Romance and listening to throwback pop punk bands. I think those bands I used to love subconsciously seeped their way into my sound. Otherwise, I am definitely more of an indie rock kid. I take a lot of influence from bands like The Drums. They are pretty much my favorite band of all time. I think especially the way [Jonny Pierce] writes his songs with absolute vulnerability influences me to do the same. I think there’s just something beautiful and absolutely terrifying about being that vulnerable in your music. For me, sad vulnerable music has always intoxicated me and touched my soul in ways that other music can’t.
If you could collaborate with any artist (musical or visual,) who would it be and why?
If I could collaborate with any artist, it probably would be Zack Villere or Blood Orange. I think both of them have such a unique and distinct sound. I probably would be able to learn so much from working with them. It would be pretty awesome to collaborate with 88rising being an Asian American artist. I don’t think I am exactly there yet with my music, but I know that I will reach that point where my music is strong enough sonically to speak volumes.
What are you listening to at the moment?
I’ve been throwing back with Toro Y Mois’ break out album Causers Of This. I’ve always loved that album and it’s just hitting a different way this time of year. I’ve been listening to a lot of Frankie Cosmos. She wrote her album Zentropy about her dog that passed away and it’s just a really beautiful album that I think encapsulates that somber feeling of losing a beloved pet. There’s also this new album by an artist called Soko who I just discovered and she’s honestly so freaking cool. I’ve been playing her new album Feel Feelings on repeat.
What’s next for you?
I am working on an EP at a legit studio. I think this project that I am working on will be finished by the end of 2020 or early 2021, but I think it will really propel me forward. The unreleased music that I am creating right now is refined and it's really me. Middle of Nowhere, Demos is me, but I think that was me figuring me out. Now this next project is going to be me being exactly sure of how I want to sound and present myself as an artist.
You can keep up with Monét on Instagram and SoundCloud. Stream Middle of Nowhere, Demos here.
Images by Johnny Villarin