Mood. Interview: The Artist Discusses His New Single “Till Morning.” and More

Although you may not quite heard of Mood. just yet, chances are you may have stumbled across a song or two of his. As a somewhat regular on Spotify playlists, his versatile music style complete with melodic approach - one that sees his songs attain a laidback but still inherently complex sound - has more than likely found its way into your ears over the last twelve months. Partly due to his complete control over body of work, the 27-year-old is now starting to find himself picking up momentum, and is someone who needs to be bookmarked as one to watch.

His new single “Till Morning.,” continues his 2020 push towards success. Coming in as his ninth single of the calendar year, the simplistic musical backdrop and plodding percussion help aid the singer’s voice to come through unobstructed as he smoothly sings about loving someone “till the morning.” Layered and irresistibly charming, it’s a sonically sleek, broad sounding number that is a perfect starting-off point if you’re to check out Mood. further.

And, in line with his latest release, we spoke to the 27-year-old about how the song came about, how his year is going and his plans for the future.

Nathan Sartain: Firstly, can you talk us through your new single “Till Morning” and what the song means to you? 

Mood.: This song is an emotional trip to a fragment of my memory and also an introduction to a much bigger story that’s coming. I could go on and explain what each little thing means but I prefer people to experience the real thing themselves because not only words explain the story but also every sound. I’ll give you one example. There’s a section beginning with a rising snare drum sound suggesting an entrance of hypnotic state where ambient vocals spin around your head with deep emotional lyrics. Then it ends with chimes and gets quieter suggesting that you’re back into reality.

I hope you can see the point, it’s just not the same reading about it. So I’ll let you figure out the rest.

What was the creative process like whilst writing and recording the track?

It was a back and forth process. For example, I’d record a melody, add a vocal effect which would totally change the vibe then I’d refine the melody and so on. Songwriting is one big process rather than divided into steps, which makes every aspect of the song into one cohesive piece.

Like some of your more recent singles, it has both an English and Korean version. What is the reasoning behind this?

I used to receive requests for translation of both Korean or English songs and I’d translate them but it never felt right because of linguistic and cultural nuances. So I decided to create and sing two versions, now I find myself telling a different story for each language but with the same message. It’s more personal that way but also creates depth to the story. 

As an extension, is it a challenge writing a song in two languages, or something you have found easy to adapt to?

It definitely took some time to get used to it because it’s a full writing process twice instead of just translating.

It comes as your ninth release of 2020. How has the year been going for you so far? 

So far so good. But I am more excited about what’s about to come because I have something very special coming.

How do you find yourself staying creative enough to release songs so quickly after each other, and how do you ensure that the quality does not dip?

I honestly feel like I am not releasing quick enough because I care about quality so much. I could make a beat, make a structure out of it and finish a song in literally four hours if I wanted to. It’d be good enough for commercial use but it wouldn’t be exciting. I just can’t let myself do that. 

Furthermore, how important is it to you that you are consistently putting content out there, particularly given you are still relatively new to official releases?

It’s definitely important for me to be consistent now, because when I take on more things later in my career, I'd probably have a lot less time to actually make music. 

As a producer too, it no doubt gives you more creative freedom on your tracks. For you, how essential is it that you have full freedom to try new things?

By this point, producing has already made its way into the songwriting process. So I need certain amount of freedom as producing, mixing and mastering will always be part of my signature sound but I’m also very open to collaborate with others which keeps things exciting.

And, in a similar vein, does that extend to it being personally important that you have the freedom to release your own songs almost whenever you want?

The timing of release is not as important to me. I do have a structure of how I release music but if anyone comes up with a better one, then I’m with it.

Stylistically, much of your music seems to be pretty laidback. For a potential new listener, how would you describe your style to them?

I have no idea honestly. I don’t feel tied to any style, but ideas. As cheesy as it may sound, the music reflects who I am so that’s bound to evolve as I do as a person.

And from a lyrical standpoint, you’re versatile in the subject matter you tackle. What do you look towards to inspire you when writing lyrics, and how do you make sure that your lyrics remain fresh and honest?

Lyrics have alway been embedded in my beats and beats always reflected my subconscious mind. So there’s no real effort other than staying honest to myself. When I wrote "Do They Love You?", I had no idea it would be a song about family until I started recording. I was going through some family problems at the time and all this nostalgia and memories came flooding in.

When you first set out to do music, what was your intention, or perhaps your overall ambition? And have either changed since?

I was a drummer before and wanted to be the best drummer in the world. But it’s strange, it turns out that it was just a learning phase. I know for a fact that this is what I’m here to do. I thought drums was it but this time it's more than a feeling.

You’ve found yourself appearing on official Spotify playlists now too. Does that give you a sense of reassurance that what you’re doing must be good? 

Being on official spotify playlists does flatter me a little. I’m grateful that more people are able to enjoy my music but it doesn't change what I think of my music.

Before we finish, as the rest of 2020 looks uncertain for a lot of people around the world, what do you hope to achieve, or at least set out to do?

I hope to stay honest with myself and not let any circumstances faze me. And I don’t cling to a destination, I just do what I need to do everyday.

And finally, is there anything else you’d like to add?

Keep an eye out for my next few releases, I'm about to take it up a notch. 

You can stream Mood.’s new single, “Till Morning.”, now.