Words-Art Jefferson
Photography-Angela Bernadette & Harry Shaffer
Mousey McGlynn is quite unique. The Irish born singer who spent her life between England and America, on one hand resembles the “really cool” friend that everyone had a secret crush on back in school but yet had a comedic cleverness mixed with strong will that could leave you heartbroken if she wanted to. McGlynn plays with her beautiful, classic European features which adds to the intrigue and once she begins to sing, she has you in the palm of her hand. The vocalist’s vivid song writing ability reminds you of story telling folk singers throughout the 1960’s yet with a modern twist and she refuses to be confined in any particular musical box. The fact is, no matter the style of music, her voice seems to always fit perfectly.
While living in London, Mousey McGlynn became apart of the group lol, which for the most part, its three members remained a mystery. The trio released the album “Me Me” on the recording label NonPlus + which is operated by Damon Kirkham and Alex Green of Instra:Mental. The album was welcomed with high praises among music entities although many journalists couldn’t quite classify it as one particular genre and was described as a project resulting from London’s hellish economy at the time.
In 2011 Mousey McGlynn released a solo record simply titled the “Mousey EP”, which is a mesh of various styles of electronica that contains everything from tales of meeting a church going guy who wants to teach her how to pray to the 20 year older “Jerry” who would fall in love with everything about her especially if he was younger. Maybe this is what makes the singer so outstanding in today’s era of music. Refusing to simply follow the rest and sticking to the idea of creativity is not only a sigh of relief but a breath of fresh air to all lovers of music. With new music in the works, we can all sit in captivation and curiosity about what Mousey McGylnn will do next.
AJ-You have an absolutely amazing voice. At what age did you discover your gift of singing?
MM-I was into music from a very young age. I was playing piano at age 5 and I’m pretty sure singing came hand in hand with that. I wanted to be an opera singer when I was a kid so I got into singing lessons in my early teens which, to be honest, I wish I hadn’t. I was better off without it. People say you shouldn’t take singing lessons until early adulthood and I completely agree with that given my experiences. I always thought I had a strong voice but the teachers I had didn’t think I was very good, so I stopped singing for about 5 years but it was mainly because I was too young and being forced to do really structured classical stuff which I just don’t have the muscle for. I finally discovered jazz and suddenly singing made sense to me again. It doesn’t have to be such a rigid practice. You can sing with rules you construct yourself, which I find far more exciting.
AJ-Tell me a little about your childhood growing up. Was there always music around you in the house? What type of stuff were you listening to as a youth?
MM-There was always, always music in my house growing up. Mostly classical actually, and the radio was always going. I’m embarrassed to say, apart from classical, in my pre-teens I just loved musicals. But then what 10 year old girl doesn’t? I got really into alternative music in my teens which changed the trajectory of my musical ambitions completely. I was obsessed with the Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails for the longest time, and if it weren’t for that I’m not sure I would have gotten into songwriting as much as I did. Then at uni in London, of course I got into the rave scene, how can you not? All those influences can be heard somewhere in the music I make. To this day there’s no genre I like over another; good music is good music.
AJ-You released the “Mousey EP” last year which taps into various styles of electronic music. Talk about the process with recording that EP. There are some really great tracks on it.
MM-The Mousey EP was my first time having complete control over a project. Every detail, every note, every sound, every word is completely me. And I’m incredibly proud of that. For the longest time I was waiting for someone else to produce me. I didn’t think I could change gears from singer/song writer to producer, but I felt I had waited long enough. It was a really valuable lesson to learn that nobody could possibly produce the songs in my head as well as I could. And it’s not that I’m a fantastic producer, but it became so obvious that I needed to take more ownership of my songs, because nobody can care about my music or be willing to put as much time and effort into it as I can. It was a really big learning curve, but really fun and satisfying. I bought myself a decent home studio set up and you’ll find me locked away in there for hours each day. It’s the best present I ever bought myself. Singers, cannot just be singers anymore. There’s too much of a risk for someone like me being constructed by a record company if I don’t take responsibility for my own sound.
AJ-You are also a part of the group lol which released the album “Me Me” on the NonPlus+ label which is ran by Instra:Mental. Tell me about the origins of lol. Obviously Alex Green and Damon Kirkham recognized the musical magic.
MM-The origins of lol are completely random. Really, the whole project was patched together through accidental encounters, happenstance and a mutual frustration with the dark side of London. I can’t explain it. It was a weird project that grew out of a weird time but one I’m glad to be a part of. I still adore the song Trophy Wife. It’s such a melodramatic anti-pop song which really defines what we were all feeling at the time.
AJ-There seems to be a wider appreciation of music experimentation these days on a global scale. Would you agree with that and if so, how inspiring is that for yourself as an artist who has an incredible ability to walk the lines of various genres?
MM-It is so inspiring. I am thrilled to be living in an era where I don’t have to wait for a record company to release my material anymore. If you look at the mainstream music being produced right now, it’s become so bland and formulaic. It’s really exciting sitting in my home studio knowing there are thousands of other kids just like me, creating something different from the crap I see on MTV and we’re doing it completely by ourselves. I don’t understand why anybody would be discouraged to be living with this kind of technology. The doors are wide open and you’ll find me kicking them down further. Granted, it’s also opened the doors for some people making music who aren’t that good (see Bro-Step), but the cream always rises. I’m an optimist.
AJ-Finally, I know you’re working on your solo material. What can the people expect to hear with your latest works?
MM-Well, I have a bizarre, minimalistic jazz and blues EP and an accompanying music video coming out in February which isn’t going to be to everyones liking but I stand by it completely. After seeing the electronic music scene in London, there are too many singers who can’t sing and this EP leaves no room for over-production or auto-tune, in fact it’s really bare. I’m nervous to put it out, which is always a good sign; it means I’ve dug deep and it’s important to me. I’m also still promoting the Mousey EP. I’m in pre-production for two more music videos to be released around the summer time hopefully. I only got into making music videos last year, and I wish I had started earlier. Nobody told me it was this much fun, I always thought film making looked kind of boring. I was totally wrong.