Die Debüt-Single „Canyonlands“ von MISMÅ, die Ende letzten Jahres veröffentlicht wurde, war eine echte Entdeckung! Zwischenzeitlich ist der aktuelle Song „Marshamana“ erschienen – ein großartiger Song, den Sängerin Sara Herren als Experiment beschreibt, „das über bekannte Grenzen hinausgeht … und eine Befreiung von tiefsten Ängsten und Notwendigkeiten ist“. Beide Songs sind eine eindringliche Melange aus Darkwave und Post Punk, die unheimlich fesselt und neugierig auf weitere Veröffentlichungen macht! Wir freuen uns, dass wir euch das Berliner Duo als Band der Woche vorstellen können.
Who is behind MISMÅ? How did the project come into being?
PJ: MISMÅ music is created by Herren and PJ Gelmi, we are a duo with a strong addiction to introspective and melancholy music and in love with the post-punk vibes and dark wave music. MISMÅ project was born after a couple of jam sessions we had together in my studio one year ago, after those sessions we realised immediately that we can build a sound we like, a music that we’d like to listen to.
Can you tell us a few things about the connection between you two and your journey into music?
PJ: Everything has a connection with the universe! And in some way even the beginning of the MISMÅ project was created by merging our musical and lived experiences together with the universe vibe connection. Herren and PJ as human beings connected to the universe through the music we create. As you mention it is a journey between us and music, trying to introduce something of ourselves into our music, like moods of the moment that turn into music. A sort of temporary refuge, where nothing exists except the music that is created.
If you had to describe your music in terms other than music, what would you say?
PJ: Flickering vintage neon sign in a solitaire November night.
Forget about genres for a second – MISMÅ`s music sounds like …
PJ: Great question … I’m sure I would describe MISMÅ sounds as a soundtrack for an hypnotic journey, a soundtrack for a daydream driving through Berlin’s streets and a solitaire daydream clubbing.
What are you looking for in music?
PJ: I need to find emotions in music, and transpose immediately all the chords, rythm and vocal line in imagine and memories… I know that Herren has a curious way to look into music.
Herren: I’m looking for colors. Colors are an easy and primitive way we have to translate emotions. Music is an easy way to reconnect with myself. Hidden misunderstood emotions come to light and they definitely become a vocal line or a specific sound in the track. I’m looking for both comfort and unknown.
What are your first musical memories?
PJ: Well when I was kid I remember my father played some tunes from Beatles, Crosby Stills Nash & Young and The Doors, with his Stratocaster and Roland D50, I immediately felt in love with that instruments, now they are in my studio. That D50 … so 80s, so powerful. Well I’m sure that synthesizer and guitar made my first musical approach and sound memories.
Herren: It might be obvious but music has always been part of my life. In any genre, shape or mood. I’ve always enjoyed every kind of music. My first memory’s about my grandfather. He had a great passion for classic and lyric music. I noticed a deep connection with him. He used to look for hidden details. The way he listened to tracks so deeply and totally enraptured. I started to understand the magic and the power of music.
What is sound to you?
PJ: Sound for me is expression of yourself and your natural way of being, nature has its own sounds and it’s stunning. Then we can produce our own sounds with instruments, but not with an academic approach but with soul and passion and introspection.
Herren: Same for me. Another reason why MISMÅ is like it is because we are connected in the same way. We are totally on the same rails.
Which person, artist, or incident inspired you when you first started making music?
PJ: As I mentioned my father was my first fav musician at the age of 3/4, then growing up in the 90s I had a lot of punk rock and grunge influences, it was the grunge and punk rock era, and lot of local bands and also my first band played that kind of music… But my musical life and approach changed when I saw my first The Cure concert in 1995 … just WOW.
Herren: My grandfather introduced me to the beauty of music … then my brother introduced me in the way to reproduce this „magic“ through musical instruments. I don’t have a specific artist or band that had influenced me. It’s all the music and emotion pulled together. All different genres. Same deep emotions.
What impact do your surroundings have on your music? Which sort of mood produces the best song?
PJ: Creating MISMÅ songs is a process that starts from the surroundings, understood as music. It’s an artistically process made by introspection yet beauty of art. You can create art in every kind of mood, that’s the beauty of art … even if you are sad or angry or happy then you end up in the music … and that’s the best cure ever to avoid any kind of surrounding, so I would say the best surrounding is music.
Herren: Strong emotions you live each and every day. From the saddest to the happiest. You have to find a way to translate them in something.
What can you tell us about your new song „Marshamana“? How does the birth of a new composition happen for you?
PJ: „Marshamana“ was one of our first demos we recorded during the first two jam session I mentioned before. It was pretty different at the beginning, but with that mood that we love, then we started to arrange it with some synths and drum machine in the studio, and „Marshamana“ was born. I would say like all the songs we are going to produce, usually we start from a composed demo from me or Herren or together then we share this demo with each other and we work on it… When the final demo is done we meet in the studio for the fine tuning, rehearsal and recording.
Herren: As PJ said. It is also experimentation, go beyond known limits. „Marshamana“, to me, is the liberation of deepest fears and necessities.
How does your compositional process work?
PJ: In this case there are no rules, I mean we know what the MISMÅ sound is and has to sound like then we can start with a rhythmic pattern then compose the song around it. We are in love with hypnotic loops and Sara’s vocals match perfectly into it.
What is the most surprising record on your CD-/Vinyl-shelf?
PJ: I’m a strong vinyl lover, on my shelf there are different bands, genres etc, but the most surprising (related to the story behind it) is: Empires and Dance from Simple Minds, I found five dollars inside the inner sleeve, and on one dollar was written: “Since this record is gold! take it! This is to refund you in case you decide to sell it, so take it.“
Herren: Well, a Janelle Monáe vinyl. Dirty computer is a brilliant composition. Totally into it.
What’s next for you? What are you most looking forward to?
PJ: We started to write our first album and we’d love to release it soon! So deeply work on demos and recording, then start to play some live shows!
Herren: I’m following an unknown path we’re paving day by day. I’m excited to write and share new music, hoping someone can relate with this vibes.
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