After returning with their vibrant comeback singles ‘Window Pane’ and ‘In The Morningtime’ earlier this year, LA-based outfit Mineral King are back once again to deliver their shimmering new EP 'Variations'.
Featuring their recently delivered cuts alongside the collection's stunning title-track, 'Variations' makes for a brilliantly warm and inviting listen. Filled with broad and immersive textures, a soaring atmosphere, and mesmerising hooks layered throughout, they are quickly cementing themselves as one of the more captivating names on the rise with this one.
So with the new EP available to stream now, we sat down with them to find out more about their background and what has inspired them most over the years.
-
What was the first instrument you fell in love with?
The first instrument I ever really learned how to play was the ukulele, and I wrote songs on that and keyboard all the way through college. For me, though, it wasn’t until I finally picked up the guitar that I fell in love. It felt like every song I had ever loved was written on guitar, and suddenly that world opened to me. Guitar is the best. Truly.
What kind of music did you love when you were younger?
When I was younger I loved the same stuff every kid loved in the late 2000’s. It was the glory days of Panic At The Disco and Fall Out Boy style pop-punk, and I was not immune. That stuff, plus other cool 2000s indie rock like The Hush Sound and Say Anything was pretty much on repeat on the iPod nano in my backpack.
What was the first album you remember owning?
I came up during the death of the idea of buying albums, but the most important of those early albums would’ve been Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park. I actually just got back into that early Linkin Park stuff recently and it absolutely holds up, so I guess 12 year old me had good taste.
What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?
This is hard, because pretty much every time I really get into an artist it’s because they write stuff that I am jealous of. That said, everytime I hear Bennie and The Jets I just think, god, it’s the perfect song. If I could write anything that jams half as hard as that song I think I’d be happy.
Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?
I have a pretty organised system to keep track of lyrics and riffs that I come up with during my day to day, so whenever I have a really good idea, I go back through all my notes for stuff that feels like it’s dealing with the same subject matter, and use everything that works. I’ve been doing this for the last couple years and it’s solved a really important problem for me, which is that it helps me unstick myself when I get stuck. Songwriting for me is about keeping the train rolling at all costs, so figuring out how to always have a trove of ideas to pull from has really helped me.
Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?
I think I have to mention the album I have been obsessed with for the last few months, Dumber and Older by Cataldo. The songwriting is perfect, and perfectly backed up by the arrangements and sound design and engineering and mixing. It’s just perfect. Besides that I’ve been listening to a bunch of the new 1975 record, an amazing newer band called Pool Kids, and my all time favourite, Slaughter Beach, Dog.
If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?
Foo Fighters. They just seem like the coolest, hardest rocking, sweetest guys in the world.
What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?
I love listening to music because it reflects your own feelings back at you. It’s a reminder that we are not alone when we have these huge, all-encompassing feelings, and a way for us to put our own lives in perspective by comparing them with the lives of the songwriter. Accurately portraying myself in a way that feels compelling and exciting is so endlessly fulfilling that I simply cannot stop.
And what is the most frustrating part?
Being a musician is frustrating because art is frustrating. It’s hard to make a decent living, but it’s also hard to just keep making stuff consistently, and always try to be better than the last time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and that feeling of knowing you just have to keep going can be really frustrating.
And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?
A piece of advice I think about a lot goes something like, “The only people who truly don’t make it in the arts are the ones who quit.” I think I might have seen an interview with Seth Rogen where he said that? I’m not sure. But it’s true, and I think what I tell myself and would tell anyone else is that if you’re making stuff you think is cool, you’ve already succeeded, so just keep going.
-
Mineral King's new EP 'Variations' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.