Can you share the story behind your stage name, Meno Air?
I discovered scuba diving in the Gili Meno and Gili Air Islands in Indonesia back in 2018 and that is where the name Meno Air was born.
How did your musical journey begin, and what inspired you to pursue a career in music?
Having learnt the Didgeridoo and Djembe (West African drum) in my teens I progressed up to electronic music in my early twenties, the same time I moved up to Bristol from Glastonbury in Somerset, UK.
At present my music is not a full time career, more a hobby; it’s always been escapism from my day job as a Plumber. Although I like to dance around with the idea of doing less of the manual work and more creating as I age.
Who have been your major musical influences throughout your career?
I’ve always leaned towards pop music that is bittersweet and melancholic. Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Babybird. Also anything that takes me on a journey; I’m a massive dreamer. Indietronica like Benoit and Sergio, Axel Boman
How would you describe your musical style and the evolution it has undergone over the years?
I thrive on a theme, a cinematic moment in time. I seem to sub-consciously choose old school stabby sounds in my productions. I guess my sound has evolved through actively finding new artists, I’m also a huge lover of world music and less westernised time signatures, so like to think I pick up ideas from continued exposure. I don’t really set out to make any particular style of track. For me, music production has always been expressing one’s emotional state undeniably, whom you can’t predict day to day, then seeing what snowballs, if any. Even I can’t seem to categorise where my music lies genre wise; I guess it’s for other people to decide.
Can you tell us about the inspiration and creative process behind your single “Speak Soon”?
I was doing some whole house plumbing for a friend, and she sent a voice-note thanking me for the work I’ve completed. Instantly it sounded like it could be sampled, so I just dragged it into a project and tinkered with it, before I knew it a trance track was formed and thought I’d better ask if I could develop it, which she said yes. I love sampling voice-notes because they are unpolished and little moments of real life as opposed to downloading treated audio online. There’s a joke in my friendship circle about being wary of leaving such messages.
How does “Speak Soon” differ from your previous tracks like “Still Waters” and “Silence Awaits You”?
I guess the introduction of using real life audio, bringing the outside world into my humble studio, where usually the door is firmly shut and nobody is allowed in.
Can you walk us through the recording and production process of “Speak Soon”?
The vocal was my friend Sarah’s. I then created all the pads and melodies from scratch using Serum VST. I then cycled through lots of drum loops online trying to get a feel for what would work, found one, chopped it up and reshaped and that was it. The song was down quite quickly, if I remember rightly; it has been sat in my musical library for almost 2 years. If a strong idea is put forth I believe the song almost writes itself.
Are there any upcoming projects or releases that fans should look forward to following “Speak Soon”?
In the pipeline, I have another sampled song being released shortly with a surfer friend called Taz. It’s an upbeat little number. As well as this , I’m also doing a liquid dnb track with another friend Luke, who I’ve previously done a collab with.
I’ve also got an 3 track EP coming out which is more transcendental, atmospheric and bass driven; a far cry from my lighter productions, like I said I don’t set out to make anything along a particular veil, I’m fluid in my writingl
How do you engage with your audience to gather feedback on new releases like “Speak Soon”?
My audience essentially are my friends and family, who always give me honest feedback and critique (which I encourage)
I’ve also started trialling unreleased music at Strange Brew, a venue in Bristol, UK who put on electronic music open mic nights once a month. It’s a nice way to network with other local talent.
What advice would you give to emerging artists inspired by your work and looking to release their own music?
You don’t need a comprehensive, expensive home studio to make great music. nor do you need to download countless plugins. Enjoy the process and where you’re at now. Also make music purely for your own enjoyment, it will show and will resonate more with listeners
Is there anything else you’d like to share about “Speak Soon” or your artistic journey that hasn’t been covered?
Learning to create music can be daunting and tedious, especially for someone like me whose more practical then academic, but if you stick with it musically you can steer it in any direction you want, you weald power to put down ideas from your head and the amazing moments where a melody or chord progression jumps out of the computer and sends shivers down your spine are so worth it. I like to eat clean, keep active, playing football, trying to surf, swim and I feel this really compliments the time in the studio. It’s all about balance. Spending all weekend making music sounds like bliss, but I guarantee there will times when ideas or motivation are low, whereas spending a portion of time creating is much more effective as every other aspect of life is looked after, at least in my experience.
