MXMS

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MXMS-Funeral Pop

Interview conducted on Nov. 11, 2019

by Dan Locke

MXMS, also known as Me and My Shadow, is releasing the video for their new single, “Death Row,” just in time for their favorite holiday. The track, which features the band’s trademark sound – pulsing analog synthesizers and a crushing rhythm section – was released on October 22. But, the video – a bloody, suspenseful nod to horror flicks, officially drops this week, making it the perfect addition to any Halloween playlist as evidenced by one of the biggesthorror sites, Dread Central, who premiered the video,

Band Members

ariel levitan and jeremy dawson

Dan Locke: How did you come up with your band name?

Our name was originally Me and My Shadow. MXMS is an abbreviation of that.

Why Funeral Pop? I see it as funeral inspired runway show which combines the love of fashion and cinematic elements.

Funeral pop aesthetically describes our genre. We discuss many taboo/ socially “off-limits” topics in our songs such as burying male bodies, death, etc. We took death and made it accessible and digestible to the public in song form.

Why were both of you in the same studio back in 2013?

Because of the universe 💫

What was the first song, that you wrote together?

The first song we wrote together was Ghost Blood.

It seems you are into Sidechain Compression. Which is commonly associated with Dance Music? But it is a process that is very useful to make specific instruments more definitive within a mix.

Sidechaining things is a common mix trait that’s been going on for decades but yes we have an electronic and dance background so that has played a role in the way we sidechain stuff in our music for sure

Jeremy- You were in The Shiny Toy Guns. What happens to the band?

we are all bat shit crazy and it’s hard to make that make sense. However, we still love each other and we still play festivals here and there.

Jeremy- How has your musical process changed since The Shiny Toy Guns?

When mxms started I went back to the rudimentary basics of a piano and a notebook and pen; something I had lost in the process of only doing completely electronic music. It was an absolute life changer creatively

Jeremy- What type of gear do you use on stage?

I use primarily the native instruments komplete kontrol S88 To power lots of different pianos and I sample the analog synths we use and load them into logic EXS24. We use logic proper live instead of the main stage and I also play fender basses and Schecter baritone guitars.

How was it to open up for The Birthday Massacre and Combichrist back in 2015?

Opening for the birthday massacre and Combichrist in 2015 really changed a lot of us. Our fan base grew tremendously. MXMS opening for TBM and CC was very unexpected and staggering as our music was not a perfect fit for this kind of tour, yet fit adjacently alongside these other bands that were a heavier shade of black. Their fans really appreciated us and our music. I think part of the shock value of a quieter more cinematic band like us opening mesmerized a lot of people.

Jeremy since you are from Shawnee Oklahoma. I am going to name some bands from that are from Oklahoma. Tell me about each if you can.

Garth Brooks -He literally made the biggest country album ever and he has a water tower named after him in Yukon.
Wanda Jackson, I never got into her
St. Vincent she’s from Tulsa. She’s a prodigy and Tulsa is so rad
The Flaming Lips friends with them they are an example of the amazing art and music community that Norman/okc had in the 90s. Also, don’t forget chainsaw kittens
Hinder- I never met these dudes and it’s def not the kind of music I enjoy but we share crew and equipment and I heard they are nice people

How is the new album?