Today we’d like to introduce you to Brett West.
Brett, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I never had any real interest in being a musician. I thought the whole idea was played out. But I was writing poetry avidly from eighteen to twenty one, and did some spoken word events in college. That was big for me because I learned that I loved to perform and that I could really impact people with my art. As my love for music and for singing progressed I made the switch from poetry to music. I performed solo shows and open mics around Boston until I felt I had enough material and experience to start my own project. Then I formed Mnemonist in 2015. My friend found the word in a book and we went with it. It means someone with a high memory recall. We released our EP in 2017 and we’re currently writing a full-length album.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Mnemonist is melodic and dreamy indie rock. Sometimes we call it existential treehouse rock, because why not. Our style has similarities to bands like My Morning Jacket, Wye Oak, and Broken Social Scene. I wouldn’t let myself write a love song until I felt like I was a pretty damn good songwriter, and I felt like I was really in love. Both of those things took a while. So in the mean time I wrote about other things. I hope that the power of this music is to connect listeners to some of their own redemptive qualities or experiences they may not otherwise have access to. A typical response to our live show is “It made me want to get high and, like, walk through the city”. I can appreciate that. For me the music is more important than the words. The words have to be good too. But the melodies and composition comes first. Our music often has a melancholic quality to it. It’s not super cheery or upbeat. It’s meant to be reflective, real, and liberating. My favorite headspace to be in is not something like happiness or excitement. It’s a somber state of acceptance, which feels more grounded and sustainable than those other things. I try to have our music reflect that.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I wouldn’t say the role of artists has changed. I think it’s always been the same. Express yourself as authentically as possible. Be artistically independent and bold. Political issues absolutely have an impact on culture and whatever art is being made at the time. And it should. So that applies to us as well.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Our music is available on all main music platforms. We’re on Facebook and Instagram. We have a YouTube channel as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: mnemonist.bandcamp.com
- Email: mnemonistband@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mnemonistmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mnemonistmusic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mnemonistmusic
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxIGM0ctITg_V-9buCJ86ZA?view_as=subscriber
Image Credit:
Rebecca Smith, Hannah Seligman, WERS, JM Leach
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