We speak to the London musician ahead of the release of his debut EP, Vertices of Deprivation
Listening to MRWIZE’s Vertices of Deprivation feels like falling earthbound from an alien planet. Stretched across five tracks, the south London artist’s (real name Harold Kuenyefu) debut album has a uniquely dystopian sound that gleams with distant longing, as if looking back on a fond memory through frosted glass. Deconstructed beats are paired with rich, layered soundscapes, as Kuenyefu’s voice, a fluttering, almost angelic falsetto, contemplates feelings of love and loss.
“I been in heaven / Since September / Memories are burning on a dying flame / The day you were gone.” he contemplates on “Deprivation”, while “Tear” is a cyborgian lullaby set against synthetic whooshes that splinter against icy synth tones. “This EP is about the rollercoaster of events and emotions, how they all connected with one another in sequence,” Kuenyefu explains. “It’s like going through the motions – I pick you up and drop you back down almost immediately.”
Below, we speak to Kuenyefu on his debut EP, growing up in south London, and living through an apocalypse.
How would you descibe MRWIZE to someone who’s not heard the music before?
MRWIZE: MRWIZE is just me, without all the bureaucratic bullshit.
What are some of the main inspirations behind your EP?
MRWIZE: Without living, there is generally nothing to create from. I package my life in seasons and, when that season is over, I write the story and create the soundtrack to that. You have to listen to Vertices in chronological order to discern the tale, they are essentially the chapters to a story.
How would you describe growing up in London?
MRWIZE: Do you think heaven and hell exist on the same plane ?
How do you feel this has informed your music?
MRWIZE: Geography has no influence in shaping the sound of my music, only experiences. Overall, my music is informed by my personal experiences. Growing up in London (Peckham born and raised) would have given an exposure to many sounds, visuals, and humans. Those 00s Peckham sounds hit different though.
“I feel like we are already living in a post-apocalypse. But within that we find our content. We find safe spaces, we find love and community, we find a home” – MRWIZE
What are some of your first memories of music?
MRWIZE: My earliest memory was this lil baby drum kit with rainbow toms; super cute. Then maybe playing with dads old Korg M1 when he wasn’t home, switching out the program cards and making a racket on Cubase.
I remember watching my mum playing drums in the family band. She was the one who taught me how to play drums – but the student surpassed the teacher. Dad was an insane bassist. I used to hear mad Ron Kenoly Gosepel records too, he loved the bassist Abraham Laboriel. I kinda got into too when we did the whole family band thing. He taught the the relationship between the drummer and bassist is primary for rhythm.
What sort of music did you grow up listening to?
MRWIZE: The range was crazy my parents would play everything from David Bowie to Ghanaian Hiplife’s artists Kofi Nti and Daddy Lumba.
My most pivotal moment was finding Kenna’s Make Sure They See My Face in secondary school. That opened up the wormhole to discovering alternative music for me. That album is a masterpiece. Thank you, Chad Hugo.
The EP traverses lots of genres and styles. What was the thinking behind this? What sort of story are you trying to tell?
MRWIZE: It’s electronic dance at its core, but draws a heavy influence from ambient, pop, and even indie rock. I simply want it to reflect my experiences.
This EP is about the rollercoaster of events and emotions, how they all connected with one another in sequence. It’s like going through the motions – I pick you up and drop you back down almost immediately. You brave the storm to enjoy the calm. You argue to make peace. All this represents the way in which I interacted with life at the time; a person(s), work, and myself.
There’s a lot of dystopian undercurrents, both in the sound and subject matter. What attracts you to this?
MRWIZE: I feel like we are already living in a post-apocalypse. But within that we find our content. We find safe spaces, we find love and community, we find a home.
Music is my peace in the valley. The only place where I can address how I’m living through this, sometimes it’s hardcore, sometimes it’s a dreamy ethereal soundscape. So when you listen you will be transported there too for the duration of whatever song it may be. It’s that lake in the middle of the desert.
You were previously working in film and you've done modelling too. How do you think all of this has helped with your artistry?
MRWIZE: I’m still working in all those three. It’s given me insane super powers. I can see sound and hear films. There is always a moving image before I even create the sound. One inspires the other. A holy matrimony (laughs). It’s allowed me to be on both sides of the camera, the performer and director, thus birthing sound and visual with complete synchronicity.
With great power comes great responsibility, though. Since I’m such a perfectionist, it’s like one wrong blink and we are re-shooting the whole take.
Vertices of Deprivation is out now