Michal Menert begins the Florida segment of his live tour with The Pretty Fantastics this week, and we got a deeper look into what makes his electronic-fusion production so magnetic. In this interview, he graciously lets us explore his world – an intricate, emotional place with endless layers to uncover. Poking around in a Renaissance mind is always fun and intriguing, and we can’t wait to see what the music scientist has put together for us with his most recent experiments.
Talk about the tour coming up. You have several dates in Florida with The Pretty Fantastics. What can we expect from the shows?
I’m pretty excited because we toured in the fall and tightened up a lot. With The Pretty Fantastics, the tour is a combination of the album and live versions of the rest of my catalog. It’s not just the sing-songy, indie rock stuff [from the album]. It’s all my stuff put together. It’s a cool show because I can take it a lot of different places while maintaining the live element.
Is The Pretty Fantastics a spin-off or trimmed down version of the Michal Menert Big Band? How did this come about?
Yes. Obviously touring with 23 people is difficult – even finding 23 seats in a vehicle, let alone feeding that many mouths. So this is a working compromise, and also a way to scale down the composition and my role as a conductor/band leader. It’s a lot easier with 7 or 8 people, versus 23.
You mentioned the album with The Pretty Fantastics. You also put out some other releases recently like “Space Jazz” and “Slow Coast.” Each one has a different feel to it. Are your fans liking certain projects more, or has it been an equal response?
Last year I put out “Space Jazz” which was kind of the next chapter of my sample-based stuff prior to the band. And with The Pretty Fantastics album, it was a lot more straightforward and organic with me singing. Then I did a project that was scaled down, just some moody beats. Certain people like one album but might not the other. It’s been interesting to see the variety of things people gravitate towards.
Would you say “1” with The Pretty Fantastics is left field for you?
In a way, but it’s also like a return to things I’ve been doing for a long time but I didn’t really see a way to incorporate it into my production career. So I don’t think “1” was as drastic for me as it might have sounded to the listener. I’ve been working on some of those songs for a long time and writing stuff like that for a decade or two. It’s kind of a peek into a world that’s been there for a while, but people didn’t know about.
If this indie-singing style we are hearing lately was in your head over a decade ago, then how did the move to electronic-based production happen?
Originally it was hip hop instrumental beats, and then instead of making the instrumentals more bare-bones for rappers, we started incorporating elements we liked from different genres in with the synths and basslines. Eventually we kinda snuck in the backdoor of EDM by mixing high rhythm hip hop beats with other elements we liked. It’s weird because I ended up in a scene where I was known as an electronic producer – which I was – but to me I was more like just a beatmaker that found a way to parallel what I was doing with what was happening at the time in the music scene. It’s crazy because a lot of the stuff I used to produce 10-15 years ago isn’t that different from what I do now.
I think it would be fair to say you were ahead of your time, and the tastes of the music scene eventually caught up to what you were already doing. What about with your freestyling? Were you always doing that as well? I notice you usually do a little emceeing during your shows.
That’s actually how I got into production. Back in 2003, I put out a hip hop album that I produced entirely myself. It’s something I’m passionate about, but in the era we’re in, hip hop still tends to polarize people. There’s a decent amount of people that put the blinders on to rap. I think that’s why the production rose above the lyricism by itself. With that being said, the vocals are still a part of what I love about music.
I’ve been working with a fellow emcee, Jubee from Georgia, on a project we’re putting out called “Kid Again.” It’s a hip hop album with us both rapping and I’m producing most of it. I have a few friends producing a few tracks. It’s another face I can present to the world.
So do you find yourself reverting back to your childhood interests? Is this the meaning behind the title “Kid Again”?
Yeah, we all want to be a kid again. I think when you’re in my line of work you have the opportunity to be a lot more immature than most people with other jobs. And it’s kind of a throwback to the hip hop I loved growing up. When I started working with Jubee, all of a sudden I was excited to write raps again. It was fun to freestyle at shows, mess around and say stupid things, ya know?
Is Jubee a part of Super Best Records?
Yes, he’s going to be on Super Best for his solo album and the “Kid Again” album. He was on the last tour and he’ll be with us on a few of the dates for this tour.
What is the current Super Best Records roster?
Late Night Radio, Krooked Drivers, we had a release from Mux Mool a couple years ago. Shuj Roswell is a new signee. Willdabeast is Will Glazier who plays with The Pretty Fantastics. We just dropped a Keeplove? album. We have Tnertle. And we have DJs like The BeatServer and Mikey Thunder. It’s more of a collective than a label. These days you can’t have the same traditional business model as a label because there isn’t as much money in album sales for an indie label. It’s more like a band of pirates that support each other.
You grew up in the skateboard scene back in the day. Did that have an impact on your choice of career?
We all kinda grew up together listening to hip hop, rapping, singing, and being debaucherous. For me, skateboarding paralleled music because it makes you see the world around you differently. You ride the terrain, and when you sample music that’s how you see the lyrical world. And there’s a ‘screw it let’s go do it’ mentality in skateboarding, where you hop in a van without any money and drive to another town to hit a skate park. The people I grew up with skateboarding were really able to handle the road and it parallels with touring. It gives you the mindset to survive in this world, because you’re not so put off by discomfort or not having amenities you may be used to.
That gives us some good background history on what led you to where you are today. You’re also into other things like visual arts and cooking. It seems like you’re somewhat of a Renaissance man.
I watched my dad growing up. He would study computers for a couple years; then he got into archery; then he would do woodworking, stuff like that. Watching him gave me the idea you could have more than one hobby or be passionate about more than one thing. Cooking is a great thing because when you’re working on a song or painting, you can’t really tell when it’s done. With a song, you never know if people are going to hate it when you play it live. It can be riskier and nerve wrecking. Whereas with cooking, you can make something in a few hours, put a plate in front of someone, and see their reaction and see they’re enjoying it. It’s nice to have another creative outlet where you can have that satisfaction within a few hours.
What would you say is your best food dish?
I make some mean mashed potatoes. I’ve been working on Japanese ramen. I make a really good pork cutlet. I make pretty good fish. I really like making curry dishes. I went to India and really fell in love with the food.
I’ve been dreaming about doing a tour video where we do a cooking show. We’ll go to fans houses, cook for them, and teach them how to cook a dish. My dream is to be able to combine touring with an interesting how-to cooking show.
Even though you perform in front of huge crowds, you appear to have an introverted personality, especially from listening to the mellow tones of your music. Is this an accurate assumption?
Oh yeah, for sure. Any signs I have of being extraverted are almost like a nervous reaction. I was an only child. I love people, but I was never a socialite. It’s kind of weird to now be put in front of hundreds of thousands of people with a microphone. It’s different for me to be extraverted in front of a crowd.
It’s funny because a lot of musicians are introverts. When you take this really personal song you created with headphones, and present it to a party, it’s such a weird position seeing the emotions that went into it verses the emotions that come out of it. I didn’t get into production to make party music, but because I’m associated with EDM, that’s the main reason people come to shows – to have a good time, to have a release and escape. I’m all about that, but when you’re trying to do something outside of just creating a nice atmosphere for a party, you can kind of feel out of place. Like I know what I’m doing this for, but it’s weird trying to do it for a crowd. But I think having dynamic sets with slower songs allows people to have a closer look at the music.
Oh, definitely. Your shows really give us the chance to sit back and just be in the moment of listening. Thanks for letting us get to know you better, and we’re looking forward to the live set. Is there anything else you want to share with the fans?
We’re excited to be in Florida. I really appreciate this interview, thanks for your time.
Florida Tour Dates:
Tue 2/2: Gainesville @ The Jam*
Adv tix: http://bit.ly/1N1F9Yv
Fb event: http://on.fb.me/1ktVp8g
Wed 2/3: Jacksonville @ 1904 Music Hall*
Adv tix: http://ticketf.ly/1PFU2hY
Fb event: http://on.fb.me/1QAqYJs
Thu 2/4: Tampa @ Crowbar*
Adv tix: http://ticketf.ly/1iZ2jAu
Fb event: http://on.fb.me/1HMGUkx
Fri 2/5: Orlando @ The Social*
Adv tix: http://ticketf.ly/1MbGsQW
Fb event: http://on.fb.me/1ktVPve
Sat 2/6: Lake Worth @ B.E. Easy Music and Arts Festival^
www.BeEasyMusicFestival.com
* w/ MZG
^ w/ Keller Williams & The Keels, The Heavy Pets perform Walrus: A Tribute to The Beatles & more
