New Year, New Mura Masa

For this exclusive Œditorial, Grammy-winning electronic artist Mura Masa joined us in Berlin to unpick his new album, Raw Youth Collage (2020)

British electronic producer and songwriter Mura Masa (real name Alex Crossan) stormed onto the global music scene in 2017 with his eponymous and genre-defying album. Featuring acclaimed collaborators such as A$AP Rocky and Charli XCX, Mura Masa blended pop, indie, funk, hip-hop, and ambient sounds.

Inspired by the legendary Japanese swordsmith Muramasa Sengo, his pseudonym reflects the edge and precision that define his music. At the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, Crossan’s highly commended craftsmanship earned him nominations for Best Electronic Album and Best Recording Package. In 2019, he went on to pick up the Best Remixed Recording Award for his remix of Haim’s Walking Away (2017).

Following a two-year hiatus, Crossan returns with a strikingly different new album that departs from his known electronic sounds and reconnects with his punk band roots. Released on 17 January, Raw Youth Collage (R.Y.C) surveys raw textures, placing guitar riffs and his own vocals front and centre.

At his London press album listening in November, Crossan conveyed R.Y.C as an emotionally reflective project that navigates the push and pull he feels between nostalgia and the anxiety of an uncertain future. During his presentation, he recalled postcard memories growing up in Guernsey, galavanting through fields with friends and sharing ‘teenage firsts’.

As a fan of Œ Magazine, celebrating the release of Crossan’s latest album with an exclusive Œditorial provided the perfect opportunity to encapsulate his artistic versatility.

ABOVE
Shirt & Trousers – Schepperheyn
Shoes – Dr. Martens
Necklace – MYL Berlin

You left 2019 as a Grammy winner and kicked off 2020 with the release of R.Y.C. Congratulations, you seem to be on a roll at the moment! What three words best describe your new album?

Raw. Youth. Collage! (Crossan laughs.)

At your London press album listening, you described R.Y.C as a nostalgic memoir of your ‘teenage firsts’. But you also recalled longing for experiences you’ve never had. Could you divulge what you meant by this?

I think a lot of people feel a kind of communal sense of nostalgia around live music. An example would maybe be the rave scene in the early ’90s. I wasn’t even born there, but I can definitely identify with the strange halcyon feeling around it. It’s a tough thing to describe!

LEFT/TOP
Scarf – Schepperheyn
Jacket – SF 1 OG
Shoes – Dr. Martens
Sunglasses – Gentle Monster
Ring – MYL Berlin

RIGH/BOTTOM
Coat – SF 1 OG
T-Shirt – Studio 183
Trousers – Talent’s Own
Scarf – Starstyling
Shoes – Our Legacy

At your album press listening you mentioned how the internet functioned as a portal into the world of electronic music. Growing up in Guernsey, how pivotal was the internet in shaping your other creative interests and taste?

As with most people my age, the internet was really pivotal. I think my generations taste is really shaped by amalgamation. We get our news, our taste, our opinions from a wider breadth of sources than ever before and I think that is really apparent in popular culture a lot nowadays.

You’ve been commended for your visually inventive music videos and cover art. In fact, your album art was even nominated at the 2017 Grammys. Where do you gather inspiration for your visual production from?

I think, like most people, I try to find references and inspiration that’s unique or different. I’m quite tapped into the kind of emergent underground scenes on Instagram and Twitter. But I love looking to older, more strongly established visual artists for guidance in approach. Recently, I’ve been really getting into Rei Kawakubo’s approach to design.

LEFT/TOP
Trousers & Shirt – Shepperheyn
Coat – SF 1 OG
Shoes – Dr. Martens

RIGHT/BOTTOM
Shirt– Schepperheyn
Necklace – MYL Berlin

This album taps into your rebellious teenage spirit with notes of heavy guitar and nihilistic lyrics. Living in the epicentre of punk culture, how influential were London’s punk remnants on your work?

Punk is alive and well in London, but not necessarily in the form of leather jackets and pins. It’s about exciting and visceral music with a countercultural message, which can be found throughout the city and across different genres from rock to rap. That galvanising energy definitely influenced the album a lot.

How do you plan to visually translate that galvanising punk energy into your music videos?

I’ve been very inspired by how the Talking Heads used fashion to prove a point about post-punk music. Wearing grey suits and drab boiler suits as a direct reaction to what they felt was an overdone look of Mohicans and safety pins at the time. They also used traditional theatrical thinking for their stage show as a counter to the raucous and unplanned punk shows. That really opened my mind in terms of understanding how an approach doesn’t have to be loud or abrasive to be powerfully rebellious.

LEFT/TOP
Coat – SF 1 OG
T-Shirt – Studio 183
Trousers – Talent’s Own
Scarf – Starstyling
Shoes – Our Legacy

RIGHT/BOTTOM
Jacket – Our Legacy
Shirt – Starstyling
Trouser – Talent’s Own
Shoes – Dr. Martens

In 2018, you teamed up with Adidas Originals to create a short film accentuating the notion that ‘the original is never finished’. You’ve proven this musically, producing a plethora of remixes. Do you have the same mentality regarding your style?

Yeah definitely. I think if you aren’t changing, you’re dying…

Over the years, you’ve collaborated with some pretty trendy artists – Slow Thai and A$AP Rocky, to name a few. Does an artist’s style influence how much you want to work with them?

It definitely influences me. Clothes and styling are just another form of storytelling. Another way for individuals to express their personality. So it can be very informative – you can learn a lot about a person from what they wear. But obviously, the music comes first. There’s no point in working with somebody super stylish if they can’t deliver! (Crossan laughs.)

LEFT/TOP
Shirt & Trousers – Shepperheyn
Longsleeve – Our Legacy
Sunglasses – Gentle Monster
Shoes – Dr. Martens

RIGHT/BOTTOM
Coat – SF 1 OG
T-Shirt – Studio 183
Sunglasses – Gentle Monster

Who is your style icon?

Hmmm, probably Shia LaBeouf?… I don’t necessarily dress like him, but I like his approach.

To wrap things up, what are you looking forward to most in 2020?

I’m looking forward to playing the music live for people all over the world and bringing them into this new chapter in my music!