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Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow, form the energetic and effervescent MS MR. Self-described as ‘tumblr glitch pop’, the band are no strangers to the blogosphere. The duo will be hitting our shores for Splendour in the Grass, which follows shortly after the release of their second album How Does It Feel.? We had a chat with Plapinger and discussed the forthcoming record, Splendour In The Grass and what it means to be an internet artist.
For those that may not know, how did MS MR come to be? I’ve read that it began from the two of you emailing back and forth?
We met after college, after we graduated. I was working on my label Neon Gold Records, and Max sent me and email and we pretty much went to it from there.?It was kind of funny that the first time we ever met was as strangers at our first ever session.
So you’re playing Splendour in the Grass this year, obviously you guys must be pretty used to playing festivals by now. You played Coachella just last year. Is there anything significantly different from playing a festival to a gig, is it more nerve-wracking?
I think for me, i get so nervous before shows and as soon as I walk on stage, its over, its fine. Every moment leading up to a show its nerve-wracking. No I think, festivals are so much fun. Especially with the way we record and produce our music, to perform on that sort of sound system is sort of how it’s meant to be, and how it’s meant to be listened to. And you know, you have your own fans that are there but it’s also an opportunity to announce yourself to a whole new audience. You have new people coming up to you and being like ‘’I’ve never heard of you before and I love your music’, and that’s a great feeling to reach out to a new audience.
Do you think there’s a substantial difference between audiences around the world? Or do they all react to your music similarly?
I don’t know, yeah I think they react pretty similarly; certain places have a little more enthusiasm. I think Australians especially have a always been very supportive, and had a bit more passion. Like festivals like Laneway in Australia have always been some of my favourite festivals! ?It really comes down to who the audience are and how they connect with the music.
Your new album comes out in July, what can we expect to hear from it? How does it differ from Secondhand Rapture?
It’s a really nice evolution from Secondhand rapture. You know, Secondhand Rapture was the first song we had ever written in our entire lives, so I think we’ve really grown from that.? I’m a much better singer than how I was with Secondhand Rapture. And socially, I think this album is a bit more beat and bass driven. It’s incredibly energetic, like we have elements of fist pumping, and some are more headbopping and laidback.
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Are there any collaborations on the album? I read somewhere that you guys dabbled in co-writing for the first time.?
We did three co-writes which we’ve never done before! All three were experiments and all three made the record, it was really interesting working with other people. You know, Max and I had only ever worked with each other.?We co-wrote with Tove Lo, who’s a really good friend of ours, and MDNR, and Zach Nichita as well which was really fun.? It was nice, we waited until late in the process to bring in, or experiment with co-writes. There was a great freedom to go into the sessions and be really vocal about what we wanted to do and what we wanted to say with our music.
Do you feel as though there’s more pressure in releasing your second LP rather than the first??
I think there is, I think we did a really nice job of keeping the pressure at bay. We’ve always written music first and foremost for ourselves. We could have gotten to studios and paid a lot of money but we strived to record in small, no pressure areas. So you know, we had no label looking over our shoulders. I think we did a really great job focussing on the music and what we wanted to say.
What’s your relationship like when writing music? Does one of you write the lyrics and the other the music, or do you both work on everything together??
I think really I write the lyrics and melodies, and Max writes the music, but really we’re still involved in one another’s projects. It’s really nice to have such a constant back and forth, we were looking at so much new music on the road, and learning from how other artists are so experimental and instructive.
Do you listen to a lot of new artists? If so, who?
I listen to a ton of new artists. You know, owning my own record label I’m always looking for at new record artists, looking for new signs, I’m always on the hunt for something new and different.
I saw on your Facebook page that you guys describe your genre as ‘Tumblr Glitch Pop’, what would your description of that genre as a whole be? How did you come to think of it?
It was a joke at first! We thought it was funny how it was so fractured, so specific, it’s a stereotype within itself. A cheeky laugh of how unimportant genres are. Ultimately we are an alternative pop act.
It’s kind of the age of the internet artist. There’s so many mediums that an artist can utilise to promote new songs, new albums. I even saw someone on Tinder the other day promoting their rap project. How do you feel about this in regards to your band? Do you think it makes it easier or harder for artists to become known??
We’ve always enjoyed involving innovative ways to involve your audience. A huge part of our band's beginning was over tumblr, you know we released our EP on there. And it was instrumental in putting our album out.? I think it’s good that there are so many mediums, like being able to make a video and put it on Instagram, or using a Twitter feed. It’s a nice way to connect with fans.
There’s a lot of dialogue lately about artist royalties, especially with the whole Taylor Swift vs Apple debacle. Do you have any strong feelings in regards to this??
I think that it’s really wonderful that Taylor Swift is involved, she’s really established and it’s a wonderful thing for her to speak up for the lesser artist, and give them a voice, like us! I’m appreciative now to have these royalties now thanks to Taylor Swift. And it’s good that there’s more discussion from both artists and listeners regarding royalties.? I mean, I use streaming services all the time and I love it. It’s a huge way for people to discover music, and it’s helped people discover our music. But I think artists should be compensated for their art and their time.? I feel like people will use the correct service that pays the artist when it exists, we just haven’t got there yet.
And just one last generic interview question before I let you go, who are you most excited to see at Splendour??
I’m pretty excited about Mark Ronson, is Mark Ronson on the lineup?
Yep!
Yeah, I’m really excited to see him, Stop Me by Mark Ronson is one of my favourite songs, so I’m really excited to see him.
You can catch MS MR at Splendour in the Grass, as well as their sideshows. Details below.
Wed 22nd July | 170 Russell, Melbourne | Buy tickets
Sat 25th July | Metro Theatre, Sydney | Buy tickets
Sun 26th July | Splendour in the Grass | Buy tickets
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Lizzy Plapinger and Max Hershenow, form the energetic and effervescent MS MR. Self-described as ‘tumblr glitch pop’, the band are no strangers to the blogosphere. The duo will be hitting our shores for Splendour in the Grass, which follows shortly after the release of their second album How Does It Feel.? We had a chat with Plapinger and discussed the forthcoming record, Splendour In The Grass and what it means to be an internet artist.
For those that may not know, how did MS MR come to be? I’ve read that it began from the two of you emailing back and forth?
We met after college, after we graduated. I was working on my label Neon Gold Records, and Max sent me and email and we pretty much went to it from there.?It was kind of funny that the first time we ever met was as strangers at our first ever session.
So you’re playing Splendour in the Grass this year, obviously you guys must be pretty used to playing festivals by now. You played Coachella just last year. Is there anything significantly different from playing a festival to a gig, is it more nerve-wracking?
I think for me, i get so nervous before shows and as soon as I walk on stage, its over, its fine. Every moment leading up to a show its nerve-wracking. No I think, festivals are so much fun. Especially with the way we record and produce our music, to perform on that sort of sound system is sort of how it’s meant to be, and how it’s meant to be listened to. And you know, you have your own fans that are there but it’s also an opportunity to announce yourself to a whole new audience. You have new people coming up to you and being like ‘’I’ve never heard of you before and I love your music’, and that’s a great feeling to reach out to a new audience.
Do you think there’s a substantial difference between audiences around the world? Or do they all react to your music similarly?
I don’t know, yeah I think they react pretty similarly; certain places have a little more enthusiasm. I think Australians especially have a always been very supportive, and had a bit more passion. Like festivals like Laneway in Australia have always been some of my favourite festivals! ?It really comes down to who the audience are and how they connect with the music.
Your new album comes out in July, what can we expect to hear from it? How does it differ from Secondhand Rapture?
It’s a really nice evolution from Secondhand rapture. You know, Secondhand Rapture was the first song we had ever written in our entire lives, so I think we’ve really grown from that.? I’m a much better singer than how I was with Secondhand Rapture. And socially, I think this album is a bit more beat and bass driven. It’s incredibly energetic, like we have elements of fist pumping, and some are more headbopping and laidback.
Are there any collaborations on the album? I read somewhere that you guys dabbled in co-writing for the first time.?
We did three co-writes which we’ve never done before! All three were experiments and all three made the record, it was really interesting working with other people. You know, Max and I had only ever worked with each other.?We co-wrote with Tove Lo, who’s a really good friend of ours, and MDNR, and Zach Nichita as well which was really fun.? It was nice, we waited until late in the process to bring in, or experiment with co-writes. There was a great freedom to go into the sessions and be really vocal about what we wanted to do and what we wanted to say with our music.
Do you feel as though there’s more pressure in releasing your second LP rather than the first??
I think there is, i think we did a really nice job of keeping the pressure at bay. We’ve always written music first and foremost for ourselves. We could have gotten to studios and paid a lot of money but we strived to record in small, no pressure areas. So you know, we had no label looking over our shoulders. I think we did a really great job focussing on the music and what we wanted to say.
What’s your relationship like when writing music? Does one of you write the lyrics and the other the music, or do you both work on everything together??
I think really I write the lyrics and melodies, and Max writes the music, but really we’re still involved in one another’s projects. It’s really nice to have such a constant back and forth, we were looking at so much new music on the road, and learning from how other artists are so experimental and instructive.
Do you listen to a lot of new artists? If so, who?
I listen to a ton of new artists. You know, owning my own record label I’m always looking for at new record artists, looking for new signs, I’m always on the hunt for something new and different.
I saw on your Facebook page that you guys describe your genre as ‘Tumblr Glitch Pop’, what would your description of that genre as a whole be? How did you come to think of it?
It was a joke at first! We thought it was funny how it was so fractured, so specific, it’s a stereotype within itself. A cheeky laugh of how unimportant genres are. Ultimately we are an alternative pop act.
It’s kind of the age of the internet artist. There’s so many mediums that an artist can utilise to promote new songs, new albums. I even saw someone on Tinder the other day promoting their rap project. How do you feel about this in regards to your band? Do you think it makes it easier or harder for artists to become known??
We’ve always enjoyed involving innovative ways to involve your audience. A huge part of our band's beginning was over tumblr, you know we released our EP on there. And it was instrumental in putting our album out.? I think it’s good that there are so many mediums, like being able to make a video and put it on Instagram, or using a Twitter feed. It’s a nice way to connect with fans.
There’s a lot of dialogue lately about artist royalties, especially with the whole Taylor Swift vs Apple debacle. Do you have any strong feelings in regards to this??
I think that it’s really wonderful that Taylor Swift is involved, she’s really established and it’s a wonderful thing for her to speak up for the lesser artist, and give them a voice, like us! I’m appreciative now to have these royalties now thanks to Taylor Swift. And it’s good that there’s more discussion from both artists and listeners regarding royalties.? I mean, I use streaming services all the time and I love it. It’s a huge way for people to discover music, and it’s helped people discover our music. But I think artists should be compensated for their art and their time.? I feel like people will use the correct service that pays the artist when it exists, we just haven’t got there yet.
And just one last generic interview question before I let you go, who are you most excited to see at Splendour??
I’m pretty excited about Mark Ronson, is Mark Ronson on the lineup?
Yep!
Yeah, I’m really excited to see him, Stop Me by Mark Ronson is one of my favourite songs, so I’m really excited to see him.
You can catch MS MR at Splendour in the Grass, as well as their sideshows. Details below.
Wed 22nd July | 170 Russell, Melbourne | Buy tickets
Sat 25th July | Metro Theatre, Sydney | Buy tickets
Sun 26th July | Splendour in the Grass | Buy tickets
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