Combine two voices sung alongside each other with some experimental and playful production and it will result in an alt-pop duo with a guaranteed recognition effect. Connor Pledger and Maxwell Joseph have their own distinctive sound. Serious conversations about life and internal struggles colliding with rhythmically energetic tunes that will make you want to move to the beat. While everyone is looking for new music during quarantine and lockdown times, you shouldn’t miss out on the LA-based duo Mob Rich.
1. How would you describe your music to someone, who hasn’t listened to Mob Rich before?
We would probably describe it as 50% quirky introspection and 50% hard hitting bass and drums. We try to be tongue in cheek and rather serious at the same time. We both have those sides of our personalities and so we try to let that shine through in the music. But we also like really heavy 808’s and drums so we have to get that in there too.
3. What has it been like to witness the success of your song ‘Yoko Ono’ after its feature on the Netflix Series ‘Atypical’?
Seeing Yoko Ono do its thing and take on a life of its own has been really cool to watch. We’re eternally thankful to our friend Fivel Stewart who plays Izzie in the show for pitching the song to the Atypical team. It’s also been really cool to see the song become an anthem for LGBQT couples because what we originally wrote the song about was the love that John Lennon and Yoko Ono had so it’s awesome that it found itself in a scene that is about love.
4. What inspires you most during the creative process of song writing and producing?
It is not always easy to nail down one thing that is the most inspiring. It’s always in a state of flux. Sometimes our lives become the main source of inspiration and other times it’s just sounds we find or a random conversation we have about something totally unrelated to us.
5. How important is the return of live music for you? Do you miss playing live shows?
It’s gotta be right up there with food and water on the list of important things. We want to play so badly and can’t wait till we can all do it safely again. It’s going to be a very good day when live music comes back.
6. Is there something that you’ve learned about yourselves during quarantine?
The importance of being easy on ourselves. Taking time when we need it. Processing things even when it isn’t easy. And lastly the importance of having some hobbies. We’ve had a lot of time to try new things which has been cool.
7. What’s an advice or message you would like to tell younger people, who are trying to pursue their passions in times like these?
It’s the wild west out there and that you just need to keep throwing things at the wall. To not be afraid to try new things and to keep putting one foot in front of the other. We both were many different versions of ourselves before we met and will continue to evolve as we get older.
- Are you currently planning or working on some more music?
We’re really excited for the next few months, because we have so much new music to drop and it feels like we are moving into a new chapter. We’ve been waiting a long time to release the songs that are coming so we’re eager to share it with everyone.
Check out their latest releases ‘Songs We Didn’t Write, Vol. 2’ including covers of ‘The Killing Moon’ and ‘Sweet Disposition’ and their new single “Everything and Nothing” available on every streaming platform.
Follow Mob Rich on Instagram, Twitter and Spotify.
Written by: Melina Spahn
GEM Magazine 