The Meskimo is an artist born of the shores of the Bristol Bay. He finds that the beauty of the Aurora Borealis, gifted to him by the universe is the inspiration behind his music. He wants you to not restrict your movement as you let the vibrations pass through you. Fluidity seems to be a large concept with The Meskimo, and he truly wants people to share their experiences with others as he shares his experiences with us.
Come Underneath My Covers beautifully captures this fluidity. A song with so much going on, it is almost as if The Meskimo is taking us on this journey through his experience. As if we vicariously live the experience that he did through his music. This piece is beautifully put together with the help of Fernando Paul. T
The guitars are spacey, with a hint of crunch and overdrive, giving you the very space post rock feeling. What intrigues me the most is the bluesy, swing of the drum grooves that keep the song as hypnotizing as it is, the bass isn’t as prominent, but has a pretty smooth feel to it. The piano gets lost in the mix a little, but I think that adds way more to the depth of the piece.
Honestly, this track reminds me of bands such as Aswekeepsearching, Oh Hiroshima, Pink Floyd (latter stages), and Pond. But there’s something more to The Meskimo in his selection of sounds, tones, and creating an atmosphere that is so whole.
We were able to score an interview with The Meskimo!
What about the Aurora Borealis caught your attention the night The Meskimo was born?
So my bio on Spotify seems to be taken from a character introduction in a fantasy novel. If your inner voice has the “epic movie preview” option, use that when reading it lol, but for the most part it’s true. I was being told by someone who has become the a great resource of info in the music world that part of branding is having a story. They gave me examples but ultimately said, this is what people will be drawn to or relate with. I was overthinking the process, so I made it simple for myself. We all have an introduction into this realm, I will tell mine and add some pizzazz like “the universe blessed him with…”. So here is the official story stripped down. I was born in Alaska. The night I was born my mother was already 2 weeks overdue but she refused to get on a bush airplane during winter and fly to Anchorage to be induced. One night she woke up and felt compelled to go to the big bay window. When she pulled the curtains the Aurora Borealis were on full display. As she tells it, she was able to enjoy them for a moment before she went into labor. That was the first time she had seen the Northern Lights while in Alaska and I very quickly interrupted it lol. Timely fella I was. The song “Kanakanak” was written specifically for that story. If you listen to it with that knowledge, the ending of the song takes on a whole new meaning.
It sounds like you’ve got some major blues influences in your work. Can you elaborate on that with some of your favorite musicians? Absolutely! Lowell George is by far one of the best ever, but extremely underrated. He was astronomically gifted in songwriting, guitar playing and even produced too. If you haven’t heard the album “Feats Don’t Fail Me Now” by Little Feat, you are truly missing a piece of life. The man wrote the song Spanish Moon, listen to that song and I’m willing to bet you hear the influence immediately. Another huge influence is Thom Sonny Green. His percussion skills are unique and premier to the nth degree. I have list count how many times I have listened to An Awesome Wave just to focus on his drum playing. I mean, the precision and time keeping in Tesselate are only outdone by his choice of auxiliaries. Not so much of the blues category but a big influence of mine. To hit on the blues some more, Hendrix’s solo in “Hey Joe” carries so much emotion. Derek Trucks a living legend. I saw him with the Allman Brothers Band and I was blown away by just watching his technique of playing sans pick. Jack White has great compositional skills, among many others. Michael Houser of Widespread Panic was such a great player as well. Watching him play is forever engrained in my mind.
What is Come Underneath My Covers all about?
Sex. The moments leading up to it. The act itself. Afterward while your lover is in your arms. The moments where you are at work or grocery shopping and you start to thinking about the passion you have with the one you love. Locations and scenarios abound.
How do you come to pick the right sound to share your experiences?
There is no method to this part of the process. For me, sound design is a crucial element that I will obsess over informally. I have spent hours adjusting the cutoff or resonance of a synth and will randomly decide to go in a different direction, sometimes without saving the progress made in that time. For me, it’s good to let something completely go. If I come back to it or not, the experience is still there. Sound design is an eternally evolving craft and is something you never really master. Certain techniques can be reborn but they are refined. It’s the Ouroboros in my audio armoire.
You’ve released a number of singles, and only one album so far. Are you working on another album anytime soon?
There definitely isn’t a shortage of material for an album. I felt a need to put that album out, merely because I was stuck on the concepts novelty. It was released February 19th with 7 songs, borderline EP. The Meskimo started mid-December of 2020 and only at the near forced suggestion of a close friend, I very reluctantly made a SoundCloud page in January and posted them. This friend is the artist behind all of the artwork you see. I didn’t want my name or face associated with it at all. I wanted there to be a severed distance. I even was using the name of a relative from the 18th century for the metadata when I first started so as to hide who I was. It wasn’t to be trendy, I had maybe 30 followers on SC and hadn’t even started any other socials yet, but I was very reclusive. I still am a bit, but nothing like I was then. As I was setting up that album release and filling out all the metadata info I felt like I should know what metadata really was. When I realized how important it is, I just shrugged and said fuck it. I continued filling it out with my 18th century relatives name. It came time for the name of the album and this relative had taken part in the Boston Tea Party and fought in the Revolutionary War. A sort of tribute to him. His most common job throughout his life was as a shoe cobbler and he was always rather poor. I thought it’d be cool concept if he released an album, so he did. So in short, I recently started becoming attached to an idea but I am leaning more towards an EP for it. Who knows though, it could evolve and blossom into a full length.
Can you tell us a little more of the story from the night you thought of The Meskimo? My father’s side has been very musical for generations. My grandfather was the leader of a big band and played sax for the army band during WWII. He and my grandmother ran the local music shop as well. My father has been playing piano since he was four and has always played in bands. Growing up we listened to a lot of music at high volume in my house. I don’t think the neighbors enjoyed listening to Cream at those decibels but my father did and there wasn’t a discussion where the volume was set lol. I would sit with him and he would always provide insight to the concepts of the songs or albums. I’ve always been intrigued by the stories of what influenced someone to create these audible vibrations that people are drawn to. When I was younger I played various instruments in different bands. I enjoyed playing in bands but detested when people would allow their ego to become toxic and combative. So for that reason I put playing music to the side and for years just enjoyed listening. When I started composing and producing music last December, it was based off of desperately needing a distraction to some issues I was dealing with. It worked just red I made one song. And then another and another. I’ve had a high output of songs being posted to my SoundCloud, 24 this year. I’ve become obsessed with composing and producing music.
What fascinates you most about the universe?
I love this question. It is constantly growing and evolving making it impossible to know everything about it. What fascinates me the most is that the universe makes no mistakes. It has been conducting and playing tour guide for eternity.
What’s next for The Meskimo? There is so much to be honest. I’ve got a couple singers out there tracking vocals. I just sent a beat to a rapper in Canada. A guitarist is going to add some saucy vibes to a couple songs. I am constantly creating and honing my skills so there should be a steady flow of content always coming out. I have recently shed a layer of “recluse” skin and I’ve been networking more. I have met some cool people and I look forward to seeing those relationships grow. I also look forward to meeting new people and possibly collaborating, having existential discussions or landing a sync deal. I think it would be so cool to hear a song of mine in a movie or tv show. My immediate next step? Plug these ATH M50X into my laptop and get to work. Thank you so much for this interview. Great questions coming from a great person who is passionate about music!! I hope the universe blesses you and the ones you love and is generous throughout your life!! Until next time, keep ruling your corner of the universe my friend!!
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I listen to and make silly noises while analysing why people behave the way they do.
