IN CONVERSATION WITH MEHRO

interview EMMANUELLE PLANTIER

Following the successful release of their third album “Trauma Lullabies”, Mehro comes back with “Lady Parts and Mannequins”, a powerful song with pop-rock accents. The young artist started their musical career in 2020, and gathered a solid community all over the world that resonate with their enchanting anthems. After a summer spent touring in Europe, Mehro is ready to keep on sharing their universe with the world and touching souls with music.

What pushed you towards music as a medium?

I'm always looking to live the greatest life that I can, and I saw the pursuit of being a musician and an artist as being the most fulfilling pursuit that I could  do with my time. It checked all the boxes for me, I was able to express myself, with sound visual.  And I find that the people that I admired most in my life were musicians and artists, so I wanted to be a part of that.

Who would you think is your biggest musical inspiration?

I'm not making music without Johnny Cash. His story and the movie with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon changed my life. That's the reason why I make music. 

How did you manage the sudden rise to fame after the release of your single ‘perfume’ that gathers more than 69 million streams on Spotify?

The great thing was that nothing changed.  We released the song during the pandemic so I was able to stay grounded through it all. Nothing changed in my life except that people were falling in love with the music and I didn't get thrown into a whirlwind of self importance.

You recently released an album named « trauma lullabies ». Can you tell us about the creative process behind it, what themes are approached in it?

There is not a process, none of it was conscious. t was something that was happening, and we were just capturing it. The album revealed itself to me over time. And before we knew it we had about nine out of the ten songs in place and we just needed to add one more.  There was the last piece of the puzzle that we had to add but for the most part it was in a very unconscious creative process. And the themes that are discussed in «trauma lullabies» is a process in itself.

Which track of the album is your favourite one?

I think « bare minimum » is my favorite, not always, but it was today. It depends on my mood, on the time, on the day.

You recently released a new track called ‘Lady Parts and Mannequins’ , what was the journey behind this track?

At first it was written on an acoustic guitar, which doesn’t sound like a song that would be written on an acoustic guitar but it was. But I'm not somebody that's very cerebral when it comes to art. I'm not thinking 20 steps ahead, the less I'm doing, the better. The song just revealed itself to me, it happened and  we were able to record it. I believe it's one of those songs that can mean whatever you want it to mean. Or it can mean nothing at all.

On September 9th you played at Bitterzoet in Amsterdam, how was your experience like in the Netherlands and what do you think of the Dutch public?

I absolutely loved it. I played two shows in the Netherlands, one in Eindhoven and one in Amsterdam and I wish I had more time in Amsterdam, it was so beautiful. It went by really, really fast. I spent three hours talking with fans after the show, it was a really special moment.

Who would you love to collaborate with on a future project?

I would love to collaborate with  Aurora. I'd love to collaborate with  Kendrick Lamar. I'd love to collaborate with Billie Eilish. I'd love to collaborate with Tame Impala, Frank Ocean, Tyler the Creator,  SZA. There are so many that I'm not mentioning. I think Clairo is incredible. Bad Bunny would be really fun. I feel like I could provide so much for these artists because I think I'm able to do something that not everyone can do. 

We live in an hyper-connected world, where artists have a platform and a voice to spread awareness or awake consciousness. Do you have a particular cause that is dear to your heart?

I seem to sing a lot about life and death and suicide, it seems to be something that I bring up a lot and I've made music videos about it too. The awareness I don't know. It's a lot to ask for people to become more aware of something. I guess the awareness is of your worth and your value in life.  Because people get so caught up in their negative thoughts and these beliefs that they tell themselves are true, about them and how they think people are perceiving them and all of these things that have nothing to do with the present moment  So the cause that I would say is to realize your value, to see your worth. And knowing that this life that you have is priceless.

We are a fashion-oriented publication, can you tell us which role fashion plays in your daily and professional life?

Clothes, though they are just on the outside, and though they have no bearing, necessarily, of your heart and your spirit, they do convey something. If you have somebody in a tailored suit, they're going to act differently than if they were in sweatpants and a big hoodie with Crocs. So these clothes bring something out of you. And I know that there's a lot of people that say that clothes are stupid, that they don’t do anything.  But they do bring something that's within you out into the world. I think exploring it and trying on clothes that you think aren't gonna work will shock you on how many times something looks better than you ever imagined. It's the surprises that are so wonderful, and there are a lot of surprises in fashion. I discovered so many secrets with clothing over time. There are days where my outfits are on point, others where my outfits look like shit.  That's life, you’re taking a risk trying on some new things.

Do you have any exciting projects you would like to share with us?

I’m very excited for Lady Parts and Mannequins! I believe in this song, I think every time we played it live people reacted the exact same way, they were shocked and they loved it. I'm excited to see the path that it is going to take, because I don't think it's going to happen overnight, but I do believe that it's going to happen.  And so it'll be interesting to see the process of a song starting with zero streams, zero listens, and seeing what happens from there.
Outside of Lady Parts and Mannequins, I'm excited for this new chapter and this new evolution of my music. I can’t wait for it to be listened, devoured and experienced by the people who care. To be put out there in the world and to see what emotions it can bring to people and how it's going to be also interpreted.