Photo Credit Linda Hughes
Catch up with multi-instrumentalist Mobley and watch the video for new single, "Solo", off his EP, Some Other Country, out now.
What first got you interested in music?
Mobley: I can hardly remember. I've always liked music, ever since I was a toddler. In terms of pursuing it professionally, I kind of fell into it my freshman year of college.
Which musicians would you say you've been influenced by?
All the ones I've heard.
Do you remember the first album you had?
The first album - I didn't own it - the first album that I really remember having a relationship with was the James Taylor album, New Moon Shine.
Which words would you use to describe your sound to someone who had never heard it?
Man, that is a really difficult question. It gets described as indie rock or indie pop or alternative R&B; those are all pretty nebulous things in my ear, but they seem to help people rank it up. In terms of the way I think about it, I care a lot about memorable qualities, I care a lot about music rhythm, and I really like pop songwriting, in just a broad general sense.
Could you tell us more about the inspirations for your single and the video for "Solo"?
The objective that I was getting at with "Solo" was trying to point at, to a ridiculous degree, to a point of caricature, the desperation of doing something on your own. Obviously, it's not a love song, but I was also thinking about the ways in our society, America's society, that individualism is so special and the ways in which we ignore or make it visible are depending on each other and, for the song, I'm trying to point out the ways in which each individual is, in a very real way, made by the people around them.
How would you sum up your EP, Some Other Country, in one sentence?
The one record you have to listen to.
Now that the album's out, is there a track that stands out to you, one you'd call your favorite?
Oh man. I don't know if I can do that. My drummer really likes "Solo". I like them all. As far as the EP goes, the last one that I wrote called "Victoria", that's, I guess, kind of my favorite right now, but they're all excellent.
What do you want your listeners to be able to take away from your music?
I guess I'm really more interested in what they bring to it than what they take away from it. I hope they bring open ears and minds and use their ears and minds to create their own meaning from it. Obviously I have ideas of what it might mean to me and what it might mean to other people, but there's no message if there's nobody at the other end to receive it. So, hopefully it evokes an emotion and, beyond that, I just hope they enjoy it.
Photo Credit Linda Hughes