Mesita

Photo provided by, Mesita

Meet Mesita

It was in the dead heat of August when I came across Mesita’s album “Empty Island”. From that moment on I have been hooked on their atmospheric, high energy, innovative sound. Making use of a myriad of percussive instruments and tones Mesita’s tunes are driving and invigorating. Get to know this terrific artist as we chat about Garfield, their album “Empty Island”, and the music industry. Check it out!

“PRIME TIME GOSSIP ” A fill in the blank with Mesita

Handsome NATHANIEL.and his co-WINDOW WASHER, the SPICY REBECCA raised HANDS when they were seen kissing ROUGHLY at the screening of their STATUESQUE TV movie. The CHUNKY couple deny it's a romance; they say they are just SUSPICIOUS friends.

Here's another DELICATE.tidbit... love must be in the BRICK. JEFF GOLDBLUM and JAMIE who had only MOUTH-WATERING words for each other last week, were seen holding BOWLING BALLS and whispering in each other's ELBOWS at this week's benefit for adopted RUBIX CUBES.

Would You Rather

get a full back tattoo of Garfield or Alf? Please explain why.

Uuum... I mean both don't sound too desirable but I would go with Garfield because cat and I like cats. I don't know what Alf is but doesn't he eat cats?

Some questions with Mesita

How has your experience been navigating the pandemic and the release of "Empty Island"?

It's definitely been a life-changing experience. The whole world has shifted and there's so much pain and dreariness out there. So it wasn't to make an album about this pandemic, and in moments I've caught myself and steered away from being too specific, but the isolation, fear, and growth of it all got wrapped up in the themes of it. New York City has been through a lot and has shifted in dramatic ways. The important thing is to build a better future from it all. Streets shut down and turned into parks, people are out in the sun and not cramped into shopping malls. It's put a spotlight on what's really important.

Was there a specific source of inspiration behind the album "Empty Island"?

I just set out to make music, and every album I write is fueled by the experiences around me at the time. I wrote Ocean Song when I took the train to Coney Island with all the uncertainty in the air. And that night, the NBA shut down. I haven't been on the subway since. New York started closing up and then suddenly, a terrible terrifying ghost town, that horrible first week of April. I live with 5 other roommates, we all were struggling with the fear of it all, cabin fever and awful uncertainties. But things started lifting here, hanging out in masks with the city all out at parks, it's become oddly beautiful, like a painting. To get out of the house, play switch games on a bench surrounded by people all out on a nice day. But then to see the rest of the country not learn our lessons months after, seeing so many others struggle with similar uncertainties, just not covered or supported by those who should be leading, adds to the hopelessness of it all. The exhaustion of all that. And then I got invited camping with friends I hadn't seen in a bit, kind of my covid-crew now, just a few close friends. To be out in nature, to sit and stare at a tree in silence. Re-calibrate the systems, it helped re-align everything. That was the experience and the inspiration in making this album. Anytime I write something, it's gotta be a journey, there's gotta be some sort of growth in it all.

What is one thing you would want to change about the music industry?

It would be for artists to be able to own their stuff again. There's always shifts, there's always monopolies and there's always a new young wave of pirates that come in and revolutionize it for the better. I started my career by sending my first album to bootleg mp3 blogs. It was the wild west back then, this major artist's album leaks and suddenly my album gets posted right after, and instantly 1000s of people have downloaded this kid recording power sanders in his basement. It was new access. Then the people with the money saw power in that kind of piracy, blogs went from illegal to legitimate to pretty much owned by the labels, streaming came and now we're right back to the radio payola days. The access has been shut off again, ran by the algorithm, taxed by these DSPs, with no rights and barely any earnings to show for it. Web 2.0, they own the access to everything now.

We need a new revolution. A wave of new independent platforms with new voices that support the artists, not ones that manipulate artists for advertising optics without supporting them. Allow these new creatives positions to succeed and to support other creatives looking for the same sort of opportunities. If they don't let us in, we have to build our own platforms and keep ownership of the things we build. The power-structure of music is ripe for a new wave to tear it down, for someone to come along and show us oldies the future. I don't have the answers for that or else I'd already be chasing it.

How does the music scene in Colorado compare to NYC?

To be honest, I'm not sure these days. I haven't been back home in over a year. And last time I was there, Denver had already been changing so much. But I'm so closed-off from scenes and have always been a loner. I just kind of do my own thing over here regardless of what's going on. I wish I was more open and collaborated. I'd love to be in a band now. I would have loved to be in a band back in the Denver music scene last decade. I knew of a lot of cool independent things going on, warehouse shows and all that. From what I've heard, they've been pushing those scenes out to build more condos. Same as it ever was.

Who was the first audience that you ever played? How did it go?


I tried playing a live show in the basement of this bar in downtown Denver, maybe like 2007? I had a loop pedal and tried to one-man show it, it was weird and really only the musicians playing before and after me were watching, but it was chill. My friend played too and was the one that brought me along.

What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

Whatever they want, honestly. If they enjoy it as background music, if they find great meaning in my lyrics that might have been written about something completely different, if they are having a rough day but hearing a song of mine helps them out in some way, that's more than I could ask for. I mean, I don't even know why I make music anymore, I just know I have to. It's like drinking water or something, I get thirsty and I need to make music.

What is the most comfortable pair of shoes you own?

My grandma bought me these Brooks running shoes a few years ago. They're like walking on air. But I've worn them like every day and now they're all falling apart but I still wear them. I'm a speed-walker, walking from Brooklyn to Queens to Manhattan across the bridges. I need comfy shoes like that. And then we went tubing and I wore them in the Delaware river because I needed river shoes. They've been thru some stuff. But I air them out, scrub em up a little, and boom, still comfy as ever. I'll be sad the day they finally bust for good.

Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)

Black Lives Matter. Uyghur Lives Matter. Wear a mask. And try your best to make someone's day better, even if you don't know them, even if you may disagree with their views, just try to be a light. Lord knows the world needs it.