Meet Mutual Benefit

Brooklyn does a lot for the music world. It really does. Or rather, it attracts a heck of a lot of great music peeps. Either way, snaps for Brooklyn. You’re doing great, sweetie. 

Mutual Benefit is a Brooklyn-based project helmed by the one and only Jordan Lee. A collaborative endeavor with a rotating cast of characters (a.k.a. band mates), it’s a fluid explosion of experimental pop and astral folk. Below, we chat to Lee about musical innovations, his varied influences, and nervous walk-snapping. 

It’s a beauty and a force, so take a listen, snap your fingers, and dive into Lee’s world. Also, wow, I talked about snapping a lot. Genuinely just realizing that as I write this now. Ok, cheers. 

A Charming Story: A Mad Lib By Mutual Benefit

Once upon a WORLD'S BIGGEST EAR OF CORN, there were three little pigs. The first little pig was very REGAL, and he built a house for himself out of ALL BACHELOR CAST MEMBERS. The second little pig was NASEOUS, and he built a house out of MUSIC CRITICS. But the third little pig was very MID-CENTURY MODERN, and he built his house out of genuine SPORTCARS. Well one day, a mean old wolf came along and saw the houses. "WHERE HAVE ALL THE COWBOY'S GONE!!" he said. "I'll FART and I'll CANCEL and I'll blow your house down." And he blew down the first little pig's VIN DIESEL and the second little pig's PSYCHEDELIC THOUGHTS. The two little pigs ran to the third pig's house. Thereupon, the wolf began blowing, but he couldn't blow down the third little pig's HOT TRASH house. So he BEHELD off into the forest, and the three little GRAVY-STAINED pigs moved to Chicago and went into the sausage business.

Would You Rather…

always have a hair in the back of your throat or always have an eyelash in your eye?

Eyelash. I have enough trouble singing as it is.

Some Questions with Mutual Benefit

If you had an hour to kill, would you play on your phone or go look for people to meet? 

I love showing up to things early with a book. If no one talks to me its fine, but often times someone will recognize whatever I'm reading and I'll meet a new interesting person. I think of my phone as a device that opens a portal to hell

Are there other genres of music that you have been looking to break into?

I'd love to do longer form instrumental work. Maybe a soundtrack for a movie or just music that you can daydream to. The human voice is so immediately emotionally resonant it can almost feel like cheating to put it into a song.

What has been a recent innovation in music that you admire?

I feel lucky to be in an era where most people have access to the tools to be able to record their own musical ideas. Even 15 years ago when I was in high school, getting the right gear to make rudimentary recordings was a serious money and time investment. I think part of the reason there is such interesting and vibrant music happening right now is that a wider range of voices is able to create and collaborate in a way that would have previously been impossible. I'm pretty skeptical of any music "innovations" that involve silicon valley companies though.

Your songs sound like an amalgamation of different sounds. From what genres or traditions do you take influence?

I try to practice keeping my mind and ears open and seeing what ignites a visceral reaction. Maybe it is Bolivian pan flute music or maybe an Ariana Grande song or maybe a band we met on tour but if I pay attention to what moves me then it becomes like a map that I follow. Eventually, when I sit down to create I want to have everything break down in my subconscious and reemerge as something only I could make. Lately, I have been especially drawn to folk traditions, American and abroad. To hear someone being field recorded playing music as part of a function of a community instead of as an ego-driven expression driven by a desire for fame, it is hard to believe that we even talk about them like they are the same thing. Like, one is a historical document and the other is a product. Both are important though!

There is a reflective, romantic quality to your album. We're you trying to capture a specific emotion, or convey a certain narrative?

Each album is a little different but I think the point of Mutual Benefit is to deter myself from complete nihilism. I have a habit of focusing on the doom and gloom until I feel paralyzed so the songs became a vehicle for me to explore the beautiful little moments and interactions that make everything worth it. I don't ever want to say "everything is going to be ok" because it won't but I want to acknowledge all the love and beauty that can exist in this messed up world. Opening up a bigger space in my life for this project has had a pretty dramatic effect on my own mental health which I'm deeply grateful for.

How does the process of collaboration affect your music?

Mutual Benefit is equal parts highly collaborative and extremely tyrannical. I'm glad to have some of my best friends also be incredible musicians so I love working together and bouncing ideas around but at certain points, I need to make sure everything is true to my own feelings. That means the songwriting keeps shifting from being an open process to a closed process back and forth. Mutual Benefit has existed in many forms over the past 10 years and something I've learned works best is when everyone in the group has their own project as well. That way each person has an outlet to get their own feelings and ideas out and I can still be a control freak.

When attending concerts do you prefer smaller venues with more intimate performances or larger stadiums/festivals? Why?

By far, I enjoy intimate shows more. As an extreme introvert, almost every aspect of a stadium show experience is unpleasant to me. With smaller shows it feels more human, more of an exchange between audience and performer.

What is your worst habit?

Flaking on social plans last minute

What is your favorite color of M and M?

The green one is the hot one right? I'm all for sexualizing geometrically shaped snacks!

Can you snap?

Yes, in fact I've recently picked a nervous snapping habit when I walk

Can you whistle?

Yes, but not as well as Bing Crosby

Can you cross your eyes?

I don't think so, but I'm alone right now and can't confirm what I look like right now

Can you wiggle your ears?

Nope

What was your first date like?

The first date with the person I'm currently with was either a Marissa Nadler concert at Union Pool or the Theorizing the Web conference depending on how you count it. We're nerds haha.

If you were given a limitless budget what would you incorporate into your live performances?

A living wage and health insurance for the band

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

I think it is always worth saying to not let the values of our capitalistic society decide your self-worth. Keep track of what makes you feel truly alive and human and try to do those things instead of what empties you out.