Morgan Hug on the town of Apples (Switzerland), the Ethiopian scale, and crazy people shouting
Morgan Hug, stage name Organ Mug, was featured on our # 29 podcast for his beautiful and strange and bewitching song A Somewhere Place. (In that podcast Cinnamon briefly taught herself how to pronounce the word “Lausanne” – don’t worry she has already forgotten). Organ Mug’s new EP Here & There came out in February, whereupon he’s had the chance to do interviews, read articles about himself, and has been touring in support of bands that he admires such as Low and Anna Calvi. He reports that the Here & There EP is all about the frontier between reality and fantasy, and that in these last couple of days, the frontier between the two seems to have completely vanished.
My favorite thing to wear onstage:
Clothes! I really don’t care honestly cause I always wear the same clothes. No matter the season, it will always be in the the same brown pants (I have 3 of the same pants) and the same blue sweatshirt (I have two). I hate shopping.
My favorite musical instrument or item that I purchased recently is:
My African Kalimba. It sounds amazing, but more importantly because it is in one of the Ethiopian scale used by Ethiopian jazzmen like Mulatu Astatke. I’ve discovered beautiful chords on my piano by starting song with this Kalimba.
The musical instrument or item that I really really want is:
The Organelle by Criteri and Guitari! Because it sounds like Organ Mug!
More seriously because this little cute toy can be so many things at the same time: a sampler, a synth, an effect rack, etc.!
And all of this without any computer!!! Amazing!
The artist who has influenced me most is:
These last years I’d say Bibio. I consider Bibio to be a very talented musician, composer as well as a very gifted producer. He seems to be able to play any kind of instruments with strings and he’s always experimenting new things. Each of his release sound different from the other. He can go from funky to folky, from hip hop to electronic music, from urban to suburban.
I’ve been listening so many times to his last ambiant LP Phantom Brickworks which was released on my birthday. This album brings me inner peace almost every time I listen to it. I love it!
Something I wish I’d known before joining a band:
I’m alone in my project. There’s a reason for that. It took me some time to understand that when it comes to music, I can easily become an awful dictator. I wish I had understood and accepted that a bit earlier. At the same time, I regret absolutely no past collaborations. It’s all the music lovers I’ve met on my way until now who made me sound the way I sound today.
I live in this city:
Apples (Switzerland). I’ve recently moved from the city of Lausanne to the countryside in Apples because I needed to rest. It helps me focusing on my work without going out and getting shit-faced.
Some examples of the Apples vibe include:
– Watching the snow falling into the garden.
– Trying to tame a squinting wild cat called Mamadou
– Watching movies with the landlords who are are the cutest couple and our very good old friends.
– Playing the Harmonium.
– Being in love.
Editor’s note: I checked and there really is a town called Apples in Switzerland. Let’s all move there.
The best place to play music here is:
It will be our garden! We gonna try to do a small festival with some friends in our garden this summer. It may have sth to do with the idea of celebrating life or is it simply megalomania? I don’t know. It has this old romantic touch that makes you want to get naked, sing along and dance with your friends and lovers.
My favorite local band (aside from my own):
Louis Jucker. I simply think he is furiously mad & brilliant at the same time. He is a creative communist who has this ability to generates big emotions from small ideas.
I collect:
Soundscapes. I have a lot of soundscapes like water, wind, steps on the ground, on the snow, on the wood, etc. I use them in my songs, in my live performances and in also my meditations. My obsession at the moment goes to recordings of people who are in the city streets speaking or screaming to themselves, to their imaginary friends or maybe to god.
My favorite thing to watch on tv is:
Reflections of ourselves in it when it’s off.
Why:
Because TV makes you deaf, dumb and blind.
In my fridge you’ll always find:
Ginger juice! I’m obsessed with ginger. I can make the best juices out of it. It makes me fitter, happier and more productive!
A winter indulgence that I would never forgo is:
I’m sorry. I don’t know what a winter indulgence is.
Why:
Because English is not my first language.
Editor’s note: Ha! Ha! I absolutely love these band interviews.
If you’re going to buy me a gift, say in the under-$50 range, I would like:
A stalk of ginger!
Just get the man some ginger.
The last music I downloaded was:
The sound of a hobo screaming in the street: « Hellbound I go but i’m coming back! »
Editor’s note: This is really important.
All you metal bands who I’ve been giving grief to recently about bad singers, can you please click on the above link of the crazy person.
And think about how much better your music would sound with that madness on top instead of the Satan Voice. Just sayin.
Carry on, Morgan Hug:
In my heart I wish I was:
Less anxious.
because:
Things would be so much easier.
My favorite websites or apps are:
hlycrp.com
Why
Because I feel intimately connected with John and Cinnamon.
Editor’s note: YEESSSS!!!
When people come to visit me, particularly if those people are cooler than I am, I take them to:
The Art Brut Museum. It is self-taught creators who produce Art Brut, people on the fringes of society who harbor a spirit of rebellion and tend to be impervious to collective standards and values. They create in total disregard of public acclaim or other people’s opinions. They seek neither recognition by others nor public acclaim: any universe that they create is meant exclusively for themselves. Using generally unprecedented means and materials, they are in no way obligated to any artistic traditions, preferring to avail themselves of highly singular figurative means.
I find this place absolutely fascinating.
Gregory L. Blackstock, The Huts, 2013 © Adn-VdL. Collection de l’Art Brut, Lausanne
Favorite seasonal beverage:
Ginga Juice Foreva!
The last meal that truly impressed me was:
Ginger with ginger sauce and a bit of ginger aside
why
I’m monomaniac in everyday life and stereomaniac when it comes to music.
