Mustard had the pleasure of speaking with London’s Mango in Euphoria. Together we discussed their travel throughout the United States, creating work during the pandemic, their influences, their upcoming single “Ghost”, and so much more!
1. Mustard is grateful to have you join them at Music Shelf. How are you doing today?
My pleasure ! I’m good. I’m only struggling with a back pain that comes and goes,
but I’m good.
2. What was it like to travel through the United States? Do you have a favorite state?
Did your time in the United States help inspire you as an artist?
When I was living in the States I was working really hard, sometimes more than 50 hours per week. This is what we call « le charbon » in French, something to describe how hard was the work behind the good life. I partied a lot as well, and I had very little sleep, but I can tell you it was an amazing life experience. To be honest with you, every state I visited (I think 12 in total?) inspired me in their own way. I had different experiences in each one of them, Florida was were I was living and the weather was amazing (except during summertime – it’s the wet season and it’s a hot rain every day at 3pm pretty much – from what I remember), but New York is my forever favorite. The big buildings and the skyline at night on the rooftops make me feel so whole. It also felt like a dream when I went to Yellowstone and drove through Idaho, Utah, Montana and Wyoming. I had an interesting time in Louisiana as well because I learnt so much about history and it touched my soul. I could name a lot of things I’ve done within a year but this interview would be too long ! And of course everything I’ve done there inspired me as an artist, I have so many things I can write about. It’s not only about things I’ve seen though… It’s mostly thanks what I experienced myself, from smoking pot with a random californian guy to having sex with older rich dudes because I wanted to sleep in a nice king bed (a thing I didn’t have in my flat… lol)
3. After traveling through the United States you decided to call it home in London. How
does the environment in London differ than the US? Where do you go to get inspiration in
London?
Yeah that’s true. In fact I came back to France after the US and after two weeks I became very depressed. It’s just that where I grew up and went to school there’s absolutely nothing and I started to work as a waitress again and realized… what the fuck am I doing here ? And, I had two high school friends who never went to London and wanted to visit. I was their guide. We went for like three or four days in London, and we were staying in this hostel in Victoria… turns out I was already applying for jobs in England and Netherlands and I actually applied to work in this hostel we were staying at. So I could meet the people working there and on the last day I was in London they told me I was hired. So I came back to France, packed my bags, moved to London during the summer of 2019.
I’m not sure I’d know how to describe how the US are different from London to my eyes… It’s like London gives me this « Europe » feeling and it’s not too far from where I am from and it’s definitely the city I love to live in, and America is just a crazy wild experience to me. It’s two different cultures for sure, but I enjoy both. If I wasn’t currently living in London and had to pick a city to live in America it would definitely be New York. These two cities are full of people coming from all around the world and this is something I really love. But I don’t know, I enjoy the peace too sometimes, but in this moment while I am talking to you, I currently fit where it’s busy.
Inspiration in London comes once again from my experiences and it’s a bit of a curse because I feel like the biggest shit that happened to me is my fuel. So I’m full of traumas but without them I wouldn’t write a lot of stuff. The way I had to make a name for myself in this city as a « Frenchie » who comes from absolutely fucking nothing is my fuel too, and I’m hoping that telling my story helps people out when it comes to them believing in their dreams.
4. During the pandemic you began writing demos along with your poetry. Could you
share more about your process during this time?
It was really bad I’m not going to lie. I was stuck in such an awful situation… I developed complex PTSD because of some strong gaslight and it made me want to puke everyday. Everything was fine at the beginning but so many bad things happened to me during this time, and my paranoia was developing even more. Anyways this is exactly why I felt the need to write. I had nobody to be able to speak to about the way I felt and I was left alone very often and got depressed to the point I had suicidal thoughts. I was feeling very low and started writing some dream pop songs thanks to Garage Band on my iPad and an old contact who was a songwriter living in France whom I was working with remotely.
5. Mustard had never heard of “dark disco” until they listened to your first single
“Goddess.” How would you describe your sound?
Dark Disco is not really a genre of music that officially exists, so take it has Gothic pop or Gothic disco, Dark Disco was actually invented by my music manager. I think it’s a mix of everything I was very into when I was younger, what’s coming to my head is the Born This Way album by Lady Gaga, but it’s not that either, there’s a lot of darkwave influence, but a lot of pop too, and a hint of rock music too. I’d have to list you so many songs that built that genre of mine. If I have to be honest I think my music could even sound way better, but I’m just making new contacts day by day you know, but I know where I want to get.
6. Who (or what) influences you?
Lana Del Rey, Grimes, Lady Gaga, Marilyn Manson, Madonna, a lot of new wave
music too… And I’d say, my own life mainly. Oh yeah The Runaways, I wanna feel
like them everyday I wake up, like, fuck yeah.
7. You love to perform and storytelling. Who are some of your favorite performers and
storytellers? What have you learned from them that you incorporate into your own
performance?
I don’t really think about anyone in particular. I am just myself, vomiting what I feel
like on stage. I think about giving a show to people because otherwise, why did they
pay to see YOU ? It’s mainly Luke (Spiller) who gave me this power because he’s an
active front man on stage.
8. You met Luke Spiller from The Struts while recording your demos. Could you share how this meeting happened?
He showed up at my house after a photo-shoot he did for the release of Lowkey In Love. We started to chat online after the most difficult time of my life and I initally asked him if he wanted to drink some booze in the park, but he’s more comfy sofa and prosecco. I said dude, I have no money you know, so it’s gonna be prosseco from the Tesco next door and he was fine with it. I opened my door and he was there, my jaw almost dropped. We got drunk in my house and talked a lot and he was really curious about me. The week after when I was trying to record my DIY demos with an engineer in Hackney, he texted me so we could meet again. And I remember I was still working full time at my barista job and he was not in town for too long so I asked someone to cover my closing shift and I spent the evening with him again after he shot his music video and that’s the day he was saying that I deserved better as a musician. He said that Mango In Euphoria, it’s « studio 54, New York in the 70s, and a lot of cocaine and homosexuals around me », which is… vibes !!! It hyped me so much. Luke is to me a mirror version of myself and I also feel like the student who keeps on learning from him.
I still have moments where I find myself in distress because bad shit is happening and I feel like nobody but him can understand, so, when it’s like that, I send him a little text or voice note and he always has the right words. No matter where he is in the world and how I’m evolving, I have eternal love for him, and that’s also because I met one of my best friends thanks to him. I wouldn’t be so sure that Mango In Euphoria would be as flamboyant if Luke Spiller didn’t exist. He’s the Sir Rock N Roll. He blessed me and will continue to bless other people who need it. As crazy as you think it sounds… he made me feel like I was the shit when I was feeling like shit. Imagine… I was watching him perform at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion show from my laptop back then thinking oh god I want to see The Struts live so bad. I moved to London, saw The Struts, met my best friend Carly, and then Luke wanted to know who the fuck I was and saved me after a rough time. Life is crazy.
9. What was the inspiration behind your debut single Goddess?
This is the song I wrote after I left the hounds of hell. I wanted to sing to myself a
love song after being emotionally dependent for too long and stuck in a horrific
situation. But it has so many meanings now and people can relate to this song the
way they want to.
10. This week you will be releasing your second single “Ghost.” What can fans expect
from your sophomore single?
It’s different from Goddess because it talks about co-dependency and it was
originally written in 2020. But I finished the song this year, and I wrote a new verse
with my guitarist, Matyas Csonka. I’m not celebrating the power in me in this one…
It’s about the fear of being abandoned. It’s inspired about how dark your soul
becomes in a narcissistic relationship and how you don’t really know someone until
you live enclosed between four walls with them too. And you could never know
anyways because you were too naive. I know for a fact that some people will tell me
they prefer Goddess over Ghost, because Goddess is more empowering, but Ghost
shows in full transparency my weaknesses and the fears I experienced and it
needed to be released.
11. Mustard has observed that some humans believe in ghosts. Other do not. How do you feel about ghosts?
I believe in spirits. I had some experiences and I’m spiritual myself. I believe in Twin Flames and star seeds. I thought I was going crazy about some things, but I had a spiritual awakening at the start of 2021 and I talked to my father one day about all of this, and he had some paranormal experiences to share with me so it was validating the way I feel. I do have my own beliefs, but I am not absorbed by it either. I just live my life you know.
12. What does a Mango in Euphoria show look like?
Glitters, leather, feathers !! And me screaming instead of singing most of the times…
Which is not very glamorous, because I wish I was more cute and careful and
professional but I can’t be like this when I let go. This is why… I’m called Euphoria.
13. What’s next for Mango in Euphoria?
A third single… called Hollywood, and an EP.
14. Where can readers listen to your music?
On all the platforms!!
Music Shelf With Mustard 