We were lucky to catch up with OTTO MOSS recently and have shared our conversation below.

OTTO, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

With a few exceptions, I feel like I’ve spent most of my career approaching music the wrong way. I was way too worried about how my music would be perceived by others and those concerns would contaminate my writing process and ultimately keep me from making anything that really hit the mark personally. I felt like every thing I made had to be a hit or had to have this specific intentionality – otherwise I was just wasting my time. The fun just disappeared and so did my drive.

Come November 2020, I decided to quit music altogether. It was a not a light decision and I spent maybe a week mourning a huge part of my identity before I received an email from a label called Future Gods asking me to produce some of their artists – and that pretty much changed everything. FG allowed me to connect with new collaborators that helped realign my authenticity and provided a lane through which to release those collaborations. I found new joy and and was somehow able to reignite the playfulness for the creative breakthroughs I needed.

All of this new insight showed me that my approach to producing was missing something important. Growing up, I spent most of my time playing in a handful punk and metal bands. I graduated high school and spent the next decade or so in a van, putting out records ands touring the country playing shows with my best friends. We spent so much time working on our craft and developing our sounds that we always ended up becoming close friends and as I reminisced, it finally clicked – that is what had been missing. So I started really leaning into my collaborations as full projects with real scope. This allowed room to build trust and experiment – even if it ended up being trash, we got there together.

So for the last few years, I’ve specifically only been focusing on projects that are meaningful me and that’s a privilege I don’t take for granted.

I connected with London artist, 03CAS, and had the honor of executive producing his first LP “The Imposter”.

I’ve been working with NYC-based artist, THISMINORITY, for the last year or so and we are finally making stuff we are happy with. It took some time and energy but the trust was always there so it was easy to meet in the middle.

I’ve also been working with San Diego-born artist, Negative Shawdy, and we started out making cloud trap-type songs before stumbling on a yet-to-be released Hyperpop influenced project that we are both f*cking gassed about. More info to come – but she’s so amazing is going to big, big things. Watch.

These are all artists that I deeply admire and with whom I’ve become close friends in the process. Making good art with someone requires not only vulnerability, but a certain comfort in vulnerability that is not easy to come by. So when it happens, dive in because special things come from it.

Meaningful is all I have room for.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a producer, songwriter, and performer based in Baltimore. Much of my early career was spent playing in various DC punk & metal bands and touring the country on various releases before moving to NYC in 2016 where I discovered my affinity for hip hop and electronic music. I dove in head first and really shifted my focus from performing to helping artists develop their sound in the studio.

Lately, my focus is split between three lanes:

– Hip Hop / Electronic: working with artists like Negative Shawdy, THISMINORITY, 03CAS, solo material, etc.

– Heavy music: Mass Ego (blackened hardcore) and Mount Fake (bedroom doom). Both started as studio projects but are now materializing into full, active bands.

– Folk music: I am currently finalizing a full length folk album of earnest, acoustic songs (with a touch of sarcasm) of which I’m really proud. I’m calling the genre “crybaby americana” which is both tongue-in-cheek and accurate.

I like to consider myself well-rounded and always put art first. I’ve made music for free (or worse) for my whole life so I figure I might as well do it my way.

Authenticity is key and my motto tends to be style over everything.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Yeah for sure – make music that I would want to listen to. For a long time, I was way too influenced by how I thought my music would be perceived during the writing process. For me, that was paralyzing. It took the joy and playfulness out of the process and I would end up with sterile, uninspired songs that didn’t represent me as an artist nor the intentionality behind them. It was frustrating and I had no idea how to change it.

After some time, I figured out an exercise that helped shift my perspective: make trash. Not everything is going to be a hit and it’s unsustainable to work as such. So, just write – especially if it’s trash. The exercise alone will help so much in the long run since you’re working out those muscles you use when you do end up coming across those hits. Writer’s block doesn’t exist if you just write through it. Let go of the notion that everything you write has to be good because that’s just not realistic – write trash. Then write more trash. Throw it away if you want, but the act of writing without expectations and ignorant standards has been one the most important things for me as an artist.

From there, I’ve made my most important works simply because I am able to trust my creative intuition. I tend to know what I like and what I don’t, and I don’t question it much anymore.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

It depends, sometimes it’s the process, sometimes it’s the end result. But more often than not, it’s listening to something I made with someone I trust and admire, and just being like “f*ck, we made this”. That is success right there. Money will come and go but the feeling of accomplishment from finishing something real and authentic and inspired – that’s the dream. I get to live my dream every day. As miserable as it can be to be an artist – the emotion and self-doubt, it can quickly and easily get balanced out by that feeling of accomplishment and pride. That’s what it is for me, and I chase it with every track I have the privilege of working on.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_otto_moss

Image Credits
Michelle Capuno