Artist on Artist: Maya Law meets Mom Tudie

I met Mom Tudie at the White Horse in Peckham for a midday pint and we caught up about all things music. After working on Gold together, the world was in a pretty heavy Lockdown so we didn’t get much time to hang out. But now a year has passed, and Mom has a whole bunch of releases under his belt. Read on to see us chat about beer, Church bands and post-release disappointment.

1. Hey Mom! Thanks for taking the time to chat! I wanted to start off with an easy one... I’ve spent some time with you hanging out and recording but could you give us a little rundown of what your music is all about for people who don’t know you as well?

I’ve been making music since I was 16, it’s based on trying to blur the line between live and electronic music - using production techniques on live sound. I grew up playing live with my family and stuff so it plays a big part of my music now. This year [2021] I released four singles, one of which was with you and along with those, there’s four live sessions and four visual assets. It was really fun to create everything, during aLockdown, and coming out of a Lockdown.

2. Your Instagram collab’s were a definite source of entertainment for me during Lockdown and a lot of your music is being made with friends, is there any reason behind that decision to collaborate with every track?

I really really like singing, I find tracks without singing boring. That drives me to find people - I can’t do what I want do with a track without a vocalist. Often, I listen to dance music without vocals and think ‘this would slap if it had some vocals on it’ - I’m just a sucker for really nice melodies and singers. The friend part just goes hand in hand really -where we grew up, everyone’s mad talented! Instagram as well is a really easy way to find people, and then through that network it’s really nice to make friends too.

3. As a producer rather than a lyricist, do you feel like you have to let goof some of the control of a tune? How do you navigate the mood/theme of a track without writing lyrics?

I used to find it hard, I have sometimes written lyrics and melody lines for other people to perform. But in hindsight, I just feel like I was squashing people’s creative freedom - like they were doing me a favour in a way. I feel like it’s rude essentially say ‘hey, jump on a track with me but you can’t have any creative control’. So now I’m very happy for it togo anywhere and everyone has their chance to tell their story. I’ve told mine and you can tell yours - that’s a collaboration I think. I definitely used to have a problem with it but I’ve learnt to let that go.

4. I was having a stalk through your Instagram and saw that you did a gig at Tola in Peckham where you had a bunch of guests with you, are you planning another show any time soon? Who are you gonna be bringing with you?

Yes I am indeed. So, I just won this grant with Vice and Paco Rabanne and the context of that grant is that I wanted to do live shows and needed some money to help me. Next year, in February I’ll have a big headline show in London. Somewhere with a similar size to Tola - you’ll be coming, I hope. Similar vibe to last time but a bit more professional.Last time, I felt really bad because I couldn’t pay the band and so I only did two rehearsals and had to rush everything. This time, I have the funds to take my time and pay everyone’s wage. It feels good.

5. You’re a producer and writer and a multi-instrumentalist - what did you start with?

Instrumentalist. It was trumpet when I was seven and drums when I was ten. I was more involved in the live part from a young age because I played in Church loads as a kid. My dad led the Church band and me and my brother were just sort of in it. I got experience playing in front of an audience from a really young age - I remember one of the first times and my legs were shaking so much that, you know the kick drum? It was vibrating. But yeah, then I moved onto production at sixteen.

6. We made ‘Gold’ together during lockdown, were most of your recent singles written and produced in 2020?

It was all in Lockdown. It was weird how Lockdown sort of opened and closed - I did see you in person but it was during the period where we were allowed out. I tried to squeeze most of them in at that time, I went to Brighton twice. It was a good excuse to get out of the house too. I learnt a new way of working when we had remote sessions though - I actually really like working that way. I can give you an instrumental and sort of polish it before I send it. I don’t have to do it in front of you - I find that nerve-wracking. I found lots of positives in working remotely and I’m gradually going back into sessions now.

7. It sounds like 2021 was a busy year for you then! Have you got a personal highlight?

I don’t know, I feel like I’m pretty down about this year like it hasn’t really gone as well as I’d hoped... but I guess that’s real isn’t it! At the beginning of the year, I got a deal from Believe which was really great -it hooked me up with my current manager. It felt really good to have a team around me who really cared about the music. The actual releases,I really enjoyed making them but the release side of things - I thought it would be much more exciting than it was.

8. That’s okay, I think that’s pretty normal and common amongst artists to feel that way post-release, and it’s important to talk about that. I know you from your Soundcloud days when things were pretty chilled for both of us, how does it feel now to have to deal with PR, business strategies, and all the boring shit? Is that partly why you feel this way?

It’s a Catch 22. I quite enjoy creating a piece to release, like what we’ve done withGold.Then working out how to get this package as a whole to people, it always feels like it’s not getting out far enough. Even if it did really well, you’re still thinking ‘so many people put so much hard work into this and it still hasn’t gone as far as you’d like it to’. I think that’s how it is, needing to be professional all the time but not necessarily getting professional results. It’s fine it just means you really need to enjoy the journey, you know? And not be so sucked into the numbers. But when you’re trying to pay bills and you want it to do well for your life and career rather than clout, that’s the hard bit.

9. Can you give us a little taste of the next part of your journey in 2022?

I’ve told a few people that I’m gonna do a mixtape. I kind of just want to put loads of tunes onto a big fat project - they don’t really need to make sense together. More personality, less polished. I’m a producer, I’ve got loads of weird ideas and they don’t always go together. Maybe I should just embrace it, rather than run away from it.

10. And what’s your go-to pub order?

A pint. This is actually a pint-tops. I’m not fussy - just a pint of lager.

Words: Maya Law