5 day mischon
Words by Jess Morgan & Photos by Annabel McLean
Five days, five artists, five different songs. Five chances to expose the extent of creative genius and the art of collaboration, taken, with typical Misch-ian aplomb, to almost iridescent levels. Charting his progress on Instagram with sound clips and shaky videos, it felt like we were almost a part of the making. We shared in the excitement of each new name and fresh sound to drop and never disappoint. Listening to Beat Tape 2 and Damselfly in the midst of all the 5 Day chaos, there is a sense that with Misch, less is much, much more; the Mischon took this even further, stripping the records back while remaining complex and vibrant, shimmering with a musicality that is not just effervescent bubbles. There is depth over distance: five songs which are expressions of both Misch and his collaborators’ musical character, gritty with layers of experience and inimitable talent, that at once feels complete, but also bursting at the seams with ideas unsung.
If this album was infinite, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, but the sharpness of its concept lies in its restraint. At the end of track three, When You Want to Love with Will Heard (a great musician whose tracks now line many a funky playlist) Misch articulates his feelings around the project, almost a train of subconscious thought musing on the beauty of “letting it happen” as opposed to forcing creativity.
Misch says that the “best shit” he’s made “is stuff that just comes out…in a day or something,” like he’s going back to roots that are grounded in spontaneity and raw feeling for the strings of a guitar or the keys of a piano.
In an echo of Loyle Carner’s records that incorporate coughs, mumbled conversations, and the ping of a text alert, When You Want to Love’s outro suggests that this project is as much about Misch’s state of mind and creative process, as it is about the journey and the final product.
The diversity of the tracks seems considered but not forced: Carmody kicks the whole thing off with her ethereal vocals on Ephemeral Love rising with Misch’s trademark layers of guitar, electronic loop and contagious beat. Then, in Feeling, Novelist’s grime drops confidently into Misch’s wistful guitar, punchy and refreshing; contrasting to Will Heard’s mellow voice that wanders smoothly through the When You Want to Love, easing its way into the penultimate Day which explodes with Kaidi Akinnibi’s fantastic sax. For Carol ends the project like rain falling on leaves, the watery patter like the plucking of a harp, violin- led rivulets interspersed with electronic beeping bringing the project full-circle.
“I’m lucky to have found my release” he says, and what a stroke of luck that was.