For the average 15-year-old, life is still pretty simple. They might pass their time on TikTok , learn how to drive a car, or get a low stakes after-school job. For prodigal producer Moore Kismet , their day-to-day isn't all that different—just add playing high-profile livestream concerts, traveling for gigs, and consistently making trailblazing music. This week, the artist can also tack on the release of their third EP, Revenge of the Unicorns.
Out Friday, August 14th via Never Say Die , the six-track EP includes the previously released "Flair," featuring Momma Kismet , their mother, "Adore" with Leotrix and "Duplex" with VOLTRA . EDM.com is proud to premiere a fourth track today titled "Self Expression," a show-stopping, electro funk-infused anthem about love and personal acceptance.
"This song is just dedicated to being true to self and not hiding it at all for anyone" said Moore Kismet. "The night I wrote it, the project file name for it is 'Holy F*ck' because I just could not believe that I had written this song. That was my exact thought process: How did I write this? What could I possibly have done to make something this good?"
"Self Expression" is just one example of the lighter, more personal side of Moore Kismet we see in ROTU . The new project pivots away from their past tracks, like 2019’s “Escape” or “Mutant” with SHARPS , that have been quick to get down and dirty with trap synths and breakdowns. While those dark, bass-driven elements remain in "Duplex" and under the radar in "Adore," songs like "Flair" and the unreleased "Snowcloak" with shibuya. instead champion bold explorations of bright, fantasy dreamworld soundscapes decorated with quirky, unconventional original sonics.
Hidden underneath these novel sound design techniques are deeply personal storylines, turning each song on ROTU into an unmistakable microcosm of the characteristics engrained in Moore Kismet’s very being. From outgrowing their seven-year-old self, who played with FL Studio on their mom’s laptop, to then coming out as pansexual and non-binary to family and friends, to now making music truly for themself, ROTU takes a step back and reconciles these events into a cohesive, inspired listening experience, Moore Kismet said.
"It's essentially telling a story of the most significant moments of my life that have never left my mind and have always stuck with me," Moore Kismet said. "Writing music of things that go on in my life, that’s my coping mechanism for things. That’s how I’m able to express how I feel."
It's this unique ability to internalize and rework events into instrumental-heavy music that sets Moore Kismet apart. Drawing a sharp contrast to EDM artists reliant on sweeping melodic drops and heartfelt lyrics to express their feelings, Moore Kismet manages to craft emotional depth in their music without needing to obviously amplify each song’s meaning.
Instead, a read-between-the-lines approach to ROTU reveals profound conclusions about a world that tends toward homophobia and transphobia, and that often turns away or tokenizes individuals who fall outside the accepted norm—an experience Moore Kismet knows all too well, they said. The unreleased "Convulsion Therapy," for example, takes a nuanced, self-reflective tone to convey an ongoing identity-related struggle with a family member, they added.
"My job is to make myself and others feel happy, and I’m not going to feel happy or be happy if I don’t get this off my chest in some way,” Moore Kismet said of "Convulsion Therapy."
"I realized I shouldn’t continue to let people’s words have an impact on my identity and how I feel about myself," they later concluded. "I was fortunately able to make it through being criticized and being scrutinized for my identity and sexuality, ultimately realizing this is who I am. I can’t change anything about who I am, and I’m happy with it."
One clear lesson can be gleaned from ROTU , and from Moore Kismet’s body of work as a whole: This level of emotional maturity does not come easily. It is triumphantly grown from self-love and a humble understanding that, sometimes, you just need to dance it out and stay positive with songs like "Self Expression."
With a tentative mid-2021 release schedule in place for an upcoming sophomore album, the sky’s the limit for Moore Kismet. They are even pursuing a dream job career path in screenwriting, working on an adult animated series titled Stargazers . In doing so, they hope to increase LGBTQ+ representation across the entertainment industry as a whole, fulfilling a longtime goal and forging yet another path for young creatives to come, they said.
"I pour my heart into everything that I do. And that's what I do, is tell stories about my life, my friends and things going on in my life and in my mind," Moore Kismet said with a smile. "I just view myself as an artist trying to do something different and bring something new to the scene."
FOLLOW MOORE KISMET: Facebook: facebook.com/moorekismetbass/Twitter: twitter.com/MooreKismetBassInstagram: instagram.com/moorekismetbass/Spotify: spoti.fi/2PQXxrT
