MA NI TU is the moniker of electronic musician and sound artist Richard Beet. With influences ranging from early Surrealism to Samiyam, MA NI TU plays with the boundaries between genre and medium.
His surreal work explores multimedia and intermedial forms of expression, centered on scripts that allow video, sound, and text to existing alongside each other; closely related but entirely separate. With no central narrative, MA NI TU invites the audience to immerse themselves and find their own story within the vivid, submerged environments he creates.
Exploring an eclectic essence that is prominent in the detailed soundscapes he launches forth, MA NI TU provides his listeners with “Look Back Lover.” Found as a single released in 2020, we also have the pleasure of navigating around the ambiance transitioning creation on the five-track EP, ‘L’Etoile de Mer Again.’
Making a statement through enticingly soothing atmospheres that dazzlingly take your mind into a representation of the organic landscapes of nature, you just as quickly get pulled into the seemingly weighty push of the bass-forward elements as the musical foundation turns a dime to bring you an intriguing sense of anticipation. With such an intricate overview of these worlds colliding, you can’t help but fully immerse yourself in everything that MA NI TU provides in this genre-defying realm.
Once the hauntingly, charming timbres plant themselves into the composition, we’re offered a particular selection of lyrical motifs that don’t overshadow the depth and texture brought to you in the production virtuoso heard. ‘Lover, won’t you come back lover. Bonafide kind wonder. Look back,’ are the series of words that infiltrate your mind in an impactful manner as you grasp the quintessence of MA NI TU through the abstract advancement of the colorful tenors he portrays.
Fueled by the hypnotic spirit that “Look Back Lover,” conveys, this is only a sliver of what you get to experience on his recently released EP.
Welcome to BuzzMusic MA NI TU. With such a brilliantly crafted track like “Look Back Lover” making a statement, what inspired the nature of this song?
Whilst L’Etôile de Mer again is themed around memory and desire in general, Look Back Lover focuses on being at parties and clubs, and meeting someone and you instantly vibe with each other - the excitement and the sense of adventure in stepping into the unknown with someone. Also, it was partly an excuse to lay down a squelchy bass synth solo because who doesn’t want that?
In your own words, what does this song mean to you? What are you hoping that your audience takes away from it?
For me this song obviously recalls personal memories of sensual, shall we say, experiences with people - for my audience, I hope the track takes them back to their own similar times at parties and clubs. It’s indulgent and that’s how I want people to feel when they listen to it.
What shifted for you when you returned to the music scene in 2016? Have you found a change in your creative process and the overall way that you approach your craft?
In 2016 it was the beginning of a long and painful process of recovering my skills and knowledge in music-making, and even just to get the confidence back which I had when I first started out in the early 10s. I had some pretty horrible experiences of mental and physical abuse in bands and whatnot so it really wasn’t until 2020 that I was finally able to get rid of the voice of anxiety and imposter syndrome (or whatever you want to call it) and just put out a damn record.
What do your listeners have in store when taking in ‘L’Etoile de Mer Again?' How does the concept laced into this project speak on you as an artist?
I regret to say that L’Etôile de Mer again is not full of indulgent bass synth solos - it’s a multimedia experience where they are free to view both the video, ep, and booklet or just enjoy one or the other. As far as the ep goes, it’s stubbornly multi-genre - bouncing between folktronica to ambient to techno and so on. Some people won’t be up for that (and that’s fine!) but there is a method in the madness - the concept is meant to represent our memories - they are constantly fragmenting and changing subtly as we move through life. I think as an artist I am really excited by this concept - to offer something that is not entirely straightforward.
What's next for you?
I need to practice! I am beginning to work out how to reproduce the experience of L’Etôile de Mer Again in a live setting. So I will be focusing on that - maybe release a similar, smaller work in winter. Watch this space.
