Josh da Costa and Jamen Whitelock‘s project CMON returns this week with a new single entitled “Zoo” off the duo’s upcoming debut LP Confusing Mix of Nations due out April 3rd via Mexican Summer. The acronym/album title has a particular resonance for the two. Originally derived from the name on a divider in a record storage space, de Costa explains:
“There was a section of world music called “Confusing Mix of Nations. Taken literally it sums us up perfectly. I was born in NYC and partially raised in Brussels by parents who are from the Carribean, while most of my family lives in Amsterdam; and Jamen is half-Taiwanese from Miami.”
CMON’s musical beginnings are tied into the history of their previous project, the NYC experimental group Regal Degal. While that band had enjoyed a degree of cult success, and the project had opened doors to meeting other like-minded artists like Geneva Jacuzzi, Ariel Pink, John Maus, and the legendary Italian musician Franco Falsini, both da Costa and Whitelock felt the need to extend their reach from the narrowing confines of their DIY scene. Thinking back on the situation, de Costa explains:
“We had our little world and it was like we were these cavemen huddling around this fire that only we really understood. At the end of the day, that was a betrayal of making art—we were guarding this thing, like it was our secret.”
As time progressed and scenes changed, Regal Degal found themselves moving down the bill in favor of DJs and a more dance-oriented approach. Impressed by the communal vibe and physical expression of dance, both da Costa and Whitelock were ready for something different. Whitelock explains:
“There’s such joy in going out and dancing that was completely missing in a lot of shows, especially in New York. Nobody wants to move, everyone’s too self-conscious. But when you go to the club, everyone’s in it—you just want to dance, and that’s all that matters.”
With the disbanding of Regal Degal, both members were now free to pursue a new course. While Whitelock stayed in New York, his head blown open by the Footwork pyrotechnics of Chicago’s DJ Rashad, da Costa found himself back in Los Angeles. Using Abelton to learn programming and production, soon the two were working on music again. Confusing Mix of Nations is the result. Recorded at a number of small private studios in Los Angeles, the tracks on the LP are a collection of moments in time colored by the people and place around, as well as the pair’s myriad musical influences filtered through the lens of their dance-oriented approach.
On “Zoo,” moody but warm atmospherics mix with a propulsive beat while shards of refracting guitar and woozy vocal melody dart between the swaying leaves of a lemon tree. Discussing the track’s inspiration, da Costa offers:
“The zoo in question is right across the street from where my grandmother lives in the Caribbean. It’s a strange, shady place with a sad energy on an otherwise idyllic island. Both bleak and mystical. The combination of sunshine and weird vibes is a source of great inspiration – I get plenty of both in LA, which is why I live here.”
