Millis Music Magazine with MommaLuv Skytower

My friend Apmel Goosson has been on several of this musician concerts and got hooked and thanks to him I have also discovered her: MommaLuv Skytower. She is an electronic artist with exciting gigs with nice electropop. She's having a very special voice and combined with some raw beat makes her music unique - in SL.

You can read more about her in MommaLuvs website: http://www.mommaluvskytower.com/ - here you can find information about gigs, listening to her music and read the latest news.

How would you describe your music, what style is it?
Predominately my music is avantguard acoustic electronica, which I have deemed Avantronik Mayhem. Much easier to say and remember-or so i think ;)

How long have you been doing music?
I grew up with music and went to a magnet music school, so all of my life.

Are you writing your own songs?
All my own songs are composed, produced, and written by myself. I also do collaborate with other by which lyrics I have written and sang are used and usually I´m in the process involved in final production if some one mixes my vocals into their own creations.

If you do, what comes first when writing your songs, the lyrics or the music?
Each song is different in approach. Sometimes I have lyrics and build music around them and sometimes I´m working on an instrumental and lyrics will magically fall into place.

Where do you find the inspiration for your music?
Life experiences of my own and others. The need to contribute to the wrongs and injustices I see in the world around us, by vocalizing what I perceive as corrections to them. Silly things I may notice in general between humans interacting with one another.

Who are your role models in music?
Nina Simone is top of the list, then Tom Waits, Moby, OrbitaL, Front 242, and many other undergound not so mainstream artists who had tough struggles getting their music listened to by the mainstream.

How long have you played in SL?
Since November of 2010.

Do you also play in RL?
Yes, but have taken a hiatus since my arrival in SL.


What is the difference between playing in SL compared to RL?
Hmmmm......the major difference is not being able to see the audience then not being able to capture my RL expression in my perfomance and the little distractions in local that do not always jive with the performance. Meaning people having random conversations during a performance, that in RL one wouldnt be prived to being up on a stage out of earshot from the audiences conversations. ;)

Why did you join SL? Was it because of your music-making or something else?
Two reasons: friends who were performing here said I shouild try it- so I made an account and didnt see how it would work for me. Then a year later Real Life circumstances put me in a position to give it a try. So I came back in and learned about the SL music scene and gave it a shot.

Which is your favorite venue to play in? Which is your favorite song to perform?
I dont have one favorite venue, however my favorite venues to play in are ones that are respectful to the artist and have a lot of entusiam towards artists in general and work just as hard as the artist does to promote bot. I also like the venues where everyone is interacting and there are not bots or alts pumping up whats just not there.

I do not like venues that act like they are doing the artist a favor and do not like to be approached that way either, nor do I like venue owners or promoters that tell me their money woes. That will definitely not get me to perform in a venue. My thing is this: a venue in SL or RL is there to do one thing: deliver music to the public and with that being said- sometimes there is a financial loss, but no one has to know that nor should the artist have to bare that burden. And for this I shy away from open mics and tip only venues, as several that I have performed in are not worth anyones time because ultimately the venue owners do nothing to promote either. They think rezzing a tip jar and having a host(bot or alt) puts them in the league with other great venues that pay artists and/or guarantee an audience. No artist wants to perform for no one.

Do you remember your first SL gig? Please, tell us about it.
Actually my first gig was at Pop Art Lab owned by CLaus Uriza and broadcasted on Treet Tv. Not the usual lead in to a new artist in SL. It took a few months to prepare and was an unforgetable experience for me and laid the ground work for all my perfomances that followed after. As I was immediately accepted by several of the artist communities active in SL and my shows evolved based on those introductions. Also as a result I am asked to do huge events that include some of SL's Alist.

What are your plans for the future in SL?
To use it as a platform to get my music heard and include it in my future RL gigs.

This time it is a fan who has chosen music videos from Youtube and Vimeo. It´s also him that have taken the pictures in this blogpost. Thanks Apmel!

MommaLuv Skytower from an opening party for Steaming Hot! from Lennart Nilsson on Vimeo.

Thanks Mommaluv for answering my questions and the best of luck with your musical career in SL/RL.