Authors: Monika Mytnik and Patrycja Goska, Photos: Monika Mytnik

Monika, as a longtime fan of Mother Mother, has aimed to understand Ryan’s inspirations and his work ethos. On the other hand I – the second interviewer – was intrigued by Guldemond’s perspective on his performative part of work on stage. My goal was also to get to know his views on the use of artificial intelligence in art. We were curious about the current state of such a popular band and whether they would find time for us after the premiere of their newest album Grief Chapter (2024). Finally, in March 2024, just before Mother Mother’s concert, Ryan met with the two of us at a Warsaw venue, named Stodoła.

Patrycja: For starters, could you explain in a few words what this album is about? How was the title conceived? What inspired the themes?

The album explores the themes of death, mortality and grief, but these things are used more as a way to celebrate life and to inspire living more fully and presently. I’m not sure where these things come from. You just start writing, being creative and they suddenly appear – it’s almost like they have a mind of their own. Death was present in our lives in recent years. A friend of mine was going through a lot of grieving – his father passed away and his friends were dying. He’s a songwriter and he’s old himself. I told him he’s in his “Grief Chapter” and he said: that sounds like a good title of a song. After this conversation I started writing and thought it really fit for the album title.

Monika: Grief Chapter is the first album that you have recorded since gaining such a huge audience through TikTok. Did it affect the creative process? Do you feel pressure to satisfy your new fanbase?

I think it affected the process positively. Our fanbase seems to like weird musical arrangements, so it was sort of like: wow, we get to be ourselves, we don’t have to worry about fitting in. It was the best case scenario. If there’s a fear, it’s just a fear of not being good enough. Sometimes I wonder: what if the last good song I wrote, is the last good one? I think many of us feel that way. It has less to do with the audience and business, and more just the fear around it. Then comes the question: has the creative well dried up? The only way you can find out is if you just take the time to open yourself up to the process and see what comes. I think artists shouldn’t worry about whether or not their new album is their best or worst. It’s perfect because it is the representation of the time that you were in. Of that chapter of life. It’s like a diary entry. It’s neither good nor bad. It just is.

Patrycja: You travel a lot, and as you explained, Explode is about the constant need to experience something meaningful, a need that is so huge that it negatively affects you –  if I understood it correctly. How do you cope with the fear of missing out?

When it comes to life, I think that it’s never going to be like how you envisioned it or how you hope it to be. It’s like when you’re on a trip, you can spend all this time imagining what the location will feel and look like; and when you get there it’s totally different. That’s the way life is – you constantly have to negotiate reality with the fiction in your head. When you travel then you expect these two to meet and be the same. They’re never gonna be the same. I’m quite aware that when I reach the end of my life, I’ll look back and say to myself: I wish it was better. There’s an element of surrender we all need to adopt, an acceptance of the fact that life might often feel like a letdown, that’s just the way it goes.

Monika: If you could create your dream music festival, who would you invite? 

I would invite Pixies, Beatles, Led Zeppelin and… Igor Stravinsky. “The Rite of spring” – I’d like to hear that with the ballet as well. 

Patrycja: Wow, that’s very interesting.

Why not, yeah, or some cool dead classical composer. 

Monika: And what about any Canadian artists?

Hmm, maybe like Neil Young. But like young Neil Young, not old Neil Old. 

Patrycja: Wow, I would attend that festival. Would you invite Bjork?

Oh, yes! Definitely! We are often asked who we would like to collaborate with and we answer Björk, because she’s so weird and creative.

Patrycja: In one of your interviews, you spoke about things you do while playing. You mentioned fixing your hair, but you also talked about “channeling your energy”. Could you elaborate? What influences this channeling and how do you feel about that? 

Whether you’re on stage or just in life, you feel like you’re alive when you transcend your ego, mind and identification – you connect to something bigger. It’s like you channel that spiritual energy; it makes you feel like pixie dust, but it doesn’t happen very often. That’s why it’s special. On stage there’s a lot going on, you’re exposed to people’s sightline. The audience sees everything and there’s so much room to make a mistake. It’s easy to fall into the trap of worrying about how you look, move and sound. The more you think about it, the less you are connecting to that spiritual energy, that opens the heart, connects people in a room. It’s like 80% of the time you are a slave to your brain, and then 20% of the time you’re having this transcendental, magical, mystical experience on stage. I wish it was the other way around, but I guess that’s why it’s so special – because it’s rare.

Monika: What makes one concert better than the other for you? Could you explain the difference between the thrilling and the mediocre show?

We try to make the difference not detectable. You kind of have to be able to fake it good as a performer. You cannot ever put on a bad show. Ideally, the audience wouldn’t be able to tell the difference and say: Oh, they had a better show tonight, because they were more in their hearts and less in their heads. They would just feel it and say: Oh that was special. The room felt alive.

Monika: Yes, it makes a lot of sense. I think it may depend on the audience. 

Of course! We’re all in this together! We’re co-creating. We would be fools to think that we walk into a room and we control the energy. It’s like the three of us right now, we’re creating a feeling together. It’s three equal ingredients to a result and that’s what’s so interesting and exciting about connection and human interaction. It’s always gonna be different. You’re always at the mercy of the chemistry of the people you find yourself with. 

Monika: Our organization was established in the Warsaw School of Economics, which is a business school, so we’d like to ask – from an artist’s point of view –  what are the necessary features of a band manager?

Oh gosh, I’m bad at business. I guess honesty is the best feature of the people you work with. Sharing the same motivation, same vision, is also crucial. Ultimately, why we do this is to be a part of the magic and the medicine that is between a human and a song. As soon as someone on a team starts making it about something else like money, success or fame then you start working against the project. For us it’s just the most important thing that all people are grounded in that same foundational vision of making the world a better place through music. 

Patrycja: In recent years there has been an increase in AI usage. We’re curious where you draw the line when it comes to use of AI in the music industry and visual arts?

I’m not very versed or intimate with AI, and haven’t really been using it for music. But I think whatever you use it for, it should always be a tool. It should be used to enhance and support human vision. I’m excited to see how AI evolves in music, because there’s lots of logistical and laborious stuff that you need to do while making a song that’s not very creative. Like you can just ask AI: edit my drums. Then you save the time and spend it on being creative instead. The short answer is that it should remain a tool, it shouldn’t replace the human spirit of innovation. It should support it.

Monika: With the band’s 20th anniversary coming up, do you have any plans to celebrate the milestone? How does it feel to be in a band for such a long time?

It feels like it hasn’t been 20 years that’s for sure. It’s humbling how fast the time has gone by. We’re proud that we survived, especially because things got great in the last few years. If we quit then we wouldn’t be able to experience all this beautiful stuff. There’s definitely some loosely planned stuff. We need to spend more time establishing the best way to celebrate our anniversary, but we’re not gonna do nothing. It’s too early to say what but I think we’re gonna have something exciting to share. 

Monika: Do you plan to collaborate with former members? 

If they’ll still speak to us, haha, I’m joking. That was a joke. It’s too early to say at this point. We’ll see.

Patrycja: Are there any new faces or other living artists who inspire you currently? 

Yeah, there are two artists who come to my mind – Patti Smith and Nick Cave. I deeply respect artists who approach each moment of their lives with artistry. Both of them create beautiful music. There are other facets like sculpture, photo, book and poetry. It’s like they create a world. You feel like you get close to their essence, you’re just so enriched beyond just music by a sense of pure artistry. And that is what I personally would like to get closer to in life. I want my life and artistry to revolve not only around music. I envision this artistry as an ethos— a way of living and moving through each day, as if the day itself were a canvas.

Monika: We can absolutely feel the artistry from you. I love your solo album and the photographs, they’re incredible. I will take the chance and ask about your solo career – do you have any plans on touring with your own album?
Thank you, that’s so kind. Yeah, I can’t wait to have more time to invest in my own project. Mother Mother keeps me busy, so sometimes I think I’ll just have to wait until I’m an old man to tour with GLDMTH. Maybe that’s when my solo project will be at its best – when I’m an old dude. Like Cave – not that I’m comparing myself to him – but he’s old and he’s thriving; there’s something really appealing about that. I guess, all that to say: I’m not in a rush and at the same time I can’t wait. I think about it every day. But I have to be patient because, right now, there’s this whole other story unfolding, and I gotta respect and honour that.