Moore Kismet is no doubt an absolute star and is one of the most influential trailblazers in electronic music today. Despite only being 17, they’ve already accomplished incredible feats that other artists dream of achieving. Moore Kismet’s success is entirely hard earned and well deserved. Despite their young age, there were still plenty of trials and tribulations that they had to overcome. Nothing was an easy handout. Having experienced so much, Moore Kismet spoke with incredible depth, humility, and thoughtfulness. Moore Kismet’s positivity is infectious, as they remind us that bad days don’t mean that it’s a bad life.
Moore Kismet Speaks with Respect My Region About Balancing Their Life as a Normal Teenager and an EDM Superstar
(interview edited for clarity)
RMR: First of all, I just want to congratulate you on all your success the last three years. You’ve come such a long way and made incredible progress. I remember seeing your Spotify Wrapped post that shows 600 thousand listeners in 2019 to 6 million this past year.
Moore Kismet: That was just so wild to see. I was really, really happy. I’m just very grateful that people enjoy listening to my music that much, and the growth was really amazing to watch and witness.
You’ve been doing music for a while. Often, it’s hard to see any sort of immediate success in the beginning. How did you stay persistent and motivated? Because the first couple years you’re making music, you’re just putting music out there with little direction.
For me, I launched like three different artist projects before Moore Kismet and none of them really worked out to my favor. I ultimately just decided to try and do my best to make something that was more suitable to me and just pretty much experiment however I saw fit. Ultimately, that’s what Moore Kismet became, and that’s where it has evolved to now.
The first couple of years, I was just putting stuff out on SoundCloud primarily. Then, I met a friend who helped me release my first major single on a streaming platform. That was truly crazy because I had to download Spotify for Artists to claim my profile, and I saw that people were actually streaming the songs.
I’m just freaking out about how much has happened in that time since. If I could go back and tell little me that all of this would be happening right now- even if it’s not always what you’re looking for, it’s still happening regardless. This is what you wanted, and you should be happy, and you should be proud of yourself for making it this far. I’m just very, very grateful and very happy and excited for the future.
I think your music has a very unique sound. How did you find your sound and were there any musical influences that inspired it?
Oh, absolutely. I was inspired by all of my influences. And I wanted to figure out what I could do and then test the limits of what I could do. Then, proceed to break free from that and explore outside of my comfort zone. My biggest inspirations, especially now, include Beyoncé, Halsey, Megan Thee Stallion, Lizzy Mcalpine, Chloe Moriondo, Boombox Cartel, Audien. There are just so many people I listen to on a daily basis that truly inspire me.
Even my own friends are people that continue to inspire me on a daily basis. Both of them have inspired me in so many different ways and have allowed me to continue to learn more about music production in different ways, producing different genres, and experimenting more with my sound design.
Watch Moore Kismet “Wasteland” Music Video
You’ve broken some records for being one of the youngest artists to play a couple venues and festivals, including Red Rocks, EDC Las Vegas and more. What other milestones are you working towards?
I definitely want to be the youngest person to play a main stage at Coachella. As of right now, I’ve only just played Do Lab. That was also amazing, and it was my first time being on the Coachella grounds. But now I want to perform at one of the main stages, because I think that would just be absolutely phenomenal. I would get an opportunity to really showcase who I am as a creative and who I am as a performer. It wouldn’t just be DJing- it would be me doing choreography, rapping, and trying to sing live.
The Balance Between High School and a Music Career
I know you just finished school. What was that like? You were balancing school full time, with a whole music career ongoing simultaneously. Was it a Hannah Montana kind of lifestyle?
Kinda, yeah! Because I didn’t really tell many people about it until I graduated. I knew that I had to do that because otherwise people would completely treat me differently. Hateful spirits would act all “goody goody” with me to try and snatch backstage passes to a festival I’m playing. I’m not giving them that power. So, I just did my own thing.
Did you ever have to tell teachers, “Hi, I’m playing EDC. I’m sorry but could I get an extension on this?”
Sometimes I have. My French teacher of three years was one of the only people on campus that I trusted with the secret of Moore Kismet. Sometimes when I knew I would be missing her class, I would just tell her, “Hey, I have to go do a show and so I’m not gonna be here. Can you just let me know what work I’m going to have to make up so I can do it when I get back.”
Otherwise I just say, “Hey, I have a doctor’s appointment. I’m not gonna be here from X to Y, can you give me my work ahead of time so I can finish it and turn it in when I get back.”
And you know those nasty teachers that give you homework over summer break? That happened to me. I had math homework to try and finish up on the way to EDC for the first time. So I had to finish my math homework and render it as a PDF file because my teacher that year was a pain in the ass and refused to let us turn in any physical copies of work.
Navigating school while trying to do Moore Kismet, beyond trying to keep it a secret from people, was very challenging. More often than not, I had deadlines that I had to meet for music related purposes that sometimes I would have to beg my team to let me push back because I was struggling with my homework and trying to get help from friends.
I think that was like a very big thing for me to navigate, but I’m glad that I did it. I’m glad that I graduated. Now, I get to have more time to focus on my creative endeavors.
And having experienced all this, how do you keep looking ahead and not feel complacent? You’ve already accomplished so much. It’s easy to just settle and feel comfortable in your success.
I think for me, I just try to continue to let my music speak for itself. I’ve always enjoyed a lot of the things that I create. I know that not everybody is gonna enjoy certain things, and I think that is kind of what keeps me the most humble about all that I’m doing. My perspective is that I’m gonna continue to do what I love, and I know that there won’t be a lot of people who like that. I just want to live in my truth and be as expressive as I possibly can throughout everything that I create.
Living Their Truth and Reflecting That In Their Music
I know that within the music industry it’s hard to truly be authentic and expressive but still attract a big audience. At any point, has anyone come up to you and said, “Hey, you should maybe brand yourself this way and not reveal this part about yourself.”
Oh, absolutely. When I was about 12 or 13 years old, and breaking out with Moore Kismet, an artist explained to me that the brand that I was creating wasn’t good and that I should let him rebrand me completely. He also did not like the name Moore Kismet and wanted to come up with a new name for me as well.
Obviously, I immediately said, no. I was a smart 13-year-old. And now I’m successful with just being myself and being one with my queerness and loving rainbows and unicorns, as I always have.
Obviously there are some moments in my career and in my life where I feel like I could be doing better or that things are just not going the way they are. But there are days where I feel amazing and wanna continue living my truth and continue creating the music that I enjoy creating.
Those days will always outweigh the bad days, even if sometimes the bad days get to the best of me. That’s just something that I will always 100% stand by.
I love that. You’re not only honest in your identity, but in your music too. It’s passionate with lots of deep and meaningful messages. Whether it’s with like, Vendetta For Cupid or anything else. How are you able to just put out something so raw and so vulnerable out there? And without any fear of judgment too?
I came to an understanding that I have to do it for me, to get that story out, and to let it be my closure on that situation. And then to just listen back on it with fondness and enjoyment because I created that. I got it out. It sounds beautiful, and I get to continue to listen to it and just enjoy it for what it is. I don’t have to dwell on that anymore. Yes, I can think about it because of the song being about it, but it doesn’t mean that I have to dwell on it forever.
I can be unapologetically content and firm in my art and what I create.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned from being in the industry and devoting yourself to your passion?
I’ve just learned that I can’t let negativity get to me. That’s something that I still deal with a lot, but I’ve just ultimately come to understand. There will always be negativity in any creative endeavor that I will ever pursue.
I just ultimately have to realize that my love for this will always and forever be stronger than the hatred and vitriol that people give me for being who I am. And I just have to stand firm in that. I have to just be faithful in the process of what I’m doing.
