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From aux-cord takeovers to unforgettable sunrise sets, MNTRA has carved out a place in the scene where heart, rhythm, and raw energy collide. His sound is a reflection of his journey — from discovering house music at a Desert Hearts party to releasing on Justin Martin’s What To Do label. As a DJ and producer who thrives on emotional connection and musical exploration, MNTRA brings an unfiltered honesty to his sets, often packed with fresh, unreleased gems. In this interview, we dive into his evolution, the stories behind the sounds, and what’s next on the horizon.
You’ve mentioned building a crew of fans, friends, and fellow artists. How important is community to you in the underground music world?
It’s been the whole key to everything I do. This path is incredibly hard, and most of it I had my closest friends by my side. As I got older & time went on, you see so many people fall into the potholes of this industry. Drug use, ego, sex, alcohol, laziness you name it – it’s at every corner. On top of all that, so much of this journey requires a level of perseverance – you don’t see it when you start but there really isn’t much money in what we do either until a much later point in our journey. The only way I even got this far was relying on and being a part of this ever growing community of music lovers, party throwers, artists, creators and dreamers in the west coast underground scene. So many of us grew up seeing the possibility for something more, to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. I think without tapping into this energy & seeing my place in this community around me, I wouldn’t have the courage to keep going.
Your music evokes a visceral response from audiences. How do you create that strong connection through your sets and productions?
This is such a tough question – because it’s not something that is easy to describe. I suppose it’s an internal feeling in & out of the studio. I’ve always been a pretty emotional & sensitive dude – I get offended even if no one is offending. I started to bottle up so much and pretend to be the guy that was happy all the time, but things just weren’t sitting right. As I started to turn inward and seek change in myself, the music started to do the same thing. I asked the same questions of my songs, my chords, and the lyrics. I just wanted to unapologetically be me – and I guess the sound formed itself from that point.
Can you walk us through the creative process behind your debut album? What themes or emotions were you trying to convey with that project?
It was tough, tear jerking at times but so so so worth it. I was always a fan (weirdly) of big school projects. Getting the index cards and highlighters, using the white board, creating excel sheets and docs – having a full process in my workflow has always been crucial to getting things done. Something was different this time – I had to apply my OCD tendencies to something much more emotional – I had to place structure around art. The story really formed itself, and it was created out of my own life experiences. Big shouts to my creative director and manager Zoe Shanks for being such a crucial piece in how this all came together.
The album, titled “Hey, How are You?” was just that. It was really hard for me to answer how I was doing when I wrote most of this music – I was struggling to say the least. The album addresses a journey we find through the stages of love – the initial friendship, to a deeper love ultimately leading to self discovery. The album pairs with an animated movie so be sure to check it out!
After the success of your debut album and remix compilations, how do you plan to push the boundaries of your sound moving forward?
Stay tuned – I’m not even really sure. All I can promise is that I will continue to explore my heart & hopefully some people will resonate.
With your fall and winter tour on the horizon, how do you keep things fresh for yourself as a performer during such a busy tour schedule?
To stay inspired on the road, I live as much of my life as possible in between studio time & try my best to capture the emotional story of my current existence in the studio. I finally got a laptop, so I’ll be writing on the road for the first time ever. Lots of new stuff, and so much more new emotion & excitement to boot. Staying fresh is going to be a fun challenge this year.
