Mura Masa is Forging a New Connection with The Club

In the music video for Mura Masa's "Whenever I Want," a rotating cast of young, gurning ravers takes turns in the spotlight, moving freely on a spinning wheel set up in the middle of the dance floor. The words "I'm Allowed To Fuck Up Whenever I Want" flash in bold on the screen, encapsulating the DIY spirit of Alex Crossan's new album, Curve 1, his fourth longform endeavor as Mura Masa, and his most club-focussed record to date. For the video, Crossan invited a diverse group of people, including fans, friends, and family, to join him in a lively social hall located in South London. Quickly, the atmosphere shifted into an impromptu and lively party as everyone came together.

"I think it translates into a genuine moment, rather than something contrived, overly thought about or kind of manipulative," he says. Dialing in from his home in Peckham, the 28-year-old exudes a strong sense of self-awareness and confidence in broadening his work beyond producing and songwriting to include DJing, creative directing, managing his label Pond Recordings and countless other things ("a gardener and enjoyer of furniture," he jokingly adds).

One label Crossan has always happily identified with is as a keen observer of contemporary culture. "​​Nowadays, everyone's in this kind of constant state of dilettantism," he muses. "One week you can be a model, the next you can be an actor. At first, I was like, 'I don't like how people are just getting in and out of these disciplines, no one's putting the work in', that kind of thing, but that's a very bitter old man take. I think it's really beautiful that everyone can try their hand at those creative disciplines."

Hailing from Guernsey, Crossan rose to fame during the Soundcloud era as one of its most prominent producers. Hits like 2016's "Lovesick" featuring A$AP Rocky and PinkPantheress' "Boy's a Liar" in 2022 cemented his place in the pop world, earning him multiple award nominations and a Grammy. Throughout his ten-year career, he displayed a knack for predicting music trends and staying ahead of the – no pun intended – Curve. 

Wanting to break from his self-titled hit debut album in 2017, he dropped R.Y.C. in 2020, a moody, pop-punk crossover, released on a hunch that guitar music would make a comeback. Soon after, a wave of producers – isolated in their rooms and tired of digital screens – picked up guitars and rebooted band projects. His third album, 2022's Demon Time, fused 2-step, garage, reggaeton and featured a long list of big-name artists. But for his fourth album, Crossan was eager to delve deeper into more uncharted territory.

Curve 1 is gritty, rough around the edges, and contains longer tracks than his previous records. As he began DJing more over the past year, Crossan felt compelled to create songs with more club utility. "That was a new frontier for me," he explains.

"Rise" feat. NADIAH is a 4/4 deep house anthem with a bassline flip by Special Request, while the breezy UK garage stepper "Still" conveys the emotional core that consistently underpins the Mura Masa sound. From the Skins-esque confessional single "Drugs" to Panorama Bar-style house seductions ("SXC") to sleazy electroclash ("We Are Making Out," featuring vocals by yeule and a bassline sassily punctuated with a whip-like kick), Curve 1 is "a love letter to club music," encapsulating the cinematic qualities of a night out. Crossan reflects: "I was wondering what it would sound like if I made records with these kinds of parties and these scenarios in mind."

To this end, Crossan started playing around with more gear than any of his previous records. He even drew on the notorious Amen Break in his productions – a first for him. "I was less scared this time around to use [cultural] touch points like that. For music to be useful and evocative in a club setting, you need those kinds of invitations and rhythmical signposts to let people in."

Despite this, Curve 1 avoids trodding down an all too familiar path. The album's title comes from a catchphrase between Crossan and his friends, describing the act of consciously sidestepping attention-grabbing developments in culture that regurgitate what's already out there: algorithm pop? Curve 1. The new Marvel franchise movie? Curve 1. AI art? Curve 1.

"It's not even apathy; it's like a sort of active dismissal of things that don't serve us and aren't in the market of making us happy," Crossan asserts. "Everything is so advertorial and so pulling the levers of nostalgia and trying to bait you in. I don't want to occupy my brain with that kind of corporate mess."

Similarly, leaving behind his major label backing and launching Pond Recordings allowed Crossan to experiment with his sound more freely. "I couldn't be happier to be fully in control of what I want to do now. I think there's a renewed healthy skepticism towards the music industry."

Unlike the Gen X punks of yore however, who publicly railed against mainstream currents in culture, Crossan and his peers choose to simply drown out the noise. After all, young people today have more pressing issues to deal with. "Now, when we think about the future, it's just like: the world is going to end, there's too many billionaires, Covid just happened. It's hard to be optimistic, and that's why people look to nostalgia, but I think the more noble pursuit is to try your best to imagine what it looks like to pursue happiness given the modern context – or despite it."

Raving against the nostalgia machine, perhaps? "Yeah, I'm super against that. There's this thing that journalists sometimes do where they talk about how club nights are, ‘like a portal into an idealistic world that doesn't exist',” he says, adopting a playfully heady tone of voice before landing back on his regular pitch. "It's like, no, this is actually happening right now. People are creating spaces that are free and enjoyable and focused on pursuing euphoria."

More than ten years may have passed since Crossan uploaded his first song to Soundcloud, but the idea that his music can serve as a soundtrack to people’s real, lived experiences keeps things exciting for Crossan. "What's important to me when making music now is to try to get as close to the purest way to genuine connection." Besides DJing (recent stints have included a surprise back-to-back with James Blake at a CMYK club night in New York and an appearance in Berghain with the Berlin club label Live From Earth), Crossan's focus now lies in cultivating a sense of community. Pond Recordings is due to open a new creative space in South London, and online, he’s built up a digital network of friends and peers who swap creative resources and cultural recommendations. "I think the future is about this secret language you can develop with other people using culture as a touchpoint."

Mura Masa's album Curve 1 is out now via Pond Recordings. Listen below and buy it on Beatport.