It’s a monumental time for MorMor. The Canadian artist releases his debut album Semblance today, a project that is deeply personal and soulful. The album marks a new dawn for MorMor, after a series of successful singles and two EPs. On Semblance we can hear the artist’s natural evolution as he opens up through introspective lyrics, oscillating bass lines and powerful guitar riffs. MorMor aka Seth Nyquist zooms in from Toronto, where he was born and raised, and spent the last couple of years writing Semblance.

At the end of 2019 coming off a tour, MorMor rented a house in Toronto with the sole purpose of making music in it. “At the beginning we were really focused on curating the space, to get a feel for this new house. Slowly I began making music, really just warming up into figuring out what the album out be. The way I’ve always made music is like you have somewhat of a goal but it takes really jumping in to see what I’m feeling. Then I try not to fight what that feeling is.” 

Writing songs since he was in his teens, MorMor has always felt a pull toward lyrics and poetry. It can be heard on this project, through his clever, contemplative lyrics. On this project it was his writing style that changed the most from previous releases. “My approach to lyrics was more of a conscious decision in trying to keep it interesting. Each song is about what feels right in that moment. I never go into it pre-emptively wanting to make a song for specific reasons. It kind of all just washes over me.” MorMor relates that to the way he consumed music as a child. “Everything was playing, from The Beatles, Wutang, Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Portishead… I really liked what I liked but I was never aware of genres or limited to that or what people looked like. It was always how it made me feel and I try to approach writing in the same way.” The result is a an album that flows beautifully and thoughtfully. 

MorMor’s mother’s involvement in the poetry world (she is both a poet and professor, currently publishing a book) had inspired Mormor’s love for crafting lyrics. “She’s always been fascinated and always been a participant of the poetry community in Toronto. I guess for me she was really a teacher through bringing me to certain events… I think I’ve always been expressive in that way naturally but I was lucky to draw from her as I got older. When I started to get curious in developing my music is when I would take things to her. In terms of our dynamic, it would be be writing something and then bringing it to her and seeing what she thought. It’s great to have someone to bounce ideas off of.” 

With the majority of Semblance written during the pandemic, MorMor felt a reprieve from isolation through sharing his work with his mum. In some ways, he felt less protective and appreciative of other people’s opinions because he began to form a better sense of what his opinion of his work was. “With the first two records there was no involvement. I kept things really close to the chest until it was finished. I am very particular about what energies are around. I was really protective. When I was younger I felt I didn’t really want people to sway me into a direction without completely understanding me and my style. This album is where that differed because of the pandemic, as my engineer got locked out of the country. Thinking back, I was so isolated and dealing with a lot of anxiety. Spending so much time alone, it was another means to communicate with someone [my mum] every day. It was being able to workshop stuff… I think just knowing that she appreciated my previous works and when she critiqued them she did it in a way that run true to me and inspired me. So I develop that trust with her. It gave me the confidence when she then appreciated [my work on this album].”

Creating the album alone, depended MorMor’s production and engineering skills. “A lot of the sound design was me manipulating sounds one they were recorded. I think there’s a part of me that now knows I have to be involved at every step of the way. Even levels, blends, instruments on a track. Especially sonic palettes. I find it very specific to how those things make me feel.” After spending his early twenties on YouTube searching tutorials on engineering and sound design, the benefits of this knowledge have proven golden. “I’ve been fortunate to interact with people at the right time to get some help. So, even when I am working with someone else I can instruct them using their language, being able to communicate specifically to them. I don’t tracking and I don’t enjoy being at the computer anymore, so I eventually want to let go of that completely. But I guess I will always be across every part of the process.”

Born and raised in Canada, MorMor has hopes for the next generation of musicians coming out of Toronto. “I feel I resonate more with London or New York as an inspiration, as far as the tempo and the music that comes out of there. But I’m excited for the next generation. It’s been great to have such major artists come out of here but I think the artists represent more of an American ideology than a Canadian ideology. Maybe always been the case, because even with Joni Mitchell and Neil young they were more so part of the LA scene. We don’t really have that identity yet. The younger generation is a little bit more free form all that. I’m interested to see what comes out of that because they have the opportunity to experiment. Maybe that’s the beauty of it and what’s interesting is the progression of now being able to draw from everywhere else. I think it’s been limited by the artists that are really major right now but I think in the next wave people are thinking globally not just in terms of success but in terms of where they’re pulling inspiration from.”

As Semblance is released into the world, MorMor is continuing to explore his sound, already months into working on his sophomore album. When asked which song on the album perhaps points to where he’s at now, he says it is Lifeless, the minimal, intimate, soft yet driven sixth track. “I’m developing what my next project is but I think that really inspired me to do something different. I think I really explored synthesis a lot on this project as well, and production, detail. I’m sure I will get into it on this next project. But I’m interested in more organic instruments.” And as he gears up for a North American tour at the beginning of 2023,MorMor is reflective of what he’s gained over these last few years working on Semblance. He hopes it feels authentic and that his work continues to be interesting, for both him and the listener. “I think the big thing with making an album as a debut it’s given me confidence to trust the process. There are a lot of ups and owns an things come in waves, that can also drive anxiety and make it very difficult. I’ve already written a lot of music and trust that everything will arrive when it’s meant to be. Writing this project really gave me the confidence to keep going.”

Listen to Semblance HERE.

@mormor.mormor.mormor

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