Munashe (he/him) a.k.a. Xmunashe, is a 25-year-old artist, musician and, in his own words, “Sonic Bender.”
For Munashe, making music is about more than sound. He bends and manipulates audio to provoke emotion, thought and feeling. While he’s been working publicly as an artist for the past three years, music has been part of his world since he was 10, beginning behind the drums and growing up playing in church every Sunday.
Zimbabwean-Australian, born in Gaborone, Botswana, and now based in South London, Munashe has called more than a few places home. From Botswana and Zimbabwe to Australia, Switzerland, France and now the UK, constantly moving through different cultures and communities has shaped the way he sees people, identity and the world around him.
A child of hardworking Zimbabwean immigrant parents, his practice carries all of those places, experiences and perspectives with him — bending sound, feeling and everything in between.
1. What are you currently working on, and what feels most exciting about it right now?
I’m currently working on an Album.. I have two mixtapes yet to release I’ve finished which are great. and Now my focus is making THE body of work .. feels funny to say that when the other haven’t come out yet but you’ll see what I mean. It’s my most collaborative project working with different groups of musicians from Paris , London and Australia.. usually I work solo so this has been fun to put a super team of musicians together to make something.
2. What’s been taking up the most space in your mind lately?
How can I have a routine while I’m travelling a lot. I was in Perth for the first 4 months of the year and had such an amazing routine, bike ride along the coast in the morning, read for 30 mins, journal, make breakfast, make music, call a friend.. I had a proper schedule and this felt incredible for my overall mood. The last few months following have been chaos, and I feel I have 1000 tabs in my brain open… I’ll be eating a sandwich on a train from Amsterdam to Paris and remember I forgot to reply to my aunty two weeks ago or so. I don’t like it. I need to make an effort to feel on top of my things and present in my life while travelling. Can all become a blur quickly? Also, I met a woman in Paris a few weeks ago. I hate how much I’ve been thinking about her but it’s cute.
3. How many “drafts” do you usually make before the final version?
Over 10 easily, I listen to the songs I’m making and scrutinise them over months and years to make sure anything that doesn’t feel “timeless” to me is removed, any melody that gets tired after a few weeks or any chord progression that starts to feel repetitive. I make a lot of versions of the same song too and see which fits the best.
4. What are you currently drawn to visually, emotionally, or creatively?
Anything avant-garde, anything weird everything boundary pushing. The music I’ve been listening to has all been somewhat experimental.. Melody’s Echo Chamber, Salami Rose Joe Louis, Alice Coltrane .. left field things have been inspiring me. I love a somber tune idk why feels like a hug, love melancholy.
5. Where do you find inspiration? How do you know it’s a good idea worth trying?
Everywhere I guess? Conversations with my mum about seeing a beautiful mountain. I guess a lot of my lyrical inspiration comes from whatever ideas and philosophies I’m thinking about at the time + whatever emotional towards certain people or certain expertness im feeling. Every idea is with trying, you never know until after the fact. Ill make something and wake up and listen to it the next day and wish I could have the the 5 hours I spent on it back. I never go into creating with ideas.. I hate when I’m working with someone and they say lets make this or that type vibe .. thats not how I do things. I respond to the day or the moment I’m in if that makes sense. I always sit down and make music with no plan and see what is going to come out of me today.. or what will be bestowed upon me today.
6. What’s been challenging you the most lately, and how are you navigating it?
hmm My life has been pretty chill and comfortable the last few months THANK GOD. My brain is almost like hmm shits too sweet right now and is looking for chaos and I’m like brain stop just enjoy. Idk if that makes sense. SO my brain is challenging me perhaps. And also what I said before about travelling and feeling out of sync and like a mess.
7. How much of your process is intuition vs how much of it is discipline?
Hmm, I wish I was better at articulating myself but, the two of those things aren’t separate. Sure most of what I do is based on intuition. Whether playing live its all intuition, and in the studio it all starts as intuitive ideas but without the discipline I’ve had to my music over the last ten years I wouldn’t know how to intuitively create as well as I do? I think you need both. It’s all intuition and all discipline. Even the discipline I had learning the piano and practising allows me to go on stage with no plan and intuitively create piano parts because I do it daily by myself at home and have done so since I was young.
8. What’s something you’re proud of at the moment that people might not see?
I be running half marathons by myself sometimes and don’t even post it on Strava and don’t even post it on Instagram (although sometimes I have to fight myself not to). I have posted one on Instagram before, though. lmao.
9. What are your practices/rituals to get you into a flow state?
Not gonna to lie.. a quick 3km run an hour before I play + doomscrolling for 5 minutes before we go on stage is an undefeated combo for live shows. In the studio, usually roll a spliff, drink lots of water and we’re good to go.
10. If you had an unlimited amount of money, what would you create?
My own country.. would have just friends and family there. Everything would be free for everyone. There’d be a community hall where we meet up twice a week for a massive dinner feast then the rest of the time everyone does their own things.
