ORIGINAL INTERVIEW:

When it comes to music and artists dropping new records, many like to assume all they do to gear up is listen to their favorites, dive deep into their personal life, get help from outsiders and while all of that is true. For some, like Keith Mosfet, he was influenced by not only the world around him but some of the greatest thinkers and philosophers the earth has ever known. We talked a bit about that, his new album Superficial Hypocrite, an NBC favorite, and more in this quick exchange.

Kendra: Some sing from birth and others find their voice later on in life. What about you? Were you performing songs as a toddler at family functions, enter your realm as a teen, or were you grown before you discovered your talents?

Keith Mosfet: I started playing bagpipes when I was eight, both of my grandfathers played. Then I picked up the guitar around 12 then just started writing songs and ideas. I wasn’t ever really a singer. I just always liked writing music. It was probably more of a coping mechanism that evolved into a lifestyle.

Kendra: From that moment until now you dropped Superficial Hypocrite. Which let’s rewind a second to earlier this year when the title track came out. You noted then how it was influenced by the world we live in and people’s obsession with their social media likes. Since then, Instagram has been experimenting with taking the public likes away. Do you feel you played a part in that? But really, why do you feel we put so much weight on all of that nonsense?

Keith Mosfet: I definitely don’t feel like I had any part in the company deciding to remove likes. But I could see the negative trend in society, the media and myself. We put the weight on these things because it’s designed to be addictive. We instinctively want to be accepted and liked by other people. Then we become addicted to the serotonin boosts in our brains from the likes on our images, art, ideas, butt photos, and selfies. It’s all toxic AF.

Kendra: You go deep with this album, not just on the title track but throughout. You mentioned reading up on stoicism but were there any other philosophies you embraced as well when it came time to write and record?

Keith Mosfet: At the time when I was writing these songs I was reading Marcus Aurelius’ journals and watching YouTube videos on his life. I can’t say that other philosophers didn’t influence me though. I’ve always been keen on learning from people smarter than myself.

Kendra: Again, stoicism played a big hand especially for “What Can I Do?” Penned for your late brother, how therapeutic was it to put the final touches on that song?

Keith Mosfet: It felt good at the time. The acceptance of evil in the world, good people doing bad things, bad people doing good things. I guess we’re all just grey. I don’t have any expectations and I feel solace in the world now.

Kendra: You’re not the only one bringing philosophy to the mainstream. The hit series The Good Place has made fans take notice as well. Do you feel philosophy is something more people should take time to introduce into their lives?

Keith Mosfet: I just want to say The Good Place is a great show. Moral philosophy and the afterlife is such a hard topic to talk about. But the writers did a fantastic job. I feel people should access philosophical ideas to help them in their everyday lives. A show like The Good Place kind of brought those ideas into pop culture without being preachy. Which is brilliant and I can only see benefits to society from that.

Kendra: Right now so many are in holiday mode, but after that – what are you going to be up to in 2020?

Keith Mosfet: 2020 will be a big year for me, I hope. I have many plans and ideas in motion. We recorded an EP over the summer, four songs. I feel it’s the best material I’ve ever done. Very moody Joy Division meets Growlers kinda stuff. I’ll start releasing singles come January. I am also halfway through recording another three songs for an EP I hope to release later next year. Which will be more acoustic, indie pop psych kinda. I’d also love to do a ton of traveling and seeing what the hell the world has to offer.