Mars Baby: Communication is Song

Image shot by @vuyopolson

“I celebrate myself, and sing myself” – Walt Whitman

Music is the primal, eternal language. It is vibration that shapes the universe and sound that connects us. Once one surrenders to the ever-pervading flow of frequencies, communication comes effortlessly and so too the self is expressed.

For Jesse Meintjies, music extends beyond a means of self-expression, it runs parallel to his path of self-discovery. Knowing what you’re capable of and allowing yourself the time and dedication to achieve it, is a worthwhile and sanctified use of the creative spirit, and even more so, your human existence.

“Mars Baby is the one who wants all that, and I’m just along for the ride.”

When music has been your companion since your earliest days, it inevitably becomes a subtle force in your understanding of the world and yourself. Jesse says Mars Baby arrived at a time when he was going through a period of healing.

“I was recovering from a lot of personal issues and trauma. And it was sort of an alter ego that just came to me. I don’t even know where it came from, but it felt like another vibe, you know what I mean... I do think there’s a distinction between myself, Jesse, and Mars Baby.”

But he shaped the foundation of his craft much earlier. Between playing guitar since age 7, gaining a bit of a blues background in the United States and joining the choir in school, Mars Baby slowly found his feet, following Jesse back to Mzansi. It wasn’t until Jesse took a hiatus from his studies that Mars Baby really came to be his musical companion.

Image shot by @vuyopolson

“I kind of just locked in on music. It started with production actually. I fell in love with Hip Hop and R&B production.”

It was through his producing that he met Lordkez. And it was through Lordkez that his decision to move to Joburg and pursue music full-time, became an easy one. And although Jozi gives Mars Baby the essential infrastructure to succeed as a recording artist, Cape Town to him, is proving to be a stomping ground for rising artists and playground for new venues. These artists, however, have been here, but the lack of a consolidated music industry is holding them back. This is changing and the creative souls of Cape Town can feel it.

“But I also feel that back in the day in Cape Town, it was very difficult for me to get out there. I feel like now having come full circle, there’s been a community that has been established here… I think it’s in a transitional phase. I think a lot of things are bubbling up. There’s a lot of cool live music. There are a lot of cool DJ’s. Shit is shifting a lot from like the last time I was here. I think it’s in a good place and I’m happy to see it. I think we just need to keep pushing.”

Mars performing at The Mango Farm // Image by @banelemasekosworld

The production of Mars Baby’s sound is a dynamic, collaborative one; as he grows and develops, so does his music. His latest album, “Handsome Luke & The Heartbreakers” re-explores his singer-songwriter prowess as with his previous EP, “Echoes”. In-between he found a more Hip Hop/R&B oriented sound with EP’s like “Salem” and “Luna”. But as is the way of the artist, he could not remain here forever.

“I don’t like to stay in one world for too long. I love music and I love all of those parts. That’s sort of the way I grew up with a lot of different influences.”

Handsome Luke has been somewhat of a tonal shift from his other work, but the intent has remained the same. Nothing but an internal call to create this album gave birth to it.

“I think I just felt that energy. Nothing circumstantially made me feel like it was the right time to write an album. I just felt like doing it. I felt like I’d grown enough as an artist to be able to do that to my best ability… I was running with that feeling and it actually came out very organically because of that feeling. I didn’t think too much about it, I just put the songs together as they came to me. And it was probably the easiest body of work to make for me because of that reason - because of the difference in the way I approached it.”

In this world there is no balance more delicate than that between light and sound. Within oneself it is the relationship between thought and word. Due to starting out as a producer, Mars Baby’s main challenge was retroactively trying to fit words to the beats he made. This unbalanced approach tired him, urging him to weave his words with his 6-string, keeping his production minimal, allowing his words to truly speak for him.

“And over the past year or so, I’ve really fallen in love with songwriting. I play guitar and that’s where I come from as a musical entity.”

And as these words communicate with the sound, so too does Mars Baby as performer have a conversation with the audience during his live shows. He takes the music he has made and transforms it into a transient moment for him and those listening to enter. And in that moment, in that space, the music becomes the relationship between us.

“The core of the music is the song. But when you perform it live, it takes on a different shape because it’s like a relationship. But for improvisational shows, I’m happy to change up the vibe for wherever I feel like the evening or crowd is going.”

Mars Baby performing at The Sunday Show // Image shot by @vuyopolson

A show Mars did a while back at The Sunday Show in The Obscene Parrot captured this energy beautifully. There was no sense of inhibition in the room as everyone sang and swayed in unison, communicating through song.

Music is the art form that connects us; to others, and to ourselves. Do as Jesse does and embrace the creative force that has followed you since birth. Give it life, allow it some time and create love.