Interview by: Lexy Fields
Words by: Lexy Fields
Danny McCook, better know as the artist Saint Mesa, has risen above the troubles that plagued him to create a brand new sound for the scene. At 17, McCook began a three year long journey hospitalized with an undiagnosed disease that took a trip out of the country and 11 surgeries to beat.
“My music is 100% influenced by the whole ordeal,” McCook said. “It allowed me to figure out where my head was at and it was therapeutic for me to see out of that fog.”
Each song he writes and performs has the heart and soul of Saint Mesa in it. McCook claimed that this experience influenced his worldview and outlook on life which, in turn, inspired his EP and the upcoming album. “Jungle” is his absolute favorite single simply because of how it came to be.
“We kind of put our money of the weird, unique song out of the group,” he admitted. “It was a very physical and tangible process unlike some of the other songs. The producers and I just messed around, banging on drums and such, and played what felt right until we got ‘Jungle.’”
“I think it is the perfect introduction into what is on the horizon for Saint Mesa,” McCook said. “The root of the whole project is the blending of acoustic and electronic, synthetic and organic to create a new sound where you can’t tell where one ends and the other begins.”
This is the first tour for Saint Mesa and shockingly, McCook said that he had only played three shows before starting the tour. He had never sung in front of people before starting this project though he had originally kickstarted his career by doing some music for sync licensing. Being both satisfying and lucrative for the artist, McCook was able to fund his entire EP by this aspect of his music.
“I think it really revealed to me the potential for how big Saint Mesa could be.”
