Mimi Barks: Rhythm Theory
After around five years of defining her sound and style, trap metal artist MIMI BARKS is releasing her debut album THIS IS DOOM TRAP, a dark and experimental representation of everything inside her mind. While it’s definitely an amalgamation of a hell of a lot of work, which is only getting more intense coming up the release, MIMI thrives on this kind of productive chaos, and tells us how excited she is. “There’s a lot going on, but I love it. Gotta catch the wave and just ride it for as long as you can.” The last year has been especially huge for MIMI BARKS, with countless new opportunities and more eyes than ever on every move she makes. Intimidated by nothing, she doesn’t let the attention bother her.
“At the end of the day, I do this for myself, because I have to. I hope it reaches the right people and they resonate with it. I certainly hope that people love and hate it. If they just love it, it’s not worth that much.” With her intense gaze and brutal, grimy lyrics to trap beats and metal guitars, it’s definitely possible that some people just won’t get it. Pushing boundaries and twisting sound to make something electric and unheard of is something MIMI BARKS is used to, and this album takes that further than ever. “I wanted to play around with heavy vocals and auto-tune. That combination is so sexy, and it’s forbidden in metal, but we’re doing it.”
In the kind of disorganised methodology that MIMI BARKS is used to, she flipped the album writing process on its head, writing from nothing but pure emotion, and coming up with the concept and plan later on. It becomes clear incredibly quickly that that writing music and creating art is a form of therapy, and almost a necessity to cope with external factors. “I do believe I can only create out of pain, but I try to not romanticise it. I’m trying to move away from that a little bit, but I find myself throwing myself into the abyss just to create.” Darkness is something that MIMI has never shied away from, citing past traumas and a fucked-up youth, and instead accepts that it helps her create. “It’s not something you can just forget, so it’s easy to tap back into it.” When she writes, she feels a sense of catharsis that you don’t really find anywhere else, and one that she possibly relies on to stay sane. Using writing to get intense thoughts out of her head and onto the paper, it’s not an easy process but one that is worth it, and she explains, “I’m trying to constantly push myself and bring back that flow state, because it’s like being on a drug.” While she might be isolated at the time, people really resonate with and connect to her music, with it helping them in the same way it helps her. “If it’s one man down for like 100 people up, that’s all I can ask for.”
Throughout the album, there is a reoccurring theme of metamorphosis, with the cycle of suicide and rebirth being something that was inspiring the whole process. Underneath the dramatic imagery and provoking lyrics, it tells the story of her mental illness, and the desperation to get better through everything that tries to prevent it. “This album is a constant battle with myself. I’m working on myself, doing the breath work and the meditation, and even though I know the steps I’m having to take to heal myself, sometimes when the anxiety and depression is so real it takes time to make your brain and your heart understand that.”
The album details the constant fight MIMI BARKS battles between self-healing and self-destruction, using uncomfortable and difficult situations to inspire her. From Germany originally, MIMI is in her element in Berlin, a Mecca of techno music with people that understand her, where she is able to fully embrace the community. So for her, moving to London was almost an act of self-harm, pushing her to something that was unfamiliar and changed her life completely. “I’m drawn to situations like that, I’m working on that too. I’m drawn to toxic relationships and challenging situations in a positive way. I do believe that everything negative that happens is just a lesson. That’s what motivates me.” This cycle is woven into the fabric of the album, the constant tearing down and rebuilding of her life to discover more and more about herself.
Though MIMI BARKS isn’t necessarily connected to any religion, and regularly uses themes of Satanism in her work, she has a sense of spiritualism that helps to explain everything she goes through, turning them into life lessons. Using the ideas of universal laws and that everything happens for a reason, becomes kind of untouchable. “After that principle, there’s actually nothing that can destroy you or your ambition, and everything is possible.” This explains a lot of the darkness that she feels, which comes through in her music and aesthetic, as it is something she can use to her advantage, rather than hurt her. When asked to elaborate on this, she mentions the principle of rhythm.
“It’s pretty much that whenever shit happens, something good needs to come afterwards. It’s like it’s the darkest just before the sun comes up, it can’t just be dark.” With all this understood, it’s a lot easier to see how somebody can live in that state. While it’s definitely not to say it’s not difficult, it becomes something much more manageable. It’s incredibly obvious that music is exactly what MIMI BARKS should be doing with her life, and she explains how she came up with some of her long-term goals. “I connected with my higher-self one night two years ago. I had a vision of 10 things that are going to happen in my life, shit I never thought I wanted, but it’s not necessarily a negative thing. I’m working towards these goals, and I know they’re going to happen because I had the vision, I saw it in my mind’s eye. It was incredible. I can’t talk about that though.”
With a UK tour coming up, it’s very clear that this isn’t something to miss out on. MIMI BARKS has an incredible stage presence, with a level of anger and sheer outburst that cannot be faked. Though it may look exhausting, it’s something she loves. “That moment for me is the only moment where I feel in bliss, where I feel I’m living my true purpose, because I feel the connection and the energy is coming back to me. It’s healing.” Hopefully, this is something the audience will feel too, and if not, it’s gonna be a good time anyway, and she definitely has high hopes for her crowds. “It is carnage, it’s a bloodbath, we want to see sex in the mosh pit.” There’s definitely a feeling that the hard work is paying off, and MIMI is so ready for this change. “The bigger the stage the better, the bigger the crowd the better. I’m looking forward to it.”
THIS IS DOOM TRAP is out now via Silent Cult Recordings.
Like MIMI BARKS on Facebook.