In New York City, you need no excuse to party on a school night. Though Halloween celebrations peaked over the weekend, plenty of partygoers still had some fuel left in the tank on Monday night, when Elsewhere, the beloved Bushwick community hub, celebrated its five-year anniversary with a spooky set by Mura Masa, one of Britain’s hottest DJs and producers, alongside local DJ stars Tama Gucci and Riobamba. Undeterred by the heavy downpour, New Yorkers filed into Elsewhere, which had been busy hosting events all weekend, starting with Friday’s sexy and sensual Papi Juice and culminating with Monday’s anniversary bacchanal. The 26-year-old Mura Masa (born Alex Crossan) brought to life his appropriately-named album demon time (out now) and performed hits both old and new, from “Love$ick” to “up all week.” Celebratory champagne was handed out to ghouls, witches, clowns, and sexy babies as they danced in lavishly decorated rooms filled with spiderwebs and life-sized dolls. Moments before he entered the booth, Interview caught up with Mura Masa about celebrating Halloween in the U.S., Mezcal drinks, and his eyeliner.
———
ERNESTO MACIAS: How’s it going? A pleasure to meet you.
MURA MASA: Nice to meet you. Just had some dinner, yeah.
MACIAS: Where did you eat?
MURA MASA: Concrete in Williamsburg.
MACIAS: Cool. What did you have?
MURA MASA: Crab Putanesca. I’ll try to talk louder. [Laughs]
MACIAS: Don’t worry, I think it’ll capture your voice. So do you go by Mura Masa or Alex?
MURA MASA: Alex is fine.
MACIAS: Alex. Dope. I’m Ernesto from Interview. You ready?
MURA MASA: Ready.
MACIAS: What’s in your pockets?
MURA MASA: Cigarettes. My phone. The case for my tooth caps. My hotel room key and my debit card.
MACIAS: Can you describe the hat you’re wearing?
MURA MASA: It’s actually just a normal hat but I’ve got the devil horns hooked on top.
MACIAS: Your eyeliner is cute. Who did it for you?
MURA MASA: I did it.
MACIAS: How do you get that inner-eye shape?
MURA MASA: I just drew it on.
MACIAS: Hot.
MURA MASA: It’s a kind of an undefined costume. Spooky…
MACIAS: It’s a costume, right? How many hours of sleep did you get last night?
MURA MASA: I think I did a pretty good six, maybe. But disturbed sleep. I’m still jet-lagged.
MACIAS: When did you get in?
MURA MASA: I was in L.A. before this. I got here maybe three days ago. Getting there.
MACIAS: What’s in your system?
MURA MASA: What’s in my system? A couple of cocktails, nicotine, and a whole lot of fun. [Laughs]
MACIAS: Love that. How is your Halloween going so far?
MURA MASA: It’s amazing. You guys go hard. I want to be in the U.S. for Halloween on the regular. New York, especially. Everyone’s dressed up.
MACIAS: Fill in the blank for me, Halloween in New York is:
MURA MASA: Delightful.
MACIAS: Describe your show or the set you’ve prepared for tonight in a sentence.
MURA MASA: It’s Demon Time.
MACIAS: How do you beat pre-show nerves?
MURA MASA: Blast music on the AirPods.
MACIAS: What do you blast?
MURA MASA: Some Metal or something so angry that blocks off all the thoughts [Laughs].
MACIAS: You’ve said you had a couple of drinks in you: what is your drink of choice tonight?
MURA MASA: I’ve had some Mezcal cocktails. Been feeling it. I’m a tequila guy usually.
MACIAS: What are you doing after the party ends?
MURA MASA: More parties, I guess? [Laughs]
MACIAS: What time is the best time to arrive at the after-party?
MURA MASA: Like 2 a.m. I feel that’s early enough to get a good conversation and some partying. Any later than that, unless you’re on something, it becomes debauched.
MACIAS: What are you doing tomorrow?
MURA MASA: Flying back to L.A.
MACIAS: What’s in your future?
MURA MASA: I’m trying to wrap up a new album. Just had an album out, Demon Time, and I’ve been working on a bunch of music for other people like ShyGirl and PinkPantheress.
Photo by Andres Gomez, @sunless.pictures.