We spoke with Mortal Prophets about “Hide Inside The Moon” and more!

Q: Hi! When you think about “Hide Inside The Moon” now, what stands out to you most about that album?

A: What stands out most to me is the feeling of suspension that runs through the record — a sense of drifting between memory and imagination. It feels like an album about distance, but also intimacy. I think of it as a collection of songs that live in the space between waking life and dream logic. Looking back on it now, I remember how instinctive the process was. I wasn’t trying to force a concept; I was following a mood that kept returning. The album feels like a private landscape to me, something quiet but emotionally expansive.

Q: Did you go into this record knowing what kind of mood you wanted, or did that come together as you worked on it?

A: I usually begin with fragments rather than a fixed blueprint. There may be an atmosphere I’m chasing — a color, a texture, a feeling — but I rarely know exactly what the album is going to become at the start. With Hide Inside The Moon, the mood gradually revealed itself. The more songs I wrote, the more I realized they belonged to the same emotional world. There was a softness and a sense of distance that kept recurring, almost as if each song were another room in the same house.

Q: A lot of these songs feel immersive in a way that pulls you in right away. What helps you create that kind of atmosphere?

A: Atmosphere comes from restraint as much as addition. I think a lot about space — what not to play, what not to say. Reverb, texture, and layering are important, but the emotional tone matters most. I try to create music that feels lived in, like you’ve stepped into a place that already existed before the song started. Sometimes it’s a certain guitar tone, a slow-moving synth, or a vocal that feels slightly distant. I want the listener to feel like they’re entering a world rather than hearing a performance.

Q: You’ve released a lot of music, but each project still has its own identity. How do you keep things feeling fresh for yourself?

A: I think the key is to stay curious. I never want to repeat myself intentionally. Even if certain themes return — longing, mystery, memory, romance — I try to approach them from a different emotional angle. Sometimes I’ll begin with a different instrument or production process. Other times it comes from listening to entirely different influences. The challenge is to remain open to surprise. If I already know exactly how something should sound, I usually lose interest.

Q: Was this album built around a few key songs first, or did it come together more gradually over time?

A: It came together gradually. There were a few early songs that established the emotional tone, but I didn’t build the album around a single centerpiece. It was more like discovering connections between songs over time. I would finish one piece and realize it belonged to the same atmosphere as another. Eventually the album began to reveal its own internal logic.

Q: Do you usually start with a feeling, a melody, a lyric, or does it change from song to song?

A: It changes constantly. Sometimes it starts with a chord progression or a melodic fragment that carries an emotional weight. Other times it begins with a title or a single phrase that suggests an entire world. Lyrics tend to arrive later for me; I often write music first and let the emotional tone guide the words. I’m interested in language that feels suggestive rather than literal — something that leaves room for interpretation.

Q: The title “Hide Inside The Moon” is really striking. How did that title come about, and what did it mean to you?

A: The title arrived almost like a line from a dream. I liked the contradiction in it — the idea of hiding somewhere vast and distant, but also intimate. The moon has always carried a kind of emotional symbolism in music and art, but I wasn’t interested in using it in a sentimental way. For me, the title suggested escape, secrecy, and longing. It felt like a place you could disappear into emotionally.

Q: This is a pretty expansive record. How did you decide what belonged on the album and what didn’t?

A: I’m very selective about cohesion. Even if I love a song individually, it doesn’t always belong on a particular album. I tend to think of records as complete environments rather than collections of unrelated tracks. Songs have to contribute to the emotional architecture of the album. If something feels too stylistically different or interrupts the flow, I’ll usually save it for another project.

Q: When you were putting the tracklist together, were you thinking about flow in a big way? It feels like the kind of album meant to be heard as a full journey.

A: Absolutely. Sequencing is incredibly important to me. I still think in terms of albums rather than isolated singles. The order of songs creates pacing, tension, and release. I wanted Hide Inside The Moon to feel like moving through a landscape — each track opening into another emotional space. I spent a lot of time adjusting transitions, making sure certain songs breathed in the right places and that the overall arc felt natural.

Q: Were there any songs on the record that surprised you while making them or ended up going somewhere you didn’t expect?

A: There are always one or two songs that evolve in unexpected ways. Sometimes a track begins as something minimal and ends up becoming more layered and cinematic. Other times a song reveals its emotional center late in the process. I like when a piece resists expectations because it means the song is guiding you somewhere instead of being controlled too tightly.

Q: Now that the album is out in the world, has anything about the response surprised you?

A: What’s always interesting is how listeners connect to completely different songs than the ones you initially imagine. Some tracks that felt quiet or understated to me have become deeply meaningful to listeners. I think that’s one of the most rewarding parts of releasing music — realizing that people hear their own memories and emotions inside the songs.

Q: What’s coming up for you for the rest of this year? Are you already working on new music, visuals, or anything else you can share?

A: I’m always working on new material. There are new songs already taking shape, along with visual ideas that expand the world around the music. I’ve always been interested in the relationship between sound and imagery, so I think future projects will continue to blur those boundaries. I don’t like staying still creatively. Once an album is released, I’m already moving toward the next atmosphere, the next emotional landscape.