Born and raised in East LA, Gabriel Munoz has a light hearted, feel good approach to his music that is filled with flirtatious lyrics and catchy hooks. "1 2 Meny" is a fun, bouncy pop song about the highs and lows of dating after a breakup. We seek to find the same qualities of our ex in others but seem to fall short when we try too hard. The song title is a play on the phrase "one too many", highlighting some of the pros and cons of the boys I've dated after. It's instantly catchy and fun, reminiscent of the likes of Doja Cat and Ariana Grande.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Gabriel Munoz, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi! Nice to chat with you as well. I started singing when I was really young, around 4. So singing around the house turned into singing in the church, and when I got to college that's when I started taking songwriting a lot more seriously and recording and writing original songs.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
There's so much local talent I would love to collaborate with, I have a lot of friends who make amazing music across the indie, pop alternative, and hip hop spectrum. I guess on a mainstream platform, Lil Nas X would be a dream. I loved his 'Montero' album and the message in it, I can directly relate to it.
Your latest song is '1 2 Meny'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
It was actually a pretty smooth process for me. I had the chorus of that song circulating in my head for a few weeks, and I finally took it to my producer De'la who made the magic happen. I guess the most unusual thing to happen while making it, or what comes to mind was I was in a pretty rough mood when I recorded the vocals for 1 2 Meny. I remember having some personal life matters just consuming me that day, and I had to challenge myself to deliver those vocals in a fun, light way because that's what the song is. I was, however, writing a much deeper personal song in that same session. So that whole experience was interesting.
What are you focusing on right now?
Right now I'm working on finalizing my next single, and recording a few more songs to round out the EP I'm aiming to release by the end of this year. I'm really excited about it.
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
The best advice I've been given is to stick to what feels right. If it's an idea for a song, the production behind it, a cover art, whatever artistic choice that may be, if it feels right do it. If not, don't. That subtle advice has helped me not overthink too much in many situations when it comes to the music-making process.
What is the biggest challenge of being an artist?
I'm going to say, feeling validated along the way. Success as an artist to many looks like virality, numbers, mentions and all of that. The truth is you don't always have the biggest stack of those things, so having that fulfillment as an artist, and person, in general, is so important. You have to remember you're doing this out of love first!
How do you structure your day?
Every day looks a little different for me depending on my schedule, but I usually start with some coffee and pondering. Who doesn't? haha. Then I will find time to work out, go to my day job, and there's at least three things to do every day for my music so it's fitting that in as a priority. That could be a studio session, email response, writing, social media content, all depends on the need.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
This year I got into kickboxing and I absolutely love it. It's helped me in so many ways not only physically but mentally. I also love hikes, brunches, all the typical stuff living in LA. I'm also a flower fanatic right now, so I love making a good bouquet and just putting them around the house.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Oh my god, all the time haha. One thing I will say is I always sing slower classics in the shower and I only recently noticed this. Amy Winehouse "Back to Black". Adele, Beyonce, I had a Paramore concert the other day.2
What are your plans for the future?
To keep working on my EP, continue writing with and for other artists, and just let things fall into place. I'm genuinely excited about that practice and allowing myself to just live through it all while pushing for what I love.