The Incandescent Power of NotLö

NotLö is ready for her spotlight. The queer producer and bass artist born Alex Mantekas has recently released her stunning new EP Mechanism, and I had the privilege to discuss her artistic process with her. While I must confess that I am not well-versed in the realm of the EDM/bass music scene, I was delighted by the answers she provided in the context of what drives and inspires her.

The Artistic Process, the Intense Music, and the Relationships Which Fuel NotLö

“When you have someone to grow with, my friend Becca, she goes by Veil, we’ve been through most of this journey together, so it’s been nice to have a friend through it,” Mantekas mentions during our interview. “I’ve been (making music) for about five and a half years, I would say, from the time of starting and getting really frustrated with myself to just messing with a ton of samples and stuff too… you know those points where you go through, like, ‘Actually, I hate everything I’m doing;’ it still counts, y’know!” NotLö describes an important part of the artistic process here, as playing oneself back and having some level of uncertainty can really drive one to become the best musical version of oneself.

On the electrifying “Crush That,” I notice a classic drum and bass pattern starting off the progressive atmosphere. Soon enough, a vocal sample comes in, and the track gives a vibe of empowerment by the 90-second point. This catchy and urgent sonic landscape reminds me of something else Mantekas alludes to in our interview, on the matter of what inspires her.

“Queer people and women already have it harder in the music industry too, and I would like to say that my music is heavy and sometimes tough and aggressive too. I would like to say that’s my spirit coming out to say ‘I have a place in this musical world to be here.'” The title of the song reflects that exact spirit, and it instantly becomes a highlight in NotLö’s burgeoning discography.

NotLö recently performed sets at Bonnaroo and Sonic Bloom. “I played Bonnaroo on Friday, and we camped there, me and my team and my photographer, who also happen to be my best friends. Because I can’t drive around with people I don’t love! Gotta have your support crew,” she states.

“Then we left Saturday morning and flew to Denver and drove up to Sonic Bloom because it’s, like, two hours south of Denver, and Denver is where I’m living. So it was kind of nice to go home and just drive to a festival too. It was a nice feeling, nice change-up. But it was so fun because I love the venue there too at Sonic Bloom. It’s not as big of a festival as Bonnaroo but it’s the same excitement for me personally. The venue is so pretty; it’s south of Pueblo in the Southern Mountain region.”

Queer Identity, Underrepresentation, and Storytelling Through Musical Form

When I ask about how her queer identity informs her artistry, Mantekas adds a reflective and revealing nature to our interview. “I feel like it’s hard for queer people to find their voices in a platform in electronic music too a lot of the time. So, I feel like we always have an extra battle; I feel like that’s the voice I’m trying to encompass to show that we all have a place here.”

She has a valid point here. A recent study conducted by USC Annenberg found that among 1,750 artists of various genres, 17.4% were white women, and 14.6% were underrepresented women. I affirm that I feel like people underrate queer people in different realms. Mantekas agrees, expressing that “when you think about the basis of a lot of things and say, ‘Where did that come from?’ Well, queer people!”

“When I’m creating, I’m definitely trying to encompass a storytelling journey, not just trying to make heavy, fun music to party to. I definitely want to encompass a story with it, and that’s what my albums will start to do once I start releasing the first one. They’ll be like a series of going through scary music transitioning into an album of prettier music. I’ve always thought it would be cool to create a world eventually too,” she continues. “I’ve been slowly introducing both sides of these things, so hopefully it all comes together in one story in the future.”

I ask if her new EP encapsulates some of the storytelling spirit, and she mentions that “it’s mainly aggressive music… but I feel like the track ‘Scream’ really shows how I can infuse vocals to give something that seems kind of dark but also kind of pretty… It gives you more optimism. So I want to provoke that too, and start introducing everyone to this divided world of showing those contrasts in my music for sure!”

What’s Next for NotLö

Mantekas states that she has an album in the works whose rollout will commence by the late fall of this year. She also makes sure to soft-announce a Halloween project, to be released shortly before spooky season. This project will “showcase some of my darker music too, heavier music. I’m going to try to do one of them every two years to encompass the story. I’m also planning on making little comic books to sell people if they wanna buy one, to expand upon the story, and give words and art for it too!”

Though Mantekas jokes about how she doesn’t have any formal experience with visual art, she recollects that she “started doodling on my girlfriend’s iPad, and making little comic squares! I was like, ‘Wait…’ I’m gonna get like a base done for it, like, I have one page down and I said, ‘OK, it’s not horrible,’ but I’m going to talk to my art friend and see if she would like to make this look better.” I say that it is important to have a vision, and that it’s crucial to have a team. She concurs, “It’s really cool if it’s a friend, and she loves doing visual art commissions. We’ve been kind of waiting on something to do together, and I was like ‘wait I finally have the perfect idea!'”

NotLö will also be doing “two special headliner shows” that will be in Atlanta and Denver. The shows will have openers handpicked by her, along with two contrasting sets of Mantekas’ own music. The first set will consist of her pretty, ethereal music. After that set, another artist will play heavier music before she concludes the evening with her own darker, more abrasive music.

Her new visuals will be featured in this show, and they are described in her own words as “a dark and scary world” to complement the latter set, and “a pretty world” to complement the former. The two shows will be in the fall, before the album rollout commences. We at OFM can’t wait to hear the upcoming new music from this promising talent.

Look out for official announcements regarding NotLö’s upcoming Halloween project, album era, and headlining shows on her official webpage. As of now, two shows are in the books for Sacred Acre 2023 in Ninilchik, Alaska (September 8) and Hulaween in Live Oak, Florida (October 26). Make sure to check out her new EP Mechanism, available now on all streaming services.

Photo courtesy of NotLö’s Facebook page