First Listen: midwxst

In this First Listen feature we speak with Indiana superstar in the making midwxst.

If this is your first time hearing of midwxst, don’t worry, you’re early. midwxst aka Edgar Sarratt III, aka E3, is less interested in proving himself to be the future of music, rather reimagining music for the future.

As his name ‘midwxst’ suggests, E3 originates from the mid-Western state of Indiana, although he moved around a fair amount at a young age due to his Mum’s job (he swells with pride when speaking about her). Born in South Carolina the 18-year-old artist assembles sounds he encountered through each stage and experience in life. From living and travelling in Europe and across the states, his style dances between punk influences, indie-rock, EDM, dubstep and a multitude of other genres. You can appreciate that E3 is the type of artist who is rerouting to a lane of his own within music.

As we spoke over Zoom, initially, I remained conscious of the difference in time zones, dragging E3 out of bed early in the morning with the UK being eight hours ahead. However, as the conversation unfurled his passion was evident, tired or not it was clear this is someone who aims to prove himself to the world. One thing that stood out as we spoke was how excited E3 seemed at the prospect of being able to grow into himself and learn more about the ever-challenging world around him. Even when it came to his education outside of his new beginnings at college, he mentions diving deep into a rabbit hole on the history of Vivienne Westwood or becoming intrigued by the world of punk.

Behind the multitude of musical influences from across the globe is an artist making the current mid-western wave more accessible to the masses. Because if the musical stage loves anything, it’s teens like midwxst showing us how it's done.

First Listen: "Tic Tac Toe"

The single “Tic Tac Toe”, which came out 11/08, is exemplary of E3’s ability to push his boundaries with every new release. Following the release of "Made It Back" and "Ruthless" this track presents a glimmer into his whirling mind filled with kaleidoscopic images and unrelenting lyricism. E3 delivers revelations from the shadows and teenage fantasies packed breathlessly between repurposed aphorisms and impassioned observations. "Tryna be friends, wanna 'ship in themself / I made me a promise, no, I cannot fail / Got a cross on my neck, know I'm Christian, no Bale"

The track is a package of fidgeting trap snares, brought together with sneakily catchy yet cathartic melodies as E3 effortlessly fine tunes each detail, constructing the single to become an immediate ear-worm. "Tic Tac Toe" is the kind of track that could find its groove in any circumstance – whether that’s a party setting or at home, headphones on and delving into your feelings.

The latest tape from the emerging artist, titled Summer03, is dense with energetic trap beats and elements of hyper pop, while paying homage to his musical heroes through consistency and innovation. Heroes like Tyler the Creator, Kanye West, Big Pun and KRS-One.

As young as he is in years, E3 makes sure he is educated far beyond those years. Compared to a lot of emerging artists of his age, his bars are eerily profound. He talks of experiences that any other 18-year-old might relate to but takes things a step further by touching on topics that have left others feeling voiceless. Speaking on the vulnerability he admits "fuck it, if I can be if I can be that inspiration for that kid, I'm doing something, right. If I can speak up enough to the point where this kid can relate to the song. I checked my Spotify and my SoundCloud stats, and somebody had played 'Trying' over like 500 times. So I was really concerned because it's a depressing song, in a way. But I was very concerned. And so I literally found her Instagram and messaged her saying 'Yo, are you good?'".

Artist’s Perception:

"With "Tic Tac Toe" I heard the beat and I was like, 'fuck, I gotta use it'. Vvspipes, the producer of this song and myself – our work relationship goes all the way back. So when he sent me a new pack for the first time in a couple years, I was so excited. He just signed under Internet Money. So he's over here working with a lot of the big artists. And then over here, I'm sitting here and I realise it's cool to work with some of your friends again, especially when you're both signed. He was working with me back when we both had under 1000 followers on Instagram."

"Fuck it, I'm gonna make what I want, I don't really care if I have to lean into it... If you're gonna call me a clone of *insert any black rapper here*, because I just got dreads or because I've done a rage beat, or anything of that sort. I'm just making music for myself. And people who really do support me will like that music and listen to it and take it in, regardless of what type of music it is."

As I listened to his latest music I noticed an increased vulnerability in the lyrics, I asked about this and E3 goes on to say, “There hasn't been that niche demographic of 13 to 18 year olds that have been able to listen to music and relate to it heavily, especially in the black community, that comes from a guy who's very vocal about that stuff. I'm not gonna be like, 'I'm the mental health guru.' I'm nothing of this sort. I'm just a guy who talks about how I feel on a microphone so that people can relate to it.”

"For me, I just really speak my mind on a lot of things and I do care how it's perceived but at the same time, if somebody hates my music, I'm not gonna force them to like my music, I'm gonna allow them to just listen to it and critique it because they're not the ones making the music and they're not the ones in my shoes so they're not really gonna know, where I came from on a certain album, or what mindset or what headspace I was in."

Speaking about his upcoming project BACK IN ACTION he says "A lot of people didn’t expect me to go the direction I did when I started working on this project. I tried my hardest to make what in my eyes was 'good music' and not allow others to say otherwise. I don’t really brag about my achievements that much, but this body of work represents the fun that I’m having, the people I’m surrounded by, and being proud of what I’ve accomplished so far. This is my victory lap after being absent in the music space for so long, and a message to the people who doubted me most. I’m not going anywhere, we’re just getting started."

midwxst will be releasing his project BACK IN ACTION on 15/09 via Greffen Records so make sure you keep an ear to the ground for more news from this rising artist... We know we are.

In the meantime you can listen to midwxst's latest EP SUMMER03 below via Spotify.