Maneka thinks "Charge of the Brown Recluse" sounds nice really loud
Thanks for continuing to hang in for I Enjoy Music (Stoned), a weed-themed week on I Enjoy Music. All this week, I'm posting interviews with musicians about their stoned music listening habits. Because weed 'n' music go together like cottage cheese and chili crisp. Or am I alone in this snack preference? Ignore me...
Yesterday we featured an interview with Drew Shuck of Omaha emo band Bug Heaven...
Today we have an interview with Devin McKnight, a Brooklynite turned Philadelphia resident who records solo as Maneka. Maneka's music highlights the almighty guitar but tends to defy typical rock genre conventions, with features of jazz, shoegaze, and hip hop in the mix. Devin also has a unique talent for writing lyrics that question and subvert racist status quos; on "Winner's Circle," off his 2022 album Dark Matters, he imagines Ludwig van Beethoven as a "hood famous" Black success story, cajoled by his old peers to "Play that brand new shit /That No. 9 shit homie" over a woozy, noise-guitar instrumental that flips on a dime into a nervy punk thriller.
I last chatted with Devin for The Alternative over Zoom after seeing him play a sick show at the Bushwick rock club The Broadway almost two years ago. This time we talked over text as he's recording a new album (!) and I got some excellent THC-infused intel, including a full-on Notes app list of stoner music recs from Future to Duster to Charles Mingus...read on and enjoy...
stereogluttony
[Molly O'Brien] hello this is molly!!
[Devin McKnight] Hey what’s up
how’s your wednesday morning treating you?
Not too bad lol decided to work from home so
Chillin
ha i just looked up when we did our interview for the Alternative and it was in may 2022
upsetting somehow
time marches on
what are you up to in the musical sense lately?
Well I just moved to Philly so been tryna figure out local band mates etc
But I’ve been recording in Asheville at drop of sun
Like halfway done new record
nice!
just googled drop of sun and it looks very groovy
would you say, per its website, that you are “enjoy[ing] the limitless space of possibility”
Yea, Alex Farrar the engineer/producer is a wizard so like anything I have in my head is instantly possible
He’s done some of my favs of the past few years too
So I had an idea that he’d be good
that’s amazing
you can be like “i would like X to sound like Y” and he will say “yes i can do that”?
And it usually sounds better than what I had in mind lol
hahaha
magical
ok i would love to talk Weed N Music
could i ask you first about your general weed consumption habits? times of day, methods of consumption, if you get nitty-gritty about strains or indica/sativa or whatnot
Haha hm
Well I used to blast sativa spliffs all day but that stopped during the pandemic
Now I eat gummies usually hybrid after work
Daily
Been on that for awhile
I always do it before attending shows or movies
I’m content at shows being unable to speak and just enjoying the music
haha was there a reason you dipped out of the sativa spliff lifestyle?
also being unable to speak and enjoying the music is just great
I was scared of dying of covid and would get anxiety induced asthma issues
Wasn’t fun lol
VERY fair
RIP smoking
i am a gummy woman myself
lol i just read that back as “gummy worm”, also true
Yea takes getting used to but it’s nice once you figure out how much to take to feel nice
what’s the last good stoned concert experience you had?
Hm well it’s every show but I’ll say I made a habit when I was still in Brooklyn to watch Youbet live stoned as much as I could. And they played a lot
Sonically just very adventurous and pleasing live. Every member is fun to pay attention to
i will have to check em out!
and then what do you generally reach for if you’re hanging out stoned / listening to music?
i’d be curious about both now, and the sativa spliff days
Hm well jazz has always been fun for me bc it’s inherently cerebral and it’s easy to lose yourself in it
Favs are miles smiles by miles Davis
And love supreme by Coltrane
Mingus Ah um
I don’t think the kind of weed has changed my listening at all tho lol
I also love heavier music stoned
Anything by Deftones
This one torche song charge of the brown recluse I’d listen to almost every day lol
And Hum you’d prefer an astronaut
just put charge of the brown recluse on….sludgy
i dig it
lol ye idk why it just feels nice really loud
do you usually go headphones, or play on speakers?
Headphones
I actually made a list
yeeeeeesss!!!
Again bc I do this so much it’s actually just the music I like
wow this is a great list
ok a standout to me is Future, i just find him so fascinating
he can get so emotional
lol
He’s a complicated person to say the least
what do you like about DS2
The beats mostly and just the warmth of his voice over it
It’s also a drug album so I think he generally has us in mind
listen, i know better than to get into the percocet lifestyle but he does occasionally make it sound appealing
Yea def I don’t mess w the opiates but I think the sort of sedated detached vibe is easy to lean into
it’s good to chill out occasionally
there are some real ‘90s vibes on this list!
how do you generally find new-to-you music to listen to?
Hm I guess shows and friend recommendations
The internet is a mess so if someone I trust isn’t telling me about it I usually leave it alone
very fair
the internet IS a mess
Yea sucks I’m supposed to be utilizing it to help me and I don’t even trust it lol
Oh one thing I forgot, there’s this seemingly cursed looking jazz guitarist named Ed Bickert I listen to a lot high
If you see a picture of him you’ll understand
just looked him up
definitely an intense face
looks carved out of stone, somehow
Anyway I think I should actually go into the office, any other thoughts or questions?
just one! kind of a silly one to wrap up
lol let’s hear it
which Maneka song title would make the best name for a strain of weed?
Oh geez
Maybe
The glow up
that's perfect
i'd smoke that no question
lol true
glow ups always welcome
ok thank you devin!!!
Np
much appreciated
and good luck w rest of recording!
Thanks!
Listen to Maneka on Bandcamp and visit their website. Thanks for reading I Enjoy Music! Tune in tomorrow for more stoner music goodness. And if you like the blog, tell a friend about it.
