The Mystery Divide sat down with Happy after the release of two stellar albums, The Blue Romantics and Questions I
The Mystery Divide is the solo project of Joseph Mendola, a singer/songwriter from New Jersey.
Releasing two albums this year, The Mystery Divide is emerging quickly in the indie-rock space, unveiling an extensive body of work that spans years of creation.
The Blue Romantics and Questions I are two one-of-a-kind concept albums, the overarching themes of which are reflection and enlightenment, and a journey to find a sense of wholeness.
Having already acquired such a vast sonic catalogue since the first release in May of this year, The Mystery Divide sat down with Happy to talk about the processes and inspirations behind both albums.
HAPPY: What are you up to today?
TMD: I got some recording done in the morning. After that I got out on a nice long fall bike ride, which was nice. I love to observe the foliage this time of year.
The cool air is refreshing too after the summer heat. Often on my bike rides I am dreaming of music, constructing songs/ideas in my mind, and just daydreaming in general, which is lots of fun for me.
HAPPY: Tell us a little about where you are from? What do you love about it?
TMD: I’m from the state of New Jersey in the USA. What I like about New Jersey is that it offers a cool mixture of urban life as well as rural escapes.
I love being able to experience cityscapes while easily retreating back into the laid-back existence that the burbs have to offer.
HAPPY: How do the themes explored in Questions I compare to those in The Blue Romantics? What connections do you see between the two albums?
TMD: Both The Blue Romantics and Questions I are concept albums of sorts… But really they are two worlds apart, just as two novels from the same writer have two different narratives.
I think both albums display prominently longing for something…the longing to be whole and find that particular something that is missing or ever evading…The Blue Romantics portrays the search for that ever elusive true love, while Questions I explores concepts of the deeper search for truth and meaning.
Both albums portray the search for something that is present yet remains seemingly intangible…
HAPPY: What is your overarching artistic vision, and how does it manifest in both Questions I and The Blue Romantics?
TMD: Perhaps in one sense my overarching vision is the search for wholeness…to find enlightenment such that one is complete within themselves without being so attached to the many externals that often bind us to unintentional self made illusions.
In other words, to find freedom and happiness unencumbered by impediments of material existence…Strangely, it seems that many of the longings of human nature create unhappiness.
Yet perhaps that unhappiness stems from our own level of understanding and the way we perceive the world through a particular lens, which as a result, serves unintentionally, much to our dismay, to skew a greater vision that may have a chance at bringing greater happiness.
So to think of my overarching vision, I’d like to think that those who experience the music will be able to self-reflect to the extent that they will be able to find the answers to the dilemmas that trouble them.
Perhaps it’s an insight, or an inspiration…or some greater vision for a brighter future…
Nonetheless, I hope that those who listen will gain deeper glimpses into their own soul and find the answers to their questions or search for their journey that will help them take that next step forward, whatever it is they seek to do.
HAPPY: What musical influences have shaped the sound of both albums? Are there specific artists or genres that have inspired you?
TMD: For The Blue Romantics I was heavily inspired by The Smashing Pumpkins albums: Siamese Dream, Adore and Machina. my bloody valentine’s loveless was a huge inspiration as well.
In addition to the movies of David Lynch, “Blue Velvet” in particular, but the “Twin Peaks” series too.
I also took great inspiration from the Lovesliescrushing album bloweyelashwish, French composer Elodie Lauten, and the synth and vocal styles of Black Tape For A Blue Girl. I also was inspired by 1950’s Rock n Roll, especially Elvis and Roy Orbison.
For Questions I, I was listening to lots of Wild Nothing, CD Ghost, Beach Fossils, Choir Boy and Drab Majesty.
But that was a bit later as the songs were being recorded. I don’t think I was even listening to much music when I initially started writing the songs.
The songs early on weren’t even intended to be written. I was simply just writing on the acoustic guitar and expressing my emotions, like a catharsis of sorts from intense emotions I was experiencing at the time.
HAPPY: Can you share your creative process for writing and recording these albums? How do you approach crafting a cohesive body of work?
TMD: I started writing The Blue Romantics when I was 16. So that album definitely has the teenage angst I was dealing with at the time…especially all the broken hearted feelings of love I was experiencing.
The song “Silent Cries” was basically written for a girl that I was madly in love with in the 10th grade.
She was in the 12th grade and seemed to me at the time totally unapproachable. I had terrible acne and it was just an awful nightmare.
Everyday we would pass each other by in the hallway. Basically the song is a love letter to her. I sing at the end of “Silent Cries”, “As you walk by, I weep inside, for love is much too blind to ever call you mine.”
That’s basically the sentiment I wrote The Blue Romantics around. That being said, The Blue Romantics also embodies the hope of finding true love, as can be heard on the track “Candy”.
The Blue Romantics morphed into a concept that two characters meet in a dream. As I look back, dreams/dreaming in general began to play an important role in my life.
I became a big daydreamer losing myself in music and all kinds of thoughts and ideas. Sometimes seeming to my detriment…So what I am trying to say is that much like one of my great idols, David Lynch, dreams and their mystery play a huge role in how I create.
I absolutely love getting lost in a world of dreams, especially when I was writing The Blue Romantics.
At the time though, dreaming was so powerful for me that it held me spellbound… I found myself at the time almost blurring the boundaries between dream and reality.
Looking back, it is quite interesting to reflect back on having been so encapsulated and mystified by the world of dreams and creativity.
Dreams can be beautiful, but they can also be nightmares…
HAPPY: How do you connect your personal experiences to the music you create in both albums? Are there specific stories or moments that inspired certain tracks?
TMD: It’s very interesting to have just released The Blue Romantics now as I am 39 years old.
I started writing the album when I was 16. So I feel in a way that releasing the album now is almost a re-experience of my teenage adolescence again, yet with a much wider lens of wisdom… so I hope!
So as previously referenced, The Blue Romantics details the hope/tragedy of love and not quite being able to grasp the elusive feelings that love sometimes brings forth within us, in addition to the struggle of comprehending love as our minds think love should be.
Yet within the brokenhearted woes that love sometimes brings, there is the experience of wisdom that comes through the illusion that we project onto love.
So I like to think that The Blue Romantics ultimately has a positive meaning in the sense that we are able to grow from the heartbreak that we experience in life.
It’s a matter of shattering illusions, so to speak. Illusions are often the unknown love that becomes the very hell we do not want.
It’s a paradox of sorts… Ultimately through shattering the illusion we become better in mind, body and spirit.
It’s just the pain of shattering the illusion that brings such difficulty. But through shattering the illusion, we become a better version of our SELF.Questions I encompasses my search for knowledge, truth, love of the strange and mysterious and just overall quest for wisdom in general.
I was a Religion major in college so I have always had the deep desire to understand the deeper questions of life, why the things of life happen as they do, and the how’s of finding greater meaning amidst times of tragedy.
Questions I was written unintentionally, just me on the acoustic guitar playing to my heart’s content.
The songs began to accumulate rather quickly. I knew that there was great potential in the songs and felt that I must record them.
Recording the songs was a bit like attempting to climb Mount Everest.
The journey still continues however, I’m still climbing that mountain, creating new material and shaping ideas for new creations to come.
HAPPY: How do the visual elements of your album artwork and branding reflect the themes and emotions of both Questions I and The Blue Romantics?
TMD: The Blue Romantics photo was taken by me on New Years Eve of 2005.
The photo depicts the characters Bella and Luigi, the main protagonists in The Blue Romantics.
The idea is that Bella and Luigi meet in a dream, but must ultimately part ways as the dream comes to an end.
In the photo, portraying Bella and Luigi, the characters are spellbound by each other’s love.
Yet love is often blind and illusive, especially when we feel spellbound by it.
Questions I depicts a lost civilization somewhere out in outer space, a civilization that was held in wisdom, but now has been lost to the aeons of time.
By having discovered this ancient civilization, a great hope is rekindled.
The hope for the quest and understanding of wisdom that was once held in such great esteem and led to ages of enlightenment.
A tiny human figure can be spotted searching the desolate land by themselves. This depicts the often isolated journey we all must face as we go forth on our own quest in life.
HAPPY: Looking ahead, how do you see your artistry evolving in future projects? What do you hope to explore in your upcoming music?
TMD: I have a bunch of music lined up for the future. I think I will continue to explore themes that detail searching and mystery there within…Perhaps this theme of searching corresponds with my own personal weltanschauung…I’m not sure if we ever truly find the answers to the questions we seek in life.
But I feel there is always the path ahead that will help show us the answers to the mysteries we seek in a gradual manner, on an as-need-to-know basis.
Whether we understand or not is another matter… So as my own personal journey continues to unfold, I will continue to intend to grasp the answers that pose themselves as questions to my soul.
Though I may not fully be able to understand these deeper mysteries, ever elusive as they are, I look forward to creating the art that will portray the search I hope to find the answers too.
HAPPY: What makes you happy?
TMD: I love being inspired by an idea that gives great hope for the future…It could be the prospect of recording and being able to hear the way I want a song to sound, or perhaps a vision for a music video, film idea or greater concept that incorporates nicely into a prospective album.
Basically the comfort of dreams makes me happy. I’m a dreamer at heart. The world of dreams is so elusive and yet tangible in a way as well…Dreaming is the forefront for all ideas that ultimately come into being.
I love being in tune with this world and just getting lost in the mystery of it all…
