Exclusive JY MNTL Interview

Meet the next big duo JY MNTL!

JY MTNL (pronounced Jay Montel) are an R&B, Trap and Afro Beats musical duo that formed in 2017. They recently released a new track called “Get To The Bag” in July and reached over 1 million streams on Spotify.

The minds behind JY MNTL are Montel (Monts) and Jay.

Their new track “Get To The Bag” is bringing a new trap sound produced by the platinum-selling production duo known as Sons of Sonix.

After performing at the Strawberries & Creem festival this summer, we managed to get an inside look into who is behind JY MTNL and find out more about them and their music.

Connect with JY MNTL Online Here:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Spotify

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With the end of the year fast approaching, how would you say 2019 has treated you? What have been some goals you have had this year? Do you think you can reach any more before 2019 finishes?

Monts: 2019 has treated us well. It’s been an eventful year, seeing us achieve many of our goals. We performed at our first festival – Strawberries & Creem in Cambridge had our first single launch, reached over 1 million streams on Spotify alone and have had nothing but love and support from our fans. Performing at Strawberries & Creem was a real moment for us and a milestone that we will never forget.

Jay: Yeah I definitely agree with Monts, I feel like 2019 has been a real stepping stone for us. We’ve hit milestones that we wouldn’t have thought would come so soon and we just have to continuously thank our supporters for everything they do for us. Our launch party was a huge success also, was a clinical moment for us as we got to celebrate releasing one of our new singles with our closest supporters and even got to perform it in front of them which felt amazing. We have an EP planned to be released before the end of 2019 which is looking likely accompanied by a couple of videos so just stay tuned for what we have in store!

 

 

What made you want to work together to form JY MNTL? What made you think of that name?

Jay: It’s a funny story. Well, the name Jy Mntl is literally Jay and Montel but just the vowels were removed to make it look more interesting, aha well that’s what we hope it looks like to the rest of the world. But originally we were both solo artists and were going to work on a project together and as our cousin, KayGW is a producer we were going to do a three-way collab on a project. When we brought this idea to our now manager Stefan Wade, he said “joint project? Why don’t you guys just start a group?” We ran with the idea and formed a trio with a completely different name – N3GUS

Monts: I actually got our old name tattooed on my arm and no I don’t regret it haha, it means ‘Kings’ in Ethiopian. A year and a half later we decided to part ways and form our duo – JY MNTL, as KGW got signed to First Access Ent to produce and it made sense to let him thrive as a solo producer.

 

You two started out in 2017, so what has most surprised you within your musical journey so far?

Jay: Wow, what has surprised me most? I think that the main thing that has stood out to me on this journey is the power of consistency & just doing. Not sitting back and waiting for opportunities to come to you but making the most of what you have and your surroundings and just doing what you can to keep stepping forward each day to be closer to the end goal. There are 365 days in a year and if you do one thing each day towards your goal that’s 365 things, consistency is everything and keeps you in everyone’s thoughts. Us just being consistent has led us to have over a million streams on Spotify alone!

Monts: I defo agree with Jay! One thing that has also surprised me is the power of social media. Our covers that we post on YouTube and Instagram have had many well-known artists show love and comment such as Doneo, Yxng Bane, Big Tobz, Rotimi and Melii, to name but a few. And from these covers, an opportunity arose to fly abroad and work with major producers in Europe & America who have produced work for some of the top artists in the game. Who would’ve known recording videos in our car on our phones would lead to us travelling to do the thing we love most?

 

 

Do you think your hometowns have influenced the music you create? If not, what do you think most influenced you?

Monts: 1000%! We’ve been raised in one of the most vibrant, diverse & cultured cities in the world and you can defiantly tell in our music as each song gives you a different taste & feel of London! Our heritage is also a big influence. Being British Jamaicans, the sauce and flavour of the Caribbean flow through our music giving our songs a vibe and feel-good feeling.

Jay: I agree with Monts as well. I feel like alongside what he has said, in our generation, we were also brought up on a strong American R&B sound as in the UK a lot of people were listening to this type of music. So alongside our own genres in London, we also integrate other sounds into our sound which gives our feel of music a uniqueness to it.

 

 

From looking at your social media platforms, it seems like you guys are really close. What do you guys do when you aren’t working on music?

Monts: yeah we are for sure! We grew up being the type of cousins that you would always see together! So when we aren’t working on the music we are together either kicking back watching the footie or studying the greats learning how to better our craft!

Jay: Yeah me and Monts are like brothers man. Literally always been together since we were born, from playing football to going to school together to now doing music together. I seriously couldn’t see myself doing music with anyone else.

 

 

What has been some inspiration for you to write songs like “Get To The Bag”, “Party’s Over” and “Roll”?

Jay: Every song has a different way it’s created or made up. It’s always a feeling that you feel from a beat or maybe just a melody that’s been in our heads for a while that needs to be recorded.

Get to the bag was a song that came out of pure emotion, we were literally going through a tough time with our finances. Everyone who’s creative knows how hard it gets financially, you can be on top of the world in the eyes of everyone else but no one will ever know what you’re going through.

We literally had to share any money we made because of this, but I believe it was an integral part of our journey!

Monts: Yeah 100% that stage in our journey really gave us the drive to keep pushing, up the anti and have tunnel vision on our music career! And that is the inspiration for the song to keep pushing, keep hustling and no matter what “Get To The Bag”.

 

How do you decide which place to film your music videos? Do you have a place in mind when the songs are being written?

Monts: I think the best part about writing your music is that you’re painting a picture already with the words you’re saying and the feeling you’re putting across. So it makes it easier to visualise the music video as were writing.

Jay: We also have one of the dopest visual teams who help create our visions and bring it to life.

 

Are there any hidden messages within your music you hope your fans understand?

Monts: You know what I wouldn’t say there are hidden messages in our songs, I would say more feelings that we drop to vent our emotions when we write our songs. It’s these emotions that we hope our fans can connect to and understand.

Jay: Nah we haven’t really done the hidden messages thing, as Monts said our music is an expression of ourselves and we hope to get our expressions across to our supporters and have them connect with us in that way

 

 

What has it been like working with a producer who has worked with artists like Stormzy, Major Lazer, Deno and Mr Eazi?

Monts: It’s truly a blessing to work with such a talented producer! He teaches us new things every time we step into the booth. I would say it’s a match made in heaven as he has produced all the songs on our EP, which will be landing real soon! It’s rare to find someone so talented and so humble who genuinely wants to see you succeed.

Jay: Listen, Hypertone is absolutely amazing. Honestly, I feel so proud to be able to call the man family, He’s one of the most talented musicians that I’ve worked with. He can sing, he can write, he can produce. There’s literally nothing he can’t do Lol! It’s so rare to find someone so genuine for real and I’m just glad he’s part of our team.

 

Where do you see your music taking you within the next year? Do you think your music will develop into another style?

Monts: I genuinely believe 2020 is going to be a life-changing year for us, seeing our music and ourselves travelling around the globe! Our sound is always developing and I wouldn’t tunnel it into one specific style. JY MNTL is a feeling, a vibe, a mood. Our main aim no matter what sound we develop into is to connect and relate to our fans and all those that consume our music.

Jay: I agree with Monts we have made so much music already you wouldn’t have imagined, we’ve got different genres and styles for days as we never limit ourselves to one style. So I wouldn’t necessarily say our music will develop into another style as every type of style we make always has a JY MNTL formula to it, so it’s always going to sound like our music but each style has its own twist but still with the JY MNTL print.

2020 is hopefully going to be a decisive year for us as little things are falling into place that weren’t there previously so we just have to keep praying that that continues and maintain the consistency and performance quality that we have.

 

 

Would you like to say anything to your fans?

Jay: I say this all the time. We wouldn’t be anywhere without the support that our fans give us and I just want to let them know that every single one of them is appreciated. As much as we’re on this journey they are always there right behind us, from turning up to our shows to streaming our music to telling a friend to tell a friend about us. Every little helps and we want to just improve and better the relationship with have with our supporters so we can actively show the appreciation that they deserve. Love you guys!

Monts: Yeah you guys are so dope man! Honestly, without your support, we wouldn’t be where we are today! All your DM’s, likes, comments and shares really keep us going! We do this for you and cant wait to show you all that we have in store for the future! We love you all!