Embracing Dreamscapes and Open Tuning With mssv
In mssv, labels don’t last long.
For guitarist and vocalist Mike Baggetta, describing the band’s music as “post-genre” is less a manifesto and more a shorthand—a way to avoid a long-winded answer to an impossible question. But behind that casual shrug lies a deep commitment to exploration, instinct, and sonic honesty. In this conversation, Baggetta reflects on his evolving voice (both literal and musical), the power of subtraction, and the elusive feeling he’s still chasing: that liminal moment between dreaming and waking.
You’ve described mssv as “post-genre.” What does that term mean to you personally, and how does it guide your approach to composition and improvisation?
To me, it’s really just more of a phrase, so I have something to answer people when they ask me what kind of music we play without having to launch into a 20-minute long explanation. But it is also very true because we all listen to so much different music and are inspired by so many different artists that it would be pretty disingenuous to try and distill it down into one genre. People are so many different things throughout each day; why should we limit ourselves to one-word descriptions? The phrase itself doesn’t really inform the approach, though; rather, the approach is what originally necessitated the need for this phrase.
When writing or improvising, how do you know when you've stumbled upon something worth chasing?
It's pretty much total intuition, I think. At this point, a lot of my practice is just exploring ideas in music and words, on guitar or piano or whatever is around, rhythms, etc… But I think intuition is honed through listening and experience and being open to new ideas, too. Oh, and a lot of trust in your own instincts and the community you keep, too. Generally, principles for good living seem to apply here.
Your guitar work balances melody, noise, space, and texture in such a unique way. How do you decide what to leave out of a piece?
One of the biggest things I have been working on ion recent years is playing less, taking things out, addition by removal. I want to grow as a musician and have my music evolve, in the opposite way, most folks think about music. Playing slower, not playing, and creating silence in juxtaposition to busier textures is very impactful and dramatic. Some of the process comes from balance, feeling when you need to display the other side of the coin from what has already been heard. Again, it's kind of a process of intuition based on personal ideas… but that's what’s great about music; everyone is different!
Is there a sonic space or emotional territory you're still trying to reach that you haven’t yet?
Yes—that very, very short moment when you wake up from sleep and aren’t sure if you’re still dreaming or not.
Can you recall a moment during a live performance with mssv where you surprised yourself?
Being new to singing with this band (or any band) and getting comfortable with trying new things with my voice in the moment on stage has been the most surprising thing to me. I haven’t ever really sung before mssv. Both Watt and Hodges have been really supportive of this, and I’ve gotten a lot of confidence over the years with them doing this on stage every night. But I never thought about having the ability to try something new on stage with my voice as I would very naturally with my guitar playing. That always still trips me out.
Is there a particular song or moment on an mssv record that feels the most you?
It's kind of a trite answer here, but I would say they all feel like “me” in the sense that I and the band are many things, and the albums do a pretty good job of encompassing those many things throughout—if I do say so myself!
If you could freeze-frame one moment in your musical life and live in it a little longer, what would it be?
I would slow down the time when I was first trying to learn as much about music as I could when I was just starting out. (I’m still trying to learn as much as I can!). And I would try to find a way to inject in the importance of not trying to learn things as “correct” and “incorrect” because I think it took me a long time to unlearn all of that stuff. The true beauty in music is the individual voice, and that voice with the individual voices makes new things. If that's something I can help other musically minded people learn about and consider early on, I’m very grateful for that opportunity.
mssv’s Performance
March 30 - Loosey’s - Gainesville, FL
