IN CONVERSATION WITH IMISSMYMOM

interview by JANA LETONJA
photography by ABI PERKINS

London’s IMISSMYMOM have quickly established themselves as one of the UK’s most fearless new acts, channeling raw honesty, improvisation, and unfiltered emotion into their sound. More than a band, they are a creative collective shaping not only their music but also their own artwork and visuals, driven by instinct and collaboration. Their latest single ‘Live To Die’ explores the unsettling tension between life and death, further cementing IMISSMYMOM’s reputation as a group carving a bold, unpolished, and impossible-to-ignore identity.

Your formation was completely spontaneous. What do you remember most vividly about that first warehouse jam?

Tommy’s previous studio in the warehouse was like our primordial pool, it was the only place we could’ve come together like that. The story goes that Kyle and his friend bassist Luke Chin-Joseph came to write a contemporary dance piece at the studio last January. Tennessee, who also was living in the warehouse at the time, popped in to say hi and ended up playing distorted sax over one of the dance pieces. Then Marley, who had just been a victim of fraud at one of the ATMs at Stratford station, decided to come down to the studio to decompress. It was at that point that we decided to start jamming all together and Tennessee got on the mic. Some of those very first recordings ended up on the album. Shortly after, we followed up with 3 more jams with our friend Cameron who eventually joined the band and suggested we should name it IMISSMYMOM based on one of Tennessee's first lyrics. 

Four hours of non-stop improvisation became a third of your debut. How do you decide which moments to shape into songs?

Deciding which moments to shape into songs is instinctive. Sometimes in the moment, sometimes while listening back. The first jams set such a clear tone that it felt almost obvious, as if the songs already existed and were speaking to us from the future.

Why was it important for you to keep the imperfections, the rough edges, in the recordings?

Sometimes it feels like we’re trapped in a world obsessed with illusions and perceived perfection. Our music is the sound of five separate lives coming together from different perspectives. It was really important for us to keep the imperfections and the rough edges.

We want to share our raw honest emotions and realness we felt while playing as a band for the first time. It felt like the universe brought us together so we could learn to be more accepting and appreciative of life’s mysterious beauty as being imperfect, impermanent and incomplete. 

The band name came from Tennessee belting out “I miss my mom.” What does that phrase mean to the group now?

Tennessee: When I said “I miss my mom,” I was thinking about a lot of different things. Personal difficulties, painful experiences and the relationship I have with my mom. It’s been difficult for me to choose to let go of some of this baggage, especially when it’s shaped so much of who I am. But outside of that specific context, I know the phrase will always be perceived personally. It pulls at one's emotions and demands space for a certain level of vulnerability. It can be perceived literally, or as a cry for a deeper emotional need for comfort, security and a sense of belonging. “I miss my mom” is likely all of our first unspoken feelings, expressed through the scream of a newborn. The moment we realise we exist, we’re faced with our first primal sense of separation and loss. It’s personal, yet universal. Regardless of gender, we all start life being forcibly removed from our personal primordial pools. 

Tommy: I guess we also feel like the lost children of Neverland, free spirits living in Hackney Wick with no responsibilities in the real world. Even the life of an artist takes a toll on you. “I miss my mom, I’m ready to go home” is like a desperate call for help.

Improvisation is at the heart of your identity. How do audiences respond to that unpredictability in your live shows?

People really get into it. Our live shows embody that sense of freedom and release that comes from our improvisational nature. It’s hard to pin down our sound. It can be very dissociative and psychedelic at times. But combined with Tennessee’s unique vocals and direct, emotionally charged lyrics, we create a real sense of presence. We demand attention. 

The response is often a mix of surprise and deep appreciation. There are moments when the audience may seem caught off guard and apprehensive, but by the end they’re completely drawn in by the raw emotion Tenn brings to the performance. Each live show is its own living, breathing world. A true moment in time. 

Each of you brings a distinct background. How do those different musical experiences collide in the band’s sound?

Our sound really comes together through a mix of everyone’s individual experiences and the history we share. Cameron, Kyle, Marley and Tommy have been friends and playing and working together for years. So from the project's inception, there’s been a kind of an unspoken musical telepathy between members. Something that can only be honed from years of bonding and jamming. 

Cameron brings a grounded technical understanding from his classical training and work as a composer, lending more structure to nuanced sound. Marley adds a distinctive melodic sensibility and texture, shaped by his experience as both a rapper and a solo rock artist. Kyle brings an unmatched energy through his instinct for rhythm, driving the dynamics of our sound. Tommy’s background as a producer and mixing engineer ties everything together, shaping how all the elements interact. Tennessee has the least musical experience, though her background in painting and curation gives her a strong sense of emotion and atmosphere, which carries through in her vocals and lyrics. She approaches songwriting from a really visual and intuitive place, which adds another layer to what the band creates. When our different experiences collide, we express a sound of shared intuition.

You also produce your own artwork and visuals. How does that creative control shape the band’s overall identity?

It allows us to control the way we present ourselves, but also shows how resourceful we are. For the last two projects we filmed in Italy, In the simplest of terms, it makes everything way more personal and keeps costs low.

Your latest single ‘Live To Die’ explores the tension between life and death. How did that theme emerge?

Tennessee: ‘Live To Die’ is a reminder to myself, and to anyone who will listen, to live life by choice. Sometimes I forget that I’m just one of 8.2 billion “meat puppets” running around, speaking and existing alongside one another. And between us all, we have this shared universal truth of life and death. The theme really emerged naturally for me. I’ve always thought a lot about my own mortality, and I often get caught in the noise of my personal longing and confusion that comes with being alive. But I’ve realised that I have far more control over my life than I tend to believe. That realization became the emotional core of the song. I hope that if people take anything from the song, it’s that there’s more to life than what’s been placed in front of you. I believe if I can’t let go of that fear, I’m bound to “live to die”, instead of truly living my life in peace until I die. 

Kyle: The song could be about anything. Without lyrics, it’s just music. I believe Tennessee can listen to what has been created and goes from there, drawing from the overall feeling of the music. The track doesn’t sound like peaches and cream, so lyrics wouldn’t be about peaches and cream. Themes for us are more about how it makes us feel. 

Your other recent single ‘Lust’ captures both vulnerability and discomfort. Was it difficult to channel such raw emotion into music?

Tennessee: Not really. I guess I was a bit coy at first, but I’m generally really comfortable sharing how I feel, so I don’t really find it difficult to channel my emotions and thoughts into song. I don’t find it channeling my emotions into music. What I find the most difficult is being confronted with how people perceive my words. More often than not, I’ve found it very difficult to feel understood or respected at times, especially when I’m being vulnerable and sharing uncomfortable opinions or truths. 

What do you hope listeners take away from ‘Lust’ , ‘Live To Die’ and the upcoming second album?

As we’ve continued to write and work in an improvisational way, it’s taken us a year to reflect and finalise this upcoming album. We’re still finalising it as we speak. Every song is a snapshot of how we were feeling at that moment. Our raw emotions, captured in real time. We hope that anyone who listens can find a piece of themselves in our music, and maybe even find some kind of kinship in the words.

Looking ahead, how do you see IMISSMYMOM evolving while staying true to that raw, instinctive spirit?

We think the shows are going to play an important role in how we evolve. We want them to always have that WOW factor the first warehouse parties had. We just want to take that sound to a bigger stage. We’re also excited to bring new sounds to the band, maybe some synths and drum machines. We haven’t really explored that side of us yet. We can see our live shows sounding huge, we hope the future brings bigger and better shows.