Rising Arp: goneMUNE Communes With Her Inner Voices Through Dark-Pop Dialogues

Identity is a recurring theme in the dark-pop musings of goneMUNE (Credit: Courtesy of goneMUNE)

The discovery of the self can sometimes be an arduous affair. There are individuals, like goneMUNE, who wrestle with the issue of identity, piecing together a fragmented puzzle that alters its form incessantly. How do you coexist with the voices inside your head? How do you stay authentic when the pressures of the world try to bend your truth? These are sensitive conversations that often wallow in the darkness, a setting that aptly paints the overarching tonality of her shadowy songcraft. Through her music, goneMUNE sheds light on her psyche, even when it’s at its dimmest.

goneMUNE isn’t afraid to cut deep with the honesty of her compositions (Credit: Courtesy of goneMUNE)

The goneMUNE chronicles began in December 2020, when a bedroom musician named Mune decided to express herself through her art. No qualifications, no social media virality, no label support; just a vehement urge to tame personal demons like trauma and mental health issues. Following fleeting yet foundational cross-continent projects with fellow musicians she’d never met in the flesh, Mune would spur on her goneMUNE alias on home soil. After honing her production skills, she eventually landed her debut performance on April 2022 at *SCAPE, and would go on to clinch follow-up gigs at Big Duck’s B4 showcase and The Glass Hut where she unveiled the launch of her TULPA EP. And it’s in TULPA where she tackles the toughness of what she yearns to say.

“Sometimes I believe I am controlling someone else’s body,” Mune describes in the introduction of her EP, painstakingly documented in a diary-like album book that mirrors the nostalgia of physical lyric sheets. Self-discovery, gender identity and even the inevitability of death are explored in these compositions that trail the boundaries of dark-pop and altronica. Standout tracks include “Petal”, a mildly menacing creature that dances in the dark with mellow synths and weighty beats; a representation of the lurking persona within. “Victim” presents a vaporous, ethereal lo-fi lullaby that trudges through the thorny subject matter of strained family ties. While on “Drive My Car”, goneMUNE shares an uneasy confession about coping mechanisms, shaped by mechanical percussions, lonesome pianos and dulcet vocal blankets that coalesce into one another. It’s a particularly orbital song that loops and loops, chasing its own tail like Ouroboros in motion.

These intimate pieces feel like gazing into a snow globe that’s guarded yet fragile; a dome of reflections and refractions. Listen closer, and melt into the tumultuous inner realm of goneMUNE. Perhaps, you might relate.  

(Credit: Courtesy of goneMUNE)

You can now stream TULPA by goneMUNE on her Spotify and her Bandcamp page. Follow her on her Instagram page to stay updated with her activities.