Music Bugle Exclusive – Q & A – Enoma Asowata/Lucy Lenoir/Mark Schroeder Of Haunter

By Nicholas Jason Lopez

A blend of three former emo kids and one metalhead, the lineup of new alt-pop band Haunter of Lucy Lenoir (Vocals), Mark Schroeder (Bass), Mike Ray (Guitar/Synth) and Enoma Asowata (Guitar/Synth) have successfully ditched loud guitars and embraced big hooks and pop sensibilities.

With influences pulled from Chvrches, Ellie Goulding, The Band CAMINO and The Naked And Famous, the group is dedicated to the creation of thoughtful, uncompromising pop music.

Haunter have released a new single, “Miss Me,” which features R I L E Y. The track was produced by two-time Grammy-nominated Rock/Metal Producer Tyler Smyth (I Prevail, Falling In Reverse) and follows up their first single, “Love You Better” in the same vein of the theme of love gone wrong.

Music Bugle – Could you give us some backstory as to how the idea for “Miss Me” exactly came about? How did R I L E Y get into the song?

Mark Schroeder – We started throwing around the idea of having a feature for one of our songs. We weren’t really sure who or what we were looking for, but after listening to a few artists, we thought of our friend R I L E Y and thought a R&B singer would just fit perfectly with one of the songs we were writing.

Enoma Asowata – So “Miss Me” came about from some experiences that Lucy was going through. A lot of our lyrics come from either her or myself and we tend to write what we know, so in this case, an ex of Lucy’s was upset about her traveling to work with us and made the case about her missing him after they split up. Life just kind of happens and we wanted to write about it.

 

Music Bugle – Do you feel it is easier or harder to stand out in your particular genre?

Lucy Lenoir – I feel it’s easier to stand out because there are only so many heavily tattooed pop vocalists out there! That was kind of the goal was doing something unexpected, so I’m hoping that leans us in the direction of catching people’s attention a lot more easily.

Mark Schroeder – With this project, I believe we are creating such a unique approach with every song being able to stand alone that we’ve made a little something for everyone.

 

Music Bugle – How did you guys come up with the band name?

Enoma Asowata – The band name came from me. When I was starting the project, I was suffering from some insomnia and had a few episodes of sleep paralysis. It was a definitely rough patch for me. However, in those moments, I would think a lot about music and how they’re tied to our experiences. It had me thinking about how a great song has this lasting presence, almost as if it haunts you, so Haunter just came to me and it’s just felt right.

 

Music Bugle – Which of your musical influences do you feel show through the most in your work?

Lucy Lenoir – As a vocalist, I’m definitely feeling the Lady Gaga/Katy Perry/Halsey vibes in everything I write. If I can’t picture one of them singing it, I probably won’t be interested in using it for the song! I want the music, lyrics and melodies to sound huge and everything those ladies do is massive. I want us to be on the same pedestal, so I’m writing as if I was performing with them. How would I want to hear it? That’s how I write. Pop royalty only.

Enoma Asowata – I think we are just influenced by all forms of pop music. We all have like rock music backgrounds and we all have found this appreciation for pop. I think our sound is a mix of bands/artists like Chvrches, The Naked and Famous, Ellie Goulding, Halsey, Lights, Imagine Dragons, Broods… I mean, we’re just not ashamed to embrace all things pop and find ways to make it feel unique to us.

 

Music Bugle – What are your future plans?

Lucy Lenoir – Stealing everyone’s boo.

Enoma Asowata – Writing apology letters for the stolen boos.

Mark Schroeder – To keep releasing singles and keep making music we love. Once we get some more music out, we are definitely going to start doing some live shows.

 

Music Bugle – What frustrates you the most about the current music industry and how can it be fixed?

Lucy Lenoir – There is so much wrong with the music industry. Let’s just say I will never be interested in fitting into the circle. I have created my own circle and am not trying to get into anyone else’s.

 

Music Bugle – What’s something you look to accomplish with the band that hasn’t been done yet?

Lucy Lenoir – Performing or recording with Halsey is one of my ultimate life goals. I really need that to happen!

Enoma Asowata – There are so many people I would love for us to collaborate with on some music. Someone I would absolutely love to work with is Annika Wells. I love her voice and her writing. Beyond that, I would absolutely love to work with Lights, Chvrches, Ellie Goulding and Purity Ring. I have a soft spot for synth-based pop. Blackbear would also be an absolutely insane person to work with. I would also be stoked to work with a few rappers. Hip-Hop really does it right with collaboration and if we have something that works, I would want to explore it.

 

Music Bugle – What do you make of the coronavirus outbreak and its effect on the music industry? Has it affected the band in any way?

Lucy Lenoir – Luckily, we have had our material ready to go for quite some time now, so I think we will be set up for success for another 10 months or so! We’ve had videos, promos, visualizers and releases planned about eight months in advance. We got very lucky with the combined experience in this band setting us up to still have things ready to release no matter what and I couldn’t be more grateful for that. We are very lucky.

 

Music Bugle – What has been your favorite moment at a show/while onstage?

Enoma Asowata – Believe it or not, we haven’t played a show yet. We’ve been writing and recording music and making that our primary focus. Once we feel we have enough content released, we will start performing. Putting together a great vision takes time.

 

Music Bugle – What’s something you feel people should know about the band?

Lucy Lenoir – We are all fans of all kinds of music, using all genres to inspire this pop music that’s about to be in your ear holes! We’re gonna blow your mind from every angle. Prepare yourselves! We can’t wait to perform live and spread the word of individuality and passion to everyone on the face of this planet!! We are so ready for takeover. We will be seeing you soon.

Enoma Asowata – We also have a clothing brand that we have started called PRINT MONEY GANG. It’s inspired by a mix of gaming culture and street wear. I’ve designed all the merchandise and we’ve taken some cool partners to make it happen. You can check out all the options at http://printmoneygang.bigcartel.com.