As the year unfolds before us, a blank page of possibility and moderate anxiety, Natherlands musician Mins is here with his second release, and BlackPlastic’s first song of the 2025.
Opening with soft synths, muted guitars and an earnest falsetto vocal, HWYGO is restrained as it gradually builds to a drop, one-minute in, which sees propulsive percussion establish a sense of momentum. Mins’ vocal performance culminates in a distinctively hushed shout of the song’s titular reference, “How would you get out?”.
The escape portrayed here is in reference to moving on from relationships and people, as Mins describes:
‘HWYGO is a song about acceptance and goodbyes, letting things be how they are, and moving on. I have a hard time with not thinking about things too much, I spend too much time regretting and hoping and not living in the now. In this song, the main topic is about love, but it's applicable to every part of life.’
Mins is the musical pseudonym of Minne Bussemaker, who grew up in the countryside close to Amsterdam. Raised in an artistic family, by actors, Bussemaker was surrounded by creativity from a young age. Music was originally a side project, and in high school his focus shifted to basketball. Whilst he had the support of his family, and even travelled oversees to Dublin to further develop before going on to play college basketball in the US, unfortunately an injury led to Minne having to move on from basketball as a career. In the period that followed, he started to explore music production, initially in Garage Band, and after a period exploring law and then politics in education, Minne realised he wouldn’t be happy doing anything that didn’t involve music. Since then, he has been accepted into LIPA, the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, and whilst studying music, has launched his musical career as Mins.
At a time of year that is ripe with reflection and change, HWYGO feels particularly appropriate. I appreciate the soft-focus psychedelia in Mins’ production style and performance. Check it out below, and look out for Mins’ upcoming debut EP.