Mankind is an alternative band composed of singer/songwriter MANE, and The Cloak, a vocalist and producer. The duo met in 2011 and have experimented on a variety of genres and styles ranging from hip-hop to reggae. They recorded their first EP in 2014, and in 2016, received a grant from British Council under their New Arts, New Audiences program to make soundtracks for a film titled Meet me Outside.KenyaBuzz: How did you get to be a part of Meet Me Outside? ManKind: We met Osse (the photographer) online on Behance and on Instagram but we didn't get to meet him and Colin (the cinematographer) until we went to Zanzibar to shoot the first part of the film. This was after we got the NANA grant from British Council.We made the soundtrack for the film after we travelled. Some songs took longer than others to make. Home, one of the songs on the film was frustrating to make. It took us 7 hours in the studio trying to get the instrumental right. Distortion took the least time to make.KenyaBuzz: What is your creative process like? Eugene: It has changed for me. I get most of my ideas when I take walks and I draw inspiration from what I see and who I meet. When I get back to the house and I still remember the idea, then I work on it. If I don't, then it's gone. That's it.Brian: I haven't written a song in years. If a melody comes to me when I'm out and about and it doesn't come to me again at 3 am or any other morning after, then it is gone for good.KenyaBuzz: How different is making music back when you were independent artists (when you released your EP in 2014) and now that you have a deal with Pine Creek Records for your upcoming album?Mankind: We made the album before we had the deal so we approached Pine Creek looking for a means of distribution and less as a means to make the album.We started the album 3 years ago and we've had it as a complete project for about a year and a half. We wanted to present the album in the best quality possible. And that is where the label came in to help us master the album, produce the visuals and give us the networks.KenyaBuzz: What inspires your music?Eugene: Right now, life. Back then, I used to find it very difficult to find inspiration from regular life and normal, boring daily events. But these days I draw inspiration everywhere. Back when we were writing the album, I was inspired by esoteric knowledge from the books I was reading at the time. I was curious about human existence and the mind and nature and Buddhist values. I was trying to figure out what reality was about.Brian: I am inspired by silence and whatever fills that space is what becomes music for me. I don't think I have ever been actively been inspired by my environment.KenyaBuzz: What is your dream collaboration? Eugene: As a group, I'd like us to work with Coldplay. Personally, I've always been a Kanye fan but it has died down over the years. I have always been into how he combines various forms of art and gives you a project that is immense. I'd like to work with Labyrinth as well. Then Prince and Micheal Jackson together.Brian: Chimamanda and Beyonce. A list of producers I'd like to work with includes Pharell, Timbaland, Rick Rubin. I'd love to study Kanye's ability to collaborate. As a producer, he has a knack for bringing out the best and most left version of artists. I feel like Hans Zimmer can score life so I'd like to bounce ideas with him also.KenyaBuzz: What are some of your highs as Mankind?Mankind: The impact. We've met fans who have told us that our music was their soundtrack in college or that they listened to our songs on road trips. Being part of someone's experience without physically being there is crazy. People appreciating our music is the reward.KenyaBuzz: What about the lows?Mankind: There a couple but one of them is not getting back as much as you give. You give a lot of time and energy and get very little back especially in the beginning. Most of the time when you are starting, you don't have a backing in the form of a label to help you. You end up doing both the music and the business side and that gets you weary. Because there is very little money in those initial stages, you end up being a burden and loved ones start looking down on you so there is a lot of pressure.KenyaBuzz: What about your individual stage names, The Cloak and MANE? How did you come up with them?Eugene: Mine is an acronym, May Art Never Die.Brian: I was inspired by the story of the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter.