Each Measure Interview: A Conversation with Mishell Ivon

THE RELEASE

If you’ve ever felt like the world was hellbent on breaking your spirit, ESCAPE, a disco-infused dance album by Mishell Ivon and Vincent Kwok, will give you a chance to prove you’re still alive inside.

There are very EPs that can sustain a vibrant, high-energy dynamic across multiple songs without quickly losing steam. Even in the spunky world of dance pop, most albums have peaks and valleys. ESCAPE is an exception. The EP manages to be nearly a full half-hour of pure fun and joy.

ESCAPE is not the first time Ivon and Kwok have worked together. Previously released tracks like “Shining Star” and “Andromeda” showcased their flawless chemistry and brought them some much-deserved attention. The power of their international collaboration is once again in full force on ESCAPE. Munich-based singer-songwriter Mischell Ivon brings soulful, silky-smooth vocals that help bring out the emotional resonance dance music can contain. San Francisco-based producer Vincent Kwok delivers glossy, colorful soundscapes that recall the disco euphoria of the late seventies and early eighties. It’s a match made in Heaven, and the result is a highly evocative dance album that puts a modern polish on nostalgia.

The disco genre might seem outdated in 2026, but after listening to ESCAPE¸ I’ve started to feel like the world needs it now more than ever. Disco (and dance music in general) has always embodied human nature’s fun-loving side. It’s one of the few art forms that fully embraces the value pleasure and community for their own sakes. The urge to come together and just feel good is not only natural, but necessary, and in times like these when we have seemingly endless reasons to be anxious, a healthy does of escapism here and there is part of survival.

What you’ll find in this album is an outlet for your humanity. Tracks like “Good Love” and “WERQ” radiate joy with bouncy bass lines and playful lyrics. Other tracks like “Mixtapes & Broken Hearts” manage to hint at more depth while maintaining a lighthearted atmosphere, a difficult balance to strike. Overall, ESCAPE make the perfect soundtrack for a night out of letting loose, but I’d also suggest leaving this album on in the background as you go about your day just to spice things up (trust me, having this album on while you do housework makes the time pass much more quickly).

ESCAPE is everything a disco EP should be: funk, fun, and joy wrapped in high production value and musical excellence. It’s not pretentious or demanding. It’s just fun, and sometimes that’s all that matters.

THE INTERVIEW

Thank you so much for ESCAPE! Can you tell us a little bit about how this EP came to be?
  

Mishell: This particular collection of songs were created specifically for the new Label Hitmint Music. It just naturally formed to a series that seemed to make sense together, sound and message wise. 

Vincent: Ironically a lot of the songs on this EP came about because I was having difficulty sleeping! I was trying out a sleeping program where it the idea was to create a sleep deficit, so what that meant was that I was staying up a lot later than I should have. A lot of the songs were the result of me noodling around and trying to stay up! With the time difference between Mishell (who is 10 hours ahead of me) and myself, we ended up with this incredibly diverse set of songs!

You’ve collaborated with each other a lot and created some incredible tracks. What do you think makes your partnership work so well?


Mishell: Mutual respect for each others ideas and time. We have a sort of Flow that developed because our work pace is quite similar. 

Vincent: I think the thing that makes us work so well is that Mishell has been adaptable enough to go come up with these melodies and lyrics that complement some of the crazy musical ideas that I’ve been exploring. Mishell is also really quick at coming up with ideas and we have this back-and-forth where her ideas will then inspire me to try out new things and that then forms our track.

Can you talk a little bit about each others roles in the process of recording this album?

Mishell: I come up with melody, lyrics, and vocals. Vincent handles instrumental production. 

Vincent: A lot of times, I’ll come up with some musical ideas, it could a cool change, or something, and Mishell will listen to that music and that (hopefully) will inspire her to come up with lyrical and melodic ideas that she’ll send back to me. It’s a back-and-forth thing where her ideas will then inspire me to go someplace else.

ESCAPE obviously takes a lot of inspiration from older disco recordings, and there’s a really joyful nostalgia to it. Who are some of the artists that influenced this recording the most? 

Mishell: There is always a bit of boogie in what we do lol ... hmmm hard to say a bit of Donna Summer, Midnight star, Imagination..

Vincent: That’s a tricky one, simply because the EP has a whole bunch of different ideas. Instead of specific artists inspiring this recording I’d say that it was more of a genre that inspired the various songs. Since I used to DJ quite a bit, I’d say the house scene was one of my inspirations, but definitely funk music and there’s also a little trap in there.

Now that ESCAPE is out, do you have plans to continue working together in the future?

Mishell: Yea, we have quite a bit still planned. 

Vincent: Mishell and I are constantly working together, so yes. We do intend to work together in the future. I feel that Mishell definitely inspires me and I hope that the feeling is mutual!

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