Mother Mother on Their Lollapalooza India Debut: 'Even If It’s Just One Person Out There, We’ll Give Them Everything'
Ryan Guldemond, the vocalist of indie rock outfit Mother Mother, talks about live performances and the band's long career ahead of Lollapalooza India.
As Mother Mother prepare for their first-ever visit to India, frontman Ryan Guldemond sounds equal parts curious and excited for what awaits them. The Canadian indie rock band is set to perform at Lollapalooza India this weekend, and while they don’t know exactly what kind of crowd to expect, that uncertainty isn’t dampening the anticipation.
For Guldemond, the appeal lies in finally meeting listeners who have engaged with their music from thousands of miles away. “We don’t really know what to expect,” he admits, “but even if it’s just one person out there, we’re going to give them all the love that we have.”
The invitation from the Lollapalooza franchise was an easy yes. Long admired by the band, the festival’s global network from Chicago to Berlin and now Mumbai offered the kind of platform that aligns naturally with Mother Mother’s touring ethos. “We felt very lucky to receive the invitation, and we said yes immediately,” Guldemond says. “We love to travel the world,” making India both a professional milestone and a personal draw.
Live performances have always been central to the band’s identity, and certain tracks continue to anchor their sets. Halo, Guldemond says, remains a favourite to perform; a song that consistently finds its emotional footing in front of crowds.
That same sense of emotional continuity also shapes how he views 'Nostalgia', the band’s latest album, which deliberately blends past and present. The record includes an equal mix of older, previously recorded songs and newly written material. For Guldemond, the album holds “the most of our roots and the most of our current selves,” a practice translating how they group has evolved and grown sonically.
That approach, however, is unlikely to define what comes next. Ryan says he would love for the band’s future recordings to lean firmly into the present. More than stylistic shifts, what he’s most interested in changing is the way the band records.
After years of multi-tracked, layered studio production, Mother Mother are eager to return to a more collective process, playing together in the same room, creating in the most collaborative sense.
While the band’s foundations remain rooted in indie and alternative rock, Guldemond points to progressive synths and even heavy metal as sources of inspiration, particularly in terms of structure. He’s drawn to songs where “there are lots of different parts and the time signature changes — it’s not like a pop formula,” allowing compositions to take its more honest course.
Reflecting on the band’s long career, Guldemond is candid about moments when their creative compass wavered. There were periods, he admits, when the group simplified their sound and lyricism in hopes of broader appeal.
“I wouldn’t call it virality, but we were trying to simplify to connect with a broader audience,” he says. In hindsight, he doesn’t believe that approach truly works. “You almost have to ignore the audience to do what’s best for the audience. You have to be completely selfish about what you’re trying to create, and that’s the stuff people connect with the most.”
As for what the next decade holds, Guldemond avoids grand projections. After more than 20 years of constant touring and recording, he acknowledges that the band may eventually slow their pace, though not their creative output. “We’ve been going hard for 20 years, so maybe we’ll slow down a little — but not too much.”
Long-term forecasting, he admits, isn’t something he dwells on. “I don’t think too much about the future.”
Beyond the stage, his India trip will extend past Mumbai. After the show, the Mother Mother frontman plans to travel solo to Varanasi and Jaipur, exploring the cities through photography, a parallel creative practice he often turns to while touring. “I like to take pictures,” he says, adding that long photo walks are his preferred way of absorbing new places.
For an artist so deep into his career, the continued reception to 'Nostalgia' still feels surreal. “To make music that strangers enjoy—I don’t think we ever really get used to that feeling,” Guldemond says. What remains constant is a sense of gratitude, and the awareness that every new audience, including the one waiting in India, is something to be met with humility rather than expectation. “We feel very lucky.”