Blending neon pop spectacle with raw strength, M0n0 Jay’s L.L.L. reimagines gym culture through bold visuals and deeper themes of empowerment, body positivity, and unapologetic self-expression.
1. L.L.L. (Lift Lift Lick It) blends gym culture with high-camp pop aesthetics in a really striking way. What inspired you to transform the gym into this neon, pop-art “Candy Gym” universe?
Honestly, it started with a visual joke. I connected two lollipops by their sticks and realized they looked exactly like a barbell or a mini dumbbell. That sparked the whole thing! I’m a competitive powerlifter here in Sweden, and the gym is basically my second home. But gym culture can take itself so seriously. My local club (Täby AK) is incredibly inclusive, we have everyone from 15-year-olds to 80-year-olds, beginners to literal world champions. I wanted to capture that actual, ridiculous joy. I wanted to take the heavy, gritty reality of lifting iron and crash it into a colorful, unhinged pop universe to show the joy of becoming strong in a space that you fully own.
2. You describe your music as “power, not performance.” Can you expand on that philosophy and how it shaped both the sound and visuals of this release?
Both the fitness and music industries are obsessed with the “after photo.” It’s exhausting. EVERY SINGLE DAY you’re supposed to look perfect for the algorithm or for somebody else’s gaze. As a busy professional, a mother, and an athlete, I was just so tired of it. “Power, not performance” is about not hiding the sweat or the effort of becoming your best self right now, step by step. It’s about taking up space and feeling invincible in the body you have today. Visually, that meant bringing in my actual lifting crew, not models, and showing that strength can be sweet, sexy, and glamorous without posing for anyone but ourselves.
3. The track feels like a “Trojan Horse”—a club banger on the surface, but with deeper themes of body positivity and freedom. How intentional was that contrast when creating the song?
100% intentional. I actually wrote L.L.L. back in May 2024, and it took a while to realize it was actually this fun, quirky track that doubles as a HIIT workout in under 3 minutes! If you want to talk about body positivity and reclaiming your space, you can’t just preach to people. You have to make them move first. I built this 128 BPM industrial club beat with a mischievous xylophone hook specifically to create that friction. The beat pulls you in, but the message is what hopefully makes you stay and move.
4. As both a powerlifter and an independent artist handling your entire creative direction, how do those two worlds influence each other in your work?
They are basically the same discipline! Powerlifting means showing up, training hard, nourishing your mind and body over several years, iterating, and not giving up. As an independent artist and a Marketing Tech Director in my day job, I approached this release with that exact same mindset.
I spent a month in my kitchen painstakingly hand-painting 7 to 10 layers of acrylic onto heavy barbell plates to get the set design right. I sourced the vinyl, the costumes, the glitter. When you are the director and the financier, you don’t have to ask for permission. You just lift the heavy things yourself. I learned so much on the way.
5. The visual campaign for L.L.L. has already gained massive traction before the audio release. How important is visual storytelling in your artistic identity, and what role did platforms like TikTok play in building your audience?
Visuals aren’t an afterthought for me, they are an integral part of releasing the music to my fans.
Because of my day job in marketing, I know how saturated the digital world is, so I intentionally planned a series of short-form vertical videos to help me introduce the concept. But I didn’t have to think about everything in advance: the pink tulle was a gift from a neighbour, and the silver body paint was actually just a way for me to feel attractive during a bad psoriasis flare-up.
Platforms like TikTok let me test that visual thesis directly with an audience. Seeing it nearing two million views right now proved that people across the world really just need more joy and colour in their lives.
6. L.L.L. is the lead single from your upcoming EP Secret Selfies. What can listeners expect from the full project, and how does this track set the tone for what’s to come?
L.L.L. is the bright, adrenaline-fueled front door, but the rest of the EP explores darker themes when the gym is closed. Secret Selfies is a cinematic look at the uncurated, private snapshots of the human mind, unsurprisingly written from a place of actually living through life! The upcoming tracks dive into the exhaustion of modern dating, the visceral reality of mental burnout, and surviving trauma, before finally resolving in a very intimate lullaby. The themes get more serious, but they are all tied together by that same heavy, industrial, metallic club production. I can’t wait to share it with you later this year.
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