The most evident trend in music lately is the constant melding of genres and almost undefinable nature of the majority of music; Fort Collins band Write Minded is at the forefront of that. The band fuses hip-hop, rock, funk, reggae and psychedelic influences together to create a wholly original and compelling style that they describe as “alternative hip-hop.”

Write Minded originally started out as an acoustic duo with Jesse Neth (vocals) and Sam Mouton (vocals), but quickly transitioned into today’s lineup of Jonah Greene (drums), Forrester Tamkun (guitar), Jarod Ford (bass)—or as he’s more commonly known, Turtlebear—and Wilson Slaughter (keys and synth) by early 2015. Now, Neth and Mouton share vocal and rapping duties.

“It was kind of a folky, rap, acoustic thing where I would play guitar and we would sing and rap and we loved it, but we just wanted a bigger sound and we wanted to have more of a show that people could enjoy as an experience,” Mouton said. “We knew Forrester and Jonah and Wilson from high school and we just vibed together from the beginning.”

On April 1, Write Minded played their first ever gig in Denver at Lost Lake Lounge in front of dedicated supporters from Fort Collins and impressed Denverites new to the band’s sound. Write Minded has cemented a strong following in Fort Collins that led to the release of their first album “Eye Above” in 2016, which won Best Funk/Fusion/Jam Album at the Independent Music Awards that same year.

“It was a great representation of what we’re about to do with our music,” Neth said. “Everyone in our band has a different influence, and we just threw it in a pot to see what happened. Now we’re trying to really direct the sound in a certain way that everyone can keep going with.”

With such a strong fan base in Fort Collins and with the majority of the band being FoCo natives, the city plays an integral role in the band—when introducing the song “Perfect Day” during their gig, they described it as their homage to their hometown, a sentiment that pretty much every Fort Collins resident can understand. “Eye Above” was also recorded in Fort Collins. However, Write Minded hopes to use this show and upcoming shows in Denver as a launching pad to continue to grow their following and become a larger part of the up and coming music scene in Northern Colorado.

“There’s a really cool culture building here [in Denver] around music and art and it’s awesome that we broke in tonight to be part of that. Hopefully, we can gain a following here and have some fun,” Mouton said. “There’s a lot of people in Fort Collins and Northern Colorado that are putting a lot of effort and financial help and work. A lot of people are living for music and this musician movement happening in Colorado and we’re right in the midst of it.”

As the band has grown together, “Write Minded” has transcended being just a band name and become a philosophy based on writing good music and having fun on stage—being in the right mindset—and it comes through in their live performances. The six-piece is tight, weaving together intricate instrumentals with sophisticated raps and smooth vocals, a result of the band’s organic songwriting process.

“We write a lot of lyrics, a lot of songs. We have so many that it’s kind of just a lifestyle. It’s become this thing that we all want to be write/right minded at all times,” Mouton said. “It’s basically like our happy place is the name of the band.”

Now that they have their first show in Denver under their belt, Write Minded is looking to just keep moving forward. With upcoming shows in Northern Colorado and the possibility of a tour this summer—if everything falls into place—the future looks bright for the young band.

“We want to branch out to Denver and the surrounding areas and then Red Rocks, and then after that, there are many things we want to do, including tour,” Neth said. “That’s our current goal, to be true starving artists and play at any venue we can.”

Write Minded’s next Denver show is at Cervantes’ Masterpiece on April 21 opening for The Underachievers, with another show the next night in Fort Collins at Hodi’s Half Note. Tickets are $25 online. Otherwise, the band and their first album can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube and SoundCloud.