Mobley is the alias of Anthony Watkins II, a one-man band who terms his sound “post-genre pop.” While he mixes genres in a manner that is easily accessible, he’s not one for escapist fantasies or straightforward love songs, writing frequently about alienation, racism, and egotism, among other societal and intrapersonal issues. A seasoned performer who has toured over 200 days in a year, he’s known for accompanying himself on instruments including guitar, keyboards, live drums, and drum machine while also handling visuals. After numerous self-released recordings throughout the 2010s, Watkins landed a deal with Last Gang Records and entered the 2020s with Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme.
Born in North Carolina and raised in a military family that necessitated frequent moves abroad and within the U.S., Anthony Watkins II played violin and trumpet as a youngster, and at the age of 16 started playing guitar and writing songs. While enrolled at the University of North Carolina where he earned a film degree, he started performing and recording under the name Mobley, joined on a temporary basis at later points by fellow musicians including Tim Shelburne, Sergio Trejos, and Alfredo Rios. Mobley self-released the Young Adult Fiction EP in 2012, and in 2013 placed a cover of the Beatles ‘ “I Wanna Be Your Man” on True Blood: Music from the HBO Original Series, Vol. 4. Mobley also appeared on another 2013 compilation, The Beatles Reimagined, with a version of “From Me to You.”
Watkins steadily drew more attention to Mobley with tireless touring as an entirely self-reliant multimedia act, along with additional independent recordings such as Audiotree Live and the Some Other Country EP, both of which were issued in 2016, and Fresh Lies, Vol. I, released two years later. Signed to Last Gang in 2019, he made his label debut the next year with Young & Dying in the Occident Supreme, an EP examining Western supremacy. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi