Exclusive Interview with Stones Throw Artist, Mayer Hawthorne!
Back in May, I ran a mini-feature on Mayer Hawthorne, whose “Maybe So, Maybe No” hit hard between my ears, forcing me to set the iPod to repeat. Recently finishing up the Stones Throw U.S. and European tour, I was able to talk with Mayer about his musical path, his alter egos, that really aren’t alter egos but extensions of himself. One thing that is apparent, these guys (Mayer Hawthorne and DJ Haircut) aren’t going away. Seems weird referring to him as two people, but as you read in the interview below, you’ll understand the separation of characters.
Mayer’s album Strange Arrangement is set to release on September 8. Sorry folks, no sample tune to listen to here; they’ve got the album on “lock.” However, I have heard it and there are some baby-making worthy tunes on there — enough to make your soul smile. Mayer has a cool style, soft, yet raspy voice, that definitely extends beyond his years. Drew Cohen was born to be Mayer Hawthorne; there’s no pretense or contrite, just pure soul. Read what he told Muphoric Sounds and listen to the Astronote remix of “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out.”
Muphoric Sounds: How did you get started as an artist? How long have you been in the business?
Mayer Hawthorne: I have been playing in bands since high school. My parents are both musicians. My dad taught me how to play bass guitar when I was six years and he still plays in a band in Detroit to this day. My mom made me take piano lessons when I was a kid, which I hated, but now I’m so glad that she made me take those lessons.
MS: Was that because of the technical side of playing and reading music?
MH: It was mainly for the introduction to one of the key instruments of soul music, which is the piano, and music in general. Most of the greatest songwriters of all time, all play piano. Billy Joel, Elton John. It’s an important instrument.
MS: Your bio says you’ve taken from the Motown assembly-line production model and eliminated nearly every element. How would you describe this process to create what you do?
MH: [laughs] Usually, the song just comes to me and I’ll ear all the parts in my head very vividly and the challenge is to take the song and all the arrangements that I hear in my head and get them out of my head and onto a reel. So one by one, play the drums, bass, piano, or whatever the instrument is to get it to sound like it does in my head.
MS: You did a Prince with Strange Arrangement, by playing all the instruments and vocals, being like a one-man production, which is quite amazing.
MH: One of the main reasons I wanted to play all of the instruments myself, in fact I didn’t play them all myself, but I did play the majority them. I had a little help from The County, my live band. Playing the instruments myself, is really fun for me. It’s generally easier for me to get the sounds I hear in my head, if I just play it myself rather than trying to explain it to another musician. I’m extremely meticulous in the studio, I’m an extreme perfectionist and I’ll record a bass line a 100 times in a row until I get the perfect sound the way I hear it in my head. And a lot of times, its easier to play it myself than try to explain to another musician.
MS: This whole thing of Mayer Hawthorne. How did you come up with this character? Is he a character?
MH: Mayer Hawthorne is just… I’m a soul man in real life. I grew up listening to Motown, soul music in general and every guy has a little Mayer Hawthorne in them, I think. Every guy has relationship issues that they deal with and I think that Mayer Hawthorne is just one side of my personality, an extreme side of me that helps me to deal with a lot of the love issues that I’ve dealt with in my life.
MS: So is DJ Haircut another side of you?
MH: Yes, DJ Haircut is another side of me, sort of my more street side. Haircut’s a little more carefree that’s sort of hip hop.
MS: I just saw the video for “Maybe So, Maybe No,” and I thought it showed two personalities merged together.
MH: Yes, that’s right. At the end of the day it’s all me. Those are different sides of my personality.
MS: So Mayer Hawthorne is here to stay? You’re not going to be one of those alter egos that put out a couple of productions and then disappear.
MH: [laughs] I am Mayer Hawthorne, he’s not going anywhere; he can’t go anywhere. There’s plenty of Mayer Hawthorne coming.
MS: So how did the Stones Throw union come about?
MH: I met Peanut Butter Wolf here in Los Angeles at a party called The Do Over when I had moved to LA from Detroit and I was introduced by a mutual friend who had heard my Mayer Hawthorne material, and she was sort of bigging it up to Butter Wolf saying, “You’ve gotta hear this Mayer Hawthorne stuff.” At first I had only played my Mayer Hawthorne stuff to friends and family and I hadn’t shopped it around or sent it to anyone. I didn’t have any intentions of recording a full album of that material. Peanut Butter Wolf took such a liking to the songs, that he asked me to record a full album of it, where previously I hadn’t even thought about doing that.
MS: Right, your bio said that you moved to LA to pursue your rap music?
MH: Yes, that is entirely true. I was focused on hip-hop music production and DJ’ing and this Mayer Hawthorne stuff was kind of an experiment on the side that took on a life of its own.
MS: So how is your tour going right now?
MH: The Lonely Hearts Tour starts September 5th. We’re just preparing right now and rehearsing and putting together a dynamite show.
MS: Weren’t you were doing shows recently? You did London, New York and other states. Were they just teaser shows?
MH: I went on the Stones Throw US tour with Peanut Butter Wolf, DâM-FunK, and James Pants – we toured the US and Europe a few months back. It was a fantastic experience and a lot of people’s first introduction to Mayer Hawthorne. It was a lot of fun and I got to see a lot of cities I’d never been to. I like to try out the food everywhere I go; I’m a huge food guy.
MS: About a week ago, you made a statement on Twitter where you said, “Thanks for leaking my album.” [MH laughs] I was like “Oh no.” But it is definitely a problem in that the digital age makes it difficult for artists to prosper, plus the recording industry model has changed. What are your thoughts on that and how you are combating the obstacles?
MH: Well, to a certain extent you have to be sort of happy that people want your album badly enough that they’ll bootleg it. In a lot of ways, it’s a good sign that people are pirating my album because it means they want it. Basically what pirating music, bootlegging music over the Internet has done is brought us back to the old days where everything was based on the dynamite live show. Its forced artists to come with their live shows, so that people will come out to see them. And in a lot of ways it has weeded out the artists that can’t perform live. It has shifted from record sales to touring. Artists have to tour to support themselves. That’s one of the reasons why we’re working our hardest on the tour to deliver a really dynamite show.
MS: So how would you describe your sound?
MH: My sound is very influenced by Motown and 60s soul. But I wasn’t even alive in the 60s, and I’m a hip-hop kid who grew up in the 80s. So it’s impossible for me to record a straight vintage soul album because I wasn’t even alive then. All of the hip-hop influences in the 80s they come out in my music whether I like it or not. I think that’s what gives it the modern feel and updates it for a new generation of kids who didn’t grow up with old soul music.
MS: You could say the same thing for your songwriting as well. You kind of bring back the simplicity of relationships rather than the bump ‘n grind of the 90s, which is refreshing to hear.
MH: Yes, but there definitely is some bump ‘n grind on there.
MS: Yes. You can definitely make some babies with what’s on Strange Arrangement.
MH: Yeah, there’s definitely going to be some babies made. I hope so. That’s one of the goals. [Laughs]
MS: Are there any collaborations in the future?
MH: There are a few collaborations coming up for sure. I just finished a song with Freeway. We’ve been talking to Snoop Dogg. There are a lot of things in the works, I don’t want to give too much away. We’re working on a few things. I’m mainly focused on this album right now and there are no guests on this album.
MS: I actually heard the album for the first time today. And it’s really great. I grew up in the UK and my family is Jamaican and there’s always a reggae version of Motown hits, and listening to Strange Arrangement made me think about reggae remixes. So don’t be surprised if you hear about a reggae version of “Maybe So, Maybe No” being in production right now.
MH: Wow, I do hope there is. That would be cool. I love reggae.
MS: So what is Mayer Hawthorne listening to now?
MH: I am currently listening too… I’m in love with this Norwegian singer called Hanne Hukkleberg. She’s one the great songwriters of our generation. I’m obviously listening to a lot of Motown. The Marvelettes is big on my deck right. Boss One, who is one of my favorite emcees right now. His album is incredible. I try to listen to as much as I can, always. Anything I can put my ear to.
Roseann V. Warren
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