YOUR FAVORITE UNDERDOG MAUMAUMAU RELEASES NEW EP "MEOW MEOW MEOW"
Just in time for your new summer playlist, your favorite underdog hitmaker MAUMAUMAU has released his new EP "Meow Meow Meow". Naturally, we're obsessed with it. Get to know Mau and unleash the vision behind this 5 track gem. Every musician has that special moment where they create something that is inexplicably and undeniably them. For MAUMAUMAU, this is his big reveal.
"I wanted my first EP to be a solid introduction to my quirkiness. It's a little view inside my head but it visits some of my recent hurdles and thoughts," proclaims Mau. With catchy hooks, summer vibes, and profound lyrics, 'Meow Meow Meow" is everything you love about MAUMAUMAU and more. "My songs always have some sort of thing in them that will surprise you. Whether it be a beat change, an unexpected instrument, a weird mash-up of genres, you name it. There will always be something to keep you on your toes. I also put a lot of time and thought into the lyrics in the hope you can connect with more than just the music".
“Curve Ball Whip Cream”
"Meow Meow Meow" opens with a crunchy synth, paving way for Mau's unique lyric structure. It's an opening track that shows us that timing is truly everything. "I was in New Jersey with my girlfriend and her family", Mau begins. "I brought my computer with me so I could make beats in the little break times we had and I heard this really cool bass sample. It felt offbeat and punk-ish, so I rolled with it and made the beat that would become the verses. I couldn't come up with a chorus at the time, so I left the beat there. When the new year rolled around and I had decided to start my solo project, I opened up the project and felt so inspired by the beat that I wrote the whole thing in one sitting. The verses just came out. It felt like the original song that would introduce this project."
Like many, right when we think we've figured things out, we are thrown into a ton of different directions. "Curve Ball Whip Cream" is a total rollercoaster filled with a message we can all relate to. "Life is unexpected and will always throw things at you that will change the direction you thought you were heading in," says Mau. "I liked the thought of that. Life throws you curveballs. For some reason, in my head, the image was of life throwing whip cream pies at your face. Felt more comedic and light-hearted. SOOOOO my brain, being silly like it is, kind of put the two analogies together and formed curveball whip cream. It’s a song about being ok with who you are and where you're headed. It’s about taking things lightly and accepting change. It’s somewhat sarcastic in saying, ‘love the taste of curveball whip cream’, but still accepting of the truth that you gotta love those twists and turns to enjoy life."
"Life is unexpected and will always throw things at you that will change the direction you thought you were heading in”. -MAUMAUMAU
“Famous”
Inside the shiny, sunny LA dream is a ton of people who know people, who know someone who is famous. But when it comes to someone we know directly, our relationships morph, and the flux and flow of friendship quickly changes. "Famous" is a total earworm, that you'll never want to get out of your head, but will make you miss the pals from your past thriving in that spotlight today. "'Famous' is about a good friend named Jordan", says Mau. "He is more commonly known as Grandson, and well, when he got famous, our friendship just kind of disappeared. It’s about the complexities of fame and how it can weigh and affect relationships. I worked really hard in making it a song that’s not bitter or angry. I still think Jordan is an incredible human being and his work is something the world desperately needs, it just sucks that my friend went with the arrival of his fame."
Like many musicians, Mau often battles with the idea of fame himself, and is fascinated by, "the allure of Fame and how little those without it know about it. Heck, it's something that comes with my own pursuits and I often think about how it will affect me". At the end of the day, there is no beef or ill-will toward any of his pals who have hit the limelight. "It's everything I want for my friends pursuing music”, Mau admits. “It makes me happy to see them succeed in their passions and for people to recognize them. It’s no different for Grandson. For me, it was more about noticing the compromises and sacrifices that have to be made and how that sometimes means relationships. Which makes sense, and it sucks. Fame should always be an occupational hazard of pursuit, not the end goal for your career. I’m also almost certain that those who have fame feel the weight of the things they've sacrificed and although I hope they feel no regret, it must be something that lingers in the back of their heads every now and then."
”Fame should always be an occupational hazard of pursuit, not the end goal for your career.”- MAUMAUMAU
“Distracted”
Our necks tilted toward blue light beaming off our devices has become the norm. Oftentimes, that norm gets in the way of what we are trying to accomplish-- a battle Mau personally goes through. During the making of "Distracted", the battle raged on. "'Distracted' came to us during a session”, Mau begins. “We were recording vocals to a different song we were writing called 2D and as I was in his vocal booth/closet, I found myself scrolling through Instagram literally as I was singing the chorus to this song. I thought to myself, ‘what the heck am I doing?… I should love what I do and it should be all-consuming and bring me joy’. So I stopped singing and John asked if I was ok and I asked him to hold up. I walked out of his closet and apologized for being all over the place and on my phone the whole session. We had a really cool heart to heart and I felt the urge to start a new song. He, being the dope friend and writer that he is, didn't bat an eyelash”.
“We wrote “Distracted” in one sitting. It was awesome." Being distracted by social media and screens isn't the only hurdle for Mau. "'Distracted' is about ADHD and the epidemic that it has become,” says Mau. “It’s about being distracted from your pursuits and your potential love for life by the little dumb things that get in the way. It’s about embracing that in sadness and realizing that something has to give for us to be awake and live".
“I should love what I do and it should be all consuming and bring me joy.”- MAUMAUMAU
“Happy”
It's one thing to be happy on our own, it’s another to wish happiness to others. "I think happiness is a moment”, says Mau. “And a fleeting one at that. But it's a state in which nothing else matters but what is happening in front of you and you have a sense of satisfaction that puts everything else to rest. I know it’s not sustainable and striving for happiness is a fool's errand, but the idea behind wishing someone happiness is lovely and I believe it is a noble cause."
Wishing happiness for someone seems easy, but even to the ones we love the most is no small feat. "I wrote this song for Gianna, my ex-girlfriend,” begins Mau. “We were having a lot of micro fights at the time and I found myself sitting in silence thinking, this fight is silly, and being mad is silly when all I really want for you is to be happy. It sounded different in my head at first. It was going to be more like Bad Suns or COIN— a happy indie-pop jam that would just be a lovely gift for someone I love. But when I started production on it, I found that emblematic synth sound that plays throughout the whole song and it changed the direction of everything to what you hear now. I found the irony to be perfect. A song about happiness that does make you happy but is very… very... minor."
“I think happiness is a moment, and a fleeting one at that.”- MAUMAUMAU
“Alright”
Despite it all, MAUMAUMAU reassures us that we will be alright. It's in the little things where we find our comfort and security. "Alright" tips its hat to that reassurance. "My dad bestowed a mantra unto me and my brothers: ‘Life is good always! Even when it’s not’”, says Mau. “This song is about that. The mindset of trusting that things will be good no matter what and surrendering to the randomness of life and choosing the silver lining and optimism."
From battling the twists and turns that life has to bring us, to the exploration of the complexities of fame. From fighting the inner battles of distraction and tenaciously working toward the endless pursuit of happiness, MAUMAUMAU will have us dancing through this sun-kissed summer. "I think the irony of it all just wraps it all super well. It’s a chaotic little EP and I think to end it with, 'no matter what you’re going through, it will be alright', just felt like a nice touch".
“The mindset of trusting that things will be good no matter what and surrendering to the randomness of life and choosing the silver lining and optimism."- MAUMAUMAU
Listen to MAUMAUMAU’s new EP "Meow Meow Meow" where ever music is heard.