DETROIT IS not just Motor City, it is the home of Motown, the label which had Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, and Smokey Robinson on it’s books. It is the epicentre of soul.
Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside Detroit, and remembers as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to listen to the state’s soul and jazz music.
“Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences.
Hawthorne has played instruments for much of his life, but never intended to become a singer. He isn’t formally trained, and never sang in the church choir or was in any bands. Yet he recorded a number of soul influenced songs which made their way to Peanut Butter Wolf, head of the Stones Throw label.
“He showed me two songs and I didn’t understand what I was listening to,” Wolf recalls. “I asked him if they were old songs that he did re-edits of - I couldn’t believe they were new songs and that he played all the instruments.”
Wolf was also impressed by Hawthorne’s heartfelt vocals, hanging-by-a-string falsetto, and breakbeat production. The label decided to take a chance on Mayer and released his debut single, ‘Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out/When I Said Goodbye’ on a red heart-shaped 7” in November 2008.
His second single ‘Maybe So, Maybe No/I Wish It Would Rain’ was released on a 12” in April, while his debut album, A Strange Arrangement was released in September. Allmusic.com gave the album four stars saying: “It’s all really quite astounding. Neo-soul. Yep. That’s what this is. And it’s damn good. Soul, neo or not, is soul, and this guy has it.”
Mayer Hawthorne & The County (Stones Throw ) play the Róisín Dubh on Friday October 30 at 8pm. Tickets are available from the Róisín Dubh and Zhivago.
