Hot Press Meets Mayer Hawthorne

Previously noted for his soul-tinged pop, LA-based singer Mayer Hawthorne has explored something of a harder-edged sound on his third album, Where Does This Door Go. The urban influenced grooves on the record reflect his love of Public Enemy and J Dilla, and indeed one of the guests on the album is Kendrick Lamar, who created one of the finest hip hop LPs of recent times in Good Kid, M.A.A.D City.

Another notable guest on the album is Pharrell Williams of ‘Get Lucky’ fame, who produces a couple of tracks, ‘Wine Glass Woman’ and ‘The Stars Are Ours’.
“I met a Pharrell onstage at a Snoop Dogg show, it was kind of awkward!” recalls Hawthorne. “We kept in touch and when he heard I was working on the new album, he actually reached to me, and I couldn’t believe it. I jumped on the first flight I could get to Miami and was like, ‘Yo, what up? Let’s go!’ (laughs) He definitely had a big part in shaping the record. I told him that I really like Steely Dan, and he flipped out. He was like, ‘Oh my God, I love Steely Dan, we should make some music like that!’ He also got me to focus on visual storytelling, which was a big thing on this record.”
Whilst Williams had a notable hot streak from the early to mid-noughties, The Neptunes’ magic touch appeared to have deserted them in recent years, and as a consequence Hawthorne noticed a few raised eyebrows when he announced his decision to work with the producer.
“It’s very important to note that at the time I went in to work with Pharrell, there was no ‘Get Lucky’ and there was no ‘Blurred Lines’,” he says. “And a lot of people were saying, ‘Why do you want to work with Pharrell? Cos he hasn’t had a hit in a long time. Maybe you should work with somebody else.’ And I said, ‘Man, are you guys crazy? This is Pharrell Williams, you can’t count this man out.’ I want to go down there and work with him cos he makes timeless music.”
Though you would imagine that the fun, accessible nature of Hawthorne’s music would yield some serious chart action, he has yet to enjoy a top ten album in the States. Is commercial success important to him?
“Sure, yeah, who wouldn’t like to have that?” responds Mayer. “It’s not my goal though. My goal is to make music that I love and do it for a living. As long I can keep making music as my job, and not have to do some other job, then I’m good.”
Earlier, Mayer had mentioned meeting Pharrell Williams at a Snoop Dogg show. Snoop actually contributed to a song on Mayer’s previous album, How Do You Do, entitled ‘Can’t Stop’. What’s it like hanging out with him?
“Man, Snoop’s the real deal,” replies Mayer. “He’s not playing some character. A lot of weed smoking and he really loves music. Any time I’ve ever hung out with Snoop Dogg we’ve just been blasting The Delfonics and The Chi-Lites and singing along. He’s a super positive dude.”
Didn’t he also produce a porn video at one point?
“Aw man, I don’t know, I wasn’t in that one,” laughs Mayer. “I don’t think he ever did an actual porn though. I don’t know, it’s possible, I wouldn’t put anything past him. I was in a film that he did though called Malice n Wonderland, that was pretty cool. It was like me, Snoop, Diplo and DJ Quik, and we were all waiters in a fancy restaurant. There was a lot more than that, but that was my little cameo!”
Another notable filmic moment for Hawthorne came with the use of his track ‘When I Said Goodbye’ in the Kanye West/Spike Jonze short film We Were Once A Fairytale. Is he a fan of Kanye?
“I love Kanye West, I think his new album is awesome,” enthuses Hawthorne. “I forgot about the track being used in that film, that was fuckin’ cool. I met Kanye at this festival out in Scandinavia, in Finland I think. Afterwards, we talked for a couple of hours, about all kinds of shit. He was the one who really convinced me that there are new rules. He said a ton of crazy shit in there as well, but the thing that really stuck with me from that conversation is that there are no rules. That was my thing for this new album. It was breaking all the rules because they were getting in the way, and the only rule I kept was that it had to be fun.
“There’s a little more hip hop on this album, but I think there’s just a little more everything – it’s the most Mayer Hawthorne record ever. Definitely, hip hop is where I come from and it’s a big part of this sound. But there’s also a lot more rock ‘n’ roll on the new album, and a lot more electronic music and a lot more jazz. Like I say, a lot more everything.”