This month, we spotlight Mayer Hawthorne
Growing up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, not far from Detroit, Mayer Hawthorne remembers often being in the car with his father who liked nothing better than to listen to the rich soul and jazz music played on the many radio local stations.
“Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” says Hawthorne, a singer, rapper, producer and multi-instrumentalist, who cites Isaac Hayes, Curtis Mayfield and Barry White as major influences on him. In his youth, Hawthorne’s interest in soul records grew into a passion. He discovered the same beauty in the polished sound of Hayes and Mayfield as he did in the deeper, darker grit of the obscure Symphonic Four and Detroit-cult soul slingers The New Holidays.
Hawthorne’s debut album, A Strange Arrangement, released this month, draws from the inspiration of Leroy Hutson, Smokey Robinson, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr. Hawthorne writes, sings and plays nearly all the instruments on his album. There are up-tempo numbers that will bring many back to the Motown era and sweet, sticky ballads sure to cure any love ill.
A Strange Arrangement is full of original compositions and one cover song “Maybe So, Maybe No” (Mayer’s take on the 1969 New Holidays treat) that underlies a heartfelt nostalgia to the sweet soul of yesteryear with a clear desire to show that his Strange Arrangement is no passing fancy. “It’s old soul,” Hawthorne explains, without irony. “But it’s new.”
Born Andrew Mayer Cohen in 1978, his stage name “Mayer Hawthorne” is a combination of his real middle name (Mayer) and the name of the street he grew up on in Ann Arbor (Hawthorne Road).
When he was introduced to his record label, the L.A.-based Stones Throw, company owner Peanut Butter Wolf was skeptical.
“He played 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 that he wrote and that he played all the instruments.” Mayer was signed soon afterwards.
Expectations are high for the admitted vinyl junkie who never planned on taking his crooning public.
He’s played instruments all his life but is not formally trained, never sang in a church choir or in any of the bands he’s been in. Mayer did not plan it this way.
It’s a far cry from where he was just a few years ago – DJing house parties on campus in Ann Arbor as DJ Haircut. Hawthorne is the newest soul sensation, and he’s here to stay.
– Davin Bujalski
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