I'm just can't get over this guy- I'm fully sprung. Here's why:
Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “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, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr.
Few expect such heartfelt sentiment to come from a 29-year-old white kid from Ann Arbor, but he has caught the ear of his family at Stones Throw, as well as BBC Radio 1 host Gilles Peterson and producer/DJ Mark Ronson. Expectations are high for the admitted vinyl junkie who never planned on taking his crooning public. Hawthorne’s hanging-by-a-string falsetto and breakbeat production on his first recorded effort, the tender “Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out,” are simultaneously Smokey and J Dilla – equal parts “The Tracks of My Tears” and “Fall in Love.” “It’s soul,” he explains, “But it’s new.- (ripped this off the bio on Stones Throw yall)
His latest "I Need You" (produced by Nottz) is a dizzying, chopped n screwed plea, that would be hella desperate if the steady beat was absent or, the soul structure was void. Check it here. Mayer Hawthorne's work is released in super fresh styles too- whether it's the heart shaped 7"s or textured album covers, or the vinyl itself. He doesn't forget about the craft behind the art. Check out the AWESOME mix he just dropped (yep- you can download it!). And if you missed him at MFNW, I hear he's coming November 9th to The Aladdin Theatre. You should really go.