I knew as soon as we exchanged greetings on the phone, that the chat with twenty-year old Mae Muller was going to be effortless and refreshing. Mae was warm, friendly, enthusiastic, and had a hell of a lot of goodness to say about her journey so far, honesty is her best policy both personally and through her song writing and Mae was willing to dish all the dirt.
On listening to Mae’s releases so far, I pointed out her lyrics and her ability to story tell with absolutely no filter, notably track “Jenny“, and who is Jenny? People are always asking, and believe it or not, there isn’t really a specific person the track is based around. However, “us girls, we can all relate”.
Relatability is certainly Mae’s strength, among other things, and I was hooked to her music as soon as I was introduced. From female experiences for the first releases, Mae is now delving a little deeper and into her more personal moments.
Chatting while she was walking back from the studio, she mentioned how in this session, there was something a little sadder in her songwriting “people are really testing me this week, I like saying things people are scared to say, we need to tell them not to f**k with us”.
Working with several producers as Mae continues to build her catalogue, there are some she works with more so than others but “it’s also nice to work with new people to test how you work with a new project”. On writing, Mae plays around with styles and vibes and see what works best with the mood and message. Mae often finds she will freestyle a melody over a production they have built and “catches a moment and moulds it from there”.
With a couple of days of what Mae called “brain mist”, she decided to bury the hatchet [for now at least] on an idea, allowing room for something new, creating something in just 20 minutes with an all new headspace. “It’s important to be honest with yourself, we have the idea so we can go back to it”.
It has been a studio heavy year so far for Mae and as an emerging artist, she feels she is still developing her sound, “I don’t like to say a genre but I know the message I want to portray” and while she evolves we can be sure to expect some exciting new material and new projects, “some I can’t mention but it’s all going in the right direction”.
Mae sees herself as someone who “goes with the flow but it is important to set goals for yourself”. Highly ambitious, and rightly so, on Mae’s radar is a sell-out European tour with a growing fanbase “I want a large amount of people listening and investing in me and see it all come together”. Of course, the BRITs came up, “I would love to win an award and in 5 years have a Brit, Mae Muller with a Brit”.
Although the studio is always a creatively exciting space for any artist, it’s important to get out there and play live and Mae aims to get back on stage in September. With her sights set on Glastonbury and Coachella one day, she certainly has a close eye on KOKO, as she grew up just down the road and even walked past as we chatted. She had always envisioned a role reversal and being on the stage of where some of her favourite gigs have been, growing up. She knew that as soon as she found out music was an occupation, she was sold.
Talking of favourite artists and icons, Mae would like to jump on a collaboration with the fiery IAMDBB, “It would be savagery, everyone wouldn’t know what to do, she just doesn’t care”. Mae is also a huge fan of Rihanna, “everything she does is to the highest standard”, and after seeing her when she was around 7 or 8, Gwen Stefani certainly came through as one of Mae’s idols growing up.
“The girls are really owning it at the moment, its our time to shine, its great in a sea of females that we take inspiration from each other”. Mae is a girl’s girl and although she is all about making songs for everyone, she wants her difficulties and experiences growing up to reach her target audience of girls just like her. It seems like it’s doing just that “I get DM’s [direct messages] on Instagram to tell me my tracks have helped them and its so satisfying”.
Mae is an empowering young female who is in this race for all of us, to represent and have a voice through her art. I’ll be looking forward to watching Mae rise through the ranks as a genuine, confidently honest and down to earth female force to be reckoned with. We all need a friend like Mae Muller, you go girl. Check out Mae’s newest release “Pull Up” below, and keep tabs on her on Twitter and Instagram.
Words by Jodie Brunning
