She&Him Do Music: Mayer Hawthorne

MAYER HAWTHORNE

The face may not match the sound but sound is timeless and that's all that really matters here. Reigning from the grounds of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Mayer Hawthorne (born Andrew Mayer Cohen), grew up with a strong passion for rich soul and jazz. The singer, DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist acknowledges an array of R&B, soul and jazz artists such as Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, Barry White, Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, as major influences and inspirations. One may ask how he is slotted in the "retro" genre tag, especially factoring that he is just entering his 30s but it is the timeless sound that his voice brings through your stereo that takes you back to the late 60s, early 70s.
After being introduced to Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf by mutual friend Noelle Scaggs of the Rebirth, even his current boss was skeptical. "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." (http://www.stonesthrow.com/mayerhawthorne)

After meeting in person, it was even harder for Wolf to believe that Hawthorne was also the lead vocalist. 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." (http://www.stonesthrow.com/mayerhawthorne) Note: he was the only artist to ever be signed by Peanut Butter Wolf after only hearing 2 songs. Not to mention he has never been vocally trained and the songs were recorded more as a joke. Now look where he is, it's brilliant and we think its worth more then a few listens!

Links:
Official Website
Myspace
Just Ain't Gonna Work Out (Official Video)