Texas-born, Canadian-raised, and South Africa-based indie pop artist Avi Mack unveils his debut EP, “Maybe Never.” ”Maybe Never’ is really a search for certainty. I’ve been grappling with the idea that nothing is really certain. That we are all living in a state of flux. The EP speaks to that, there are just so many things that feel ambiguous in my life. Where there isn’t a categorical answer, only a sense of spectrum which could go either way. It’s understanding that feelings are not binary and have spectrum and movement within them, the play that I am always looking for certainty, but never truly can attain it.” the artist explains
Lead single “Something” saw an upbeat bassline and Michael Jackson-esque drum beats, blending sparkling rhythm guitars that pulls listeners into a feel-good space that’s easily to danceable. With tight production and catchy hooks, Avi Mack delivers a happy sort of melancholy and coming-of-age across the Never EP, which arrives next month. His music can masquerade as simple, while its textured and intrinsic engagement with a much deeper issue keeps you listening to each detail of the production. “Maybe Never” is a shining example of such nuances, with hard-hitting lyrics on a drifting relationship set on the backdrop of upbeat 80s soundscapes.
What’s your story as an artist?
As I am sure you’ve heard before, I’ve always had an obsession with music. I felt, in so many ways, music was able to express the feelings that I never had the words for. I don’t particularly come from a musical family. Although my parents love music, out of my entire family I am the only one who plays an instrument. My dad particularly has a love for music, and listens to anything from Julio Iglesias to Queen to Indian Classical music – I was always encouraged to pay attention and that music deserves to be appreciated and paid attention to. When I was 16, I found an old guitar in a cupboard, and managed to figure out how to play one of my favorite songs at the time, and that was it. I essentially became addicted to the euphoria I felt when I played music, so that became all I did. After I finished High School, I really wanted to be a musician, so I went to study Jazz at a tertiary level, where I completed my Honors Degree in Jazz where I majored in guitar.
During that time, I was always writing music. Music became some form of a journal for me, and a way of understanding myself in ways. I love to write. And so coupling music with that, of course, resulted in me just writing song after song.
After university, I went to intern in studios where I spent time learning, and trying to absorb as much as I could. I was lucky enough to land an engineering job at a studio, and spent 2 years working and saving up until I could afford to open my own. I wrote a lot of music for adverts, and produced my fair share of bands. I also, during this time, became really interested in film, and started directing as well. After owning a studio for 4 years, I started out of pure curiosity releasing my own music. I became more and more tired of writing music for others, and started writing for myself a lot more. The more and more traction I gained, the more and more I realized that I had come full circle and I was ready to explore my own sound, and have my own voice.
And so I’m here now, on my first EP and hopefully it’s going to keep going as well as it has.
What inspired this single? (Maybe Never)
Maybe Never is really based on a concept more than it is based on a person. The exploration of relationships, where I was really an idea to someone, rather than being an actual person. We are all ideas to people, but when you start to understand someone, there is a certain reality that hits when that euphoric period is over. The dust settles and you have to deal with the person’s flaws and mistakes. It’s the real test of a relationship. I’ve found that people have this idea of me, and when I become an actual person they run away. They don’t love me, they love the thought of me. I have been through a few of those, and it was inspired really by that feeling of unknowing and uncertainty that I constantly felt. Never knowing whether someone loved me of the idea of me.
What are some sources of inspiration for your storytelling?
I love written dialog and I will repeatedly watch movie scenes over and over again just to get to the dialog. I am, at any given point, trying to find the beauty in everything. I am always kind of looking for it, and trying to understand the human condition at the same time. I just want to understand things, and understand myself. So all my stories are trying to make people think, or break apart something. Trying to find beautiful ideas in the world. And not meaning that it needs to be beautiful in an aesthetic sense, but to really experience everything in all it’s honesty. Understanding grief, understanding happiness, understanding love. So a lot of it comes from philosophy, self reflection and often from dialog.
Any funny anecdotes from the time you were recording or writing the EP?
Tell us about the music video and the idea behind it ?
So the music video started off as a homage to Joseph Buys “I like America, America likes me”, and then slowly turned into this allegory about not only people’s perception of me, but the story of Maybe Never. I threw a lot of symbolism in there, and there are so many small easter eggs that are very personal to me. I love making things as personal as possible. Unfortunately, during complications with the production you can’t see it as clearly as I’d liked, but the whole concept was that I was in this giant perspex cage which represented the thin veil that lies between who I truly am, and who people perceive me to be. It’s not saying that I’m being disingenuous when I am interacting with people, but more that there is more under the surface that you aren’t seeing. People come and go as I pass through the scene of my life, with a more people being interested in me when I am an artist, rather than who I am at home. A lot of the vignettes seen, are throws to the stoicism I feel people have towards me and my coping mechanisms. The headless statue represents the relationships I’ve had in my life and how I’ve engaged with them. I am blindfolded, because as much as the veil separates myself and others, I am still blind to it in so many ways. And it of course, ends with me alone, again.
What’s a record that shaped your creativity?
Phew, big question. Definitely Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and there’s no doubt that Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories was a huge player. I have to say the The 1975’s I Like It When You Sleep, for you are so Beautiful yet So Unaware of It was also a major player.
Who is an artist or band you look up to today
Definitely The 1975, and I’m pretty sure anyone who knows me would say that. I love the balance of abstraction with pop, their exploration of not only conceptual frameworks but also musically they play with very interesting motifs. Production is incredibly, and everything feels cohesive.
Any future projects?
Absolutely! I am busy working on a little secret project that I am looking to release early next year, which I am keeping under wraps. But I am planning a full Album for the end of Next year and I am just starting to write for it.
Top 3 dream collaborations?
- DAFT PUNK.
- The 1975 – of course
- Pharell – no doubt
What does music mean to you?
I guess, in every way, music is my voice. It’s how I get to say what I want to say, the way I want to say it. I will always write, I won’t ever stop. But my music is how I am working my life out. Seeing it unfold and trying to embrace the good parts and the bad. And always trying to find the beauty in it. I am trying to find the connection to people, and relate to them. It’s in every way, the way I deal with life
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
Hahahaha, this is hard. To be honest, I really do struggle to describe it to others genre wise. I guess you could say it’s like Sad Boi Robotic Pop? I kind of wish I was a robot, so it sounds like robot trying to figure out how humanity works
