MAKO
1. We like to start off by getting you to tell us something about yourself that your fans may not know.
A: I'm a huge comedy fan :). Specifically stand up.
2. When you were younger, did you always see yourself getting into music?
A: When I was super young I wanted to be a baseball player, I grew up in a sports family. The second I picked up that damn trumpet + french horn...I don't know, it just kind of lit up and it was never a question after that.
3. I know you're a solo act now, but when did you decide to form Mako with Logan and and make this type of music?
A: Logan totally derailed my life by taking me to EDC in 2011, it ended up being one of the most unexpected and awesome things that could have happened to me, cause I was utterly absorbed in classical music at the time, but I'm glad I got out of it when I did. Our early stuff sprang from Logans love of progressive house at the time, it turned out my tastes in dance music were immediately similar to his, so I got to work :)
4. How did Mako go from being the two of you to a solo act now?
A: Interestingly, Logan and I had brief conversations from the very beginning about how this wouldn't be a permanent endeavor. He is an insanely smart and talented guy, Law school popped in to his life and he totally flourished with it. Logan doesn't produce or write music, so I think he felt like his own life journey wouldn't end up in music. I've been so happy watching him go on to such incredible things :)
5. Now that you've kind of transitioned away from DJing, how did you form your new band & what's it like playing with them on stage?
A: Such a dream, to be honest. It feels like its exactly where the project is supposed to go, creatively. Unfortunately its unbelievably expensive to put them on (I feel waves of empathy for bands trying to make it these days, in ways I never considered before). But nothing beats it for me now.
6. How would you say your style has changed now that it's transitioned over to you & you are the one controlling every aspect?
A: Sadly, I've discovered that I'm a total control freak. I've done a lot of experimenting since my DJ days, in certain ways I still feel like I'm developing my style. It takes an insane amount of vision, commitment, also skill to shift styles in the way I picture in my head...and I regularly feel sooo lacking in all of those departments...but I do feel like I'm making progress.
7. What plans do you have for 2018 and beyond now that you've turned Mako into a solo act?
A: I really want to steer the project away from where you'd expect it to head and start building a new sound for myself, something that truly combines all my musical backgrounds. I'm in for a couple hard years I think, but the work has gotten so much more gratifying since I've made the effort.
8. How did you come up with the idea for 'Breathe' and can we look forward to more of this style from you?
A: I wrote the lines down in a hotel room one night and then spent 8 months trying to figure out if I could make a pop record that stayed organic, beautiful, and cinematic but still worked like pop. I got some incredible help from a producer named Scott Bruzenak on that, we've developed an awesome relationship since Breathe.
(video via Chill Nation/ YT)
9. Where does the name 'MAKO' come from?
A: Final Fantasy
10. Where do you go to get inspired for a new song?
A: I can always depend on getting something out of being in the audience for any artistic experience. Movie, concert, gallery. Night time runs are also a real go-to for me. Maybe my favorite part about the kind of music I'm currently working on is that it can just be the simplest idea for a gesture that sparks the material.
11. Do you have any releases planned in the near future that we can look forward to?
A: Yep! I think we're gonna get a few more singles rolling along. If all plays out right, one of them will be a fan favorite thats buried in my instagram, the other is going to shock the hell out of people but is the most excited I've been about a record in years.
12. Where can we find MAKO in 2018?
A: Currently, buried away in my new studio :). We're up to trouble on the live front, I'm going to be excited to get back out there soon.
Follow MAKO:
Twitter - @WeAreMako
Soundcloud - @WeAreMako
Facebook - @WeAreMako
Instagram - @WeAreMako
