photography by Kirby Gladstein
“I connect with music that invites escape—songs that paint a picture of a place not yet explored, one that provides a retreat from reality. My hope is to share some of the worlds I’ve discovered with my own music to offer the same sense of departure and exploration for others.” announces Los Angeles based producer and multi-instrumentalist, Charlie Maynard alias MAYN. Fascinated by the magic and oddity of the surreal, he likes to challenge what is accepted as normal and real vs strange and unreal. His new single ‘Please Don’t Say You’re With Somebody’ collaborating with songstress Caroline Byrne, is about a lost connection and a love letter saying all the things to someone that you never said. In our interview we also delve into his path of becoming a solo artist, the challenges that came along with it and the importance of not staying too long in ones comfort zone.
You draw inspiration from photography and film – what photographers and films stimulate you for your work and why?
Some of my top inspirations include the cinematic photography of Gregory Crewdson illuminating the eerie moments between catastrophic events and brushes with the unknown—and Stanley Kubrick’s play throughout his films with the fringes of reality and the space-time continuum. For me, this type of work is an escape from the normal every day and spurs the question of “what next?” in such a beautiful way. I like to create or at least channel this kind of energy with my songs to provide a brief escape and reframe the world around us.
What fascinates you about the surreal?
I like the magic and oddity of it all—challenging what is accepted as normal and real vs strange and unreal. Not to get all existential, but I think it’s also an interesting mirror into how strange and magical the experience we accept as reality is despite how “normal” it all feels to us.
You grew up playing in bands as a drummer – was there a key moment when you felt you wanted to pursue a solo career or was a gradual development?
There definitely was. I loved playing in bands—it’s so much fun traveling to new cities with close friends to perform, locking yourselves up together to work on new material, and just generally taking that ride with others. Eventually though, I had one too many experiences where the future of the project was extinguished by someone else’s decisions. A band I was in had recently gotten some music on MTV and E! and was playing some small slots at SXSW—very exciting stuff at the time—at which point our singer left to move across the country. Remote collaboration wasn’t much of a thing at that time—it abruptly ended the band just as we were building some momentum. I decided to expand my horizons and chart a course into production where I could create something completely my own. Definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because I can collaborate with any type of musician now, but I always have my own thing to fill my cup.
“Finding my own voice as a solo artist was difficult.”
What has been the biggest challenge so far on your musical path?
Finding my own voice as a solo artist was difficult. Getting to the point where I was putting out music that really felt like a reflection of myself and my tastes. And that’s something that continues to change. I’m always in pursuit of it, but getting to that initial launch point where I was confident enough to put something out there that was just “me” took some real time.
Your new song is called *Please Don’t Say You’re With Somebody* is about a lost connection and a love letter to someone too far to reach out. Is it autobiographic?
It’s actually not! This one is comes from Caroline Byrne, my collaborator on this track. But at the same time, I think it’s something many people can relate to, myself included. In the wake of an intense, or long relationship I think it’s common for people to reflect on what’s been lost. Sometimes there’s a desire to say some things you never said, other times it’s an actual wish to reconnect in some way after reaching a new perspective but too much time has passed. Either way, it’s emotionally heavy and something we set out to capture with this song.
“I don’t think there’s any replacement for getting in a room and working on something in person.”
Do you think working remotely the way you did on this piece of music can replace working together in “real life”?
I don’t think there’s any replacement for getting in a room and working on something in person. That said, working remotely offers a completely different set of benefits. There’s more time to process and tweak things which is certainly part of my process. There’s less pressure to create magic on the spot. You can generally go deeper with more ideas as you chisel away at what the thing actually is. All of these things put me in my comfort zone as someone who works alone often, but it’s important to not stay in there too long. I’d love to do more in-person writing sessions with other singers and producers, but I think a healthy balance of both is really the goal for me.
You and singer Caroline have never met in person, – are you planning to?
We actually met very recently for the first time while I was on a brief trip to New York! Caroline invited me to a show she was performing in Brooklyn. She was amazing to see live, and afterward, she took me to her favorite pizza joint for a slice. We connected as friends immediately over the zoom call we had when we first met, and that was only amplified in person. She’s also got great taste in pizza.
You like to write songs that are a retreat from reality. Is that something that was reinforced through the pandemic or you have always been a bit of a daydreamer?
Always a daydreamer.
What does a perfect weekend look like for you?
Surfing in the morning, working on some music during the day, and a movie with some choice takeout come nightfall.
Words to live by…
Ohh, this one is tough. So many things come to mind. But here’s one of my favorites—stealing and paraphrasing this from Dune: Fear is the mind-killer, the tiny death that causes total obliteration.
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