Written by Molly Gorman
Hi MAYCE! Tell us a little about yourself, your music, and how you got to where you are today.
This past year has been a super influential year for me and my artistry. I really have grown a lot in the past year due to a rebrand that I made. I went from being the same person, something for ten years, I felt super not creative and very much in a funk and like I was kind of hitting a wall, if you will. I needed a change and this goes for really anyone who is kind of hitting that wall, where they feel like they can’t think of anything to go any further, making a change, reidentifying themselves, or having a rebrand. It really helps push you and your creative side further than you ever could imagine and it was the best decision I ever made. Now I am MAYCE and I feel like it fully redirected my sound, genre of music, I feel like I can expand myself into so many different genres now being this new person. I realized that was the little push I needed and I’m looking forward to seeing where everything takes me.
How would you describe your sound for Haste readers who may not have heard your music yet?
I would describe my music as lyrically very specific. Production-wise and sound-wise, I wouldn’t place myself in one genre. I feel like I can fit into really any genre depending on the person. Naturally I have a very sultry, soulful voice that can make any song sound different. I wouldn’t categorize myself as any specific genre, I like to leave that up to the audience. It’s definitely a very real, descriptive kind of lyrical way.
You recently had a two-year hiatus from music. How important was it for you to take that break, and what did you learn from it?
It was such an essential time in my life. At the time I was in a new city, I was around new people, meeting new people, learning about a different culture, and in so many different places. I relocated from this busy life in Los Angeles, so elaborate and exciting, to a more calm, peaceful, and normal way of living. It definitely was a much needed break, I felt like I was hitting a wall with my creative nature, and creativity in general. Not only in music, but in my fashion and who I felt like I was. I really took a break to just be present in my life, and after that I came back to LA and really felt a new inspiration that I hadn’t felt before. I had a lot of people in my life, at the time, who were saying you can’t change your name or re-identify yourself because “you have ten years of being the same person, it’s going to ruin the search engine and people won’t know who you are anymore.” It came to a point where I’m no longer working with those people and I made the decision to go with my heart and rebrand. I didn’t care if people had to readjust to it and if it took a certain amount of time. It was what I wanted and it was who I felt like I was. I got it done and it took a long time but I was very patient and willing to wait as long as I needed to be happy. It was the best decision I ever made.
How excited are you for this new era of music, and what can fans expect from you?
I am beyond excited. I’ve never felt more me in this era of life. I am being fully open and honest about who I am, what I’ve gone through. I am being so descriptive and specific because I was holding back a lot of feelings in my music in the past. Now I am really breaking down that wall and letting the layers down, fully letting my songwriting take the lead this time around. It’s really cool and I love watching myself go through it. I document different parts of sessions and listen back to voice memos, I think, “Wow, I feel like myself”. I’m really sitting with myself right now and I couldn’t feel more amazing.
Your new single, ‘The Man That I Met’, is incredibly heartfelt. Tell us a little bit about the meaning behind it?
‘The Man That I Met’ was based around a time that I spent in Utah. I lived there for about 2 years toward the end of COVID, it was a different lifestyle, but I moved there because I fell in love with someone and I was in a relationship that was very back and forth. Toward the end, of course, it ended not the greatest, but the song really describes and portrays growth. The song is such a growing moment for me and it has so much maturity in it because it’s about a relationship that ended badly but that didn’t that didn’t blind me from seeing and remembering the good in that person. I think that true maturity is even when things are left with a bad taste in your mouth, it doesn’t blind you from really remembering who that person was when you did fall in love with them. You still remember all of the good memories and that’s what this song is about. Although it’s sad, it also has a happy side to it where it’s like “Wow I remember all of these amazing moments with you, I wonder what it would be like if it were different”.
Do you find it comes naturally to write songs about your personal experiences?
Absolutely, I think It comes the most natural to write about personal experiences. If it’s not about my personal experience, it’s about a story that I heard from one of my best friends. Like the song coming up that I’m about to release is about my dad and how I grew up just being so patient and going through ups and downs. Without disclosing too much, my dad was really the inspiration because I’m a daughter of a father who raised me into who I wanted to be and I had to go through different trials of life. This next song that I’m dropping really describes all of the ups and downs that I went through every obstacle in life and it really goes through the phases of being a young girl, feeling like I can take on the world to this second verse being a teenager and trying to figure out life, becoming insecure. Being an adult in my twenties, I feel like I knew where I was going at 23, when that was totally not the case. You may think you have life figured out but in reality you don’t. Life is super unexpected so just enjoy life as it is and just know that you are put on this planet for a reason. I think that whole entire song is a whole personal experience that is very relatable to a lot of people, specifically women my age. I feel like as women, we start growing fearful as we grow up. This is such a crazy thing that when we are little, we are so fearless and not afraid of anything. We are able to do things that we wouldn’t even think of doing when we’re in our 20s. I just think it’s so backwards and it’s honestly a crazy, beautiful thing. As you grow you become more guarded because of experiences and then you come down to the realization that you shouldn’t be so fearful, you should be more present in life.
You have over one million YouTube subscribers with videos ranging from acoustic performances of your original songs to covers, to fashion and skincare routines – how have you grown alongside this channel and sharing your life with the world?
I can confidently say that I have grown entirely with my YouTube community. I have followers that have stuck with me since I was fifteen years old, making videos every week on a really bad camera. They have been with me up until now, where I am producing some of the most amazing content I have ever come out with. I definitely have grown with my audience, I get messages all the time from long-time subscribers and I am so forever grateful for those people who have been along for the ride and been through the different eras with me. They have seen the struggles and obstacles that I’ve been through in life and it makes me happy to still have those people.
Your vocals are so unique and powerful. Are there any other artists or vocalists that have inspired you?
Absolutely. Jessie J has been an inspiration of mine for years and years. Her voice is impeccable and unmatched, there really is no one like her and I don’t think anyone can do the type of vocal acrobatics that she does, It’s just insane. She’s definitely an inspiration and Anne-Marie, is another lyrical inspiration. I think her songwriting is absolutely amazing, as well as Ed Sheeran. They’re all just amazing songwriters and true inspirations.
From writing to recording, playing gigs and everything in between, what’s your favourite part of making music and being creative?
My favorite part of making music is the songwriting. I think lyrically It’s an amazing way to connect with people. Music is a universal language and I have been able to reach parts of the globe that I never would have thought in a million years I would have been able to. I love every fanbase and to have my second most listened to area be in Germany and then the UK, Canada, etc. They’re all top cities and countries in my Spotify. It’s amazing for me to see that. The lyrical part of making a song is definitely the reason that I have been able to reach so many different people around the world because a lot of people can relate to the lyrics, no matter what language. I love specifically that my songs and my sound has been so accepted, especially in the UK and I cannot wait to tour.
Finally, what is your biggest career dream?
My biggest career dream is to be touring all the time. I want to connect with people, to travel, and to experience different cultures. Traveling through my music would be a dream come true, as well as continuing to be in the studio, creating, and collaborating with artists that I love and admire so much.
You can check out MAYCE’s newest track on her Spotify page.
