Music Spotlight: Mauno

Aug 12

Aug 12 Music Spotlight: Mauno

Pop-rock duo Mauno released their latest album Really Well on August 2, and we’ve had it on repeat ever since. The 11-track record is a masterful soundscape of lush guitar melodies + hypnotizing vocals. The duo, composed of vocalist + guitarist Nick Everett and vocalist + bassist Eliza Niemi, just wrapped up tour + announced they will be taking a break from recording music under the moniker Mauno to focus on solo projects. We suggest listening to Reeling II + Vampire over and over again to hold you over. We caught up with Nick to chat about the album + their latest video for Take Care.

Asymmetric Magazine: Congrats on your recent album! Can you tell us all about Really Well?
Nick Everett: Really Well is a snapshot of a period of time. It’s an exploration of our states of mind in the midst of constant displacement. We talk about relationships—romantic and familial, anxieties, travel, home, and how the self relates to all of these things.

AM: You recently released a music video for the track Take Care off the album, which we love. How did the idea for the video come to be?
NE: The video for Take Care is a playful commentary on the inevitable commodification and consumption of music. In the video, we are packaged up for sale and then shipped off. The song is about a bad relationship, and the contrast between the personal subject matter and the cold, factory-like process of us being prepared for sale amplifies both the subject matter and the visual message.

AM: How do you think this album compares to your previous work, such as Rough Master and Tuning?
NE: This album is less confined by a particular idea or theme. It’s the most free we’ve been in terms of trying to fit our music into a specific concept for an album. With this one, we started with the songs, and let them dictate the album verses the other way around.

AM: Do you find yourselves pursuing any consistent themes in your music?
NE: Generally it's just whatever we're feeling at the time. For this last record, it was anxiety over our collective future and frustration over our own ineptitude.

AM: For first time listeners, how do you like to describe your sound?
NE: We often describe ourselves as angular guitar pop. We often get compared to Grizzly Bear or early Dirty Projectors.

AM: What other musicians are you currently listening to?
NE: Karen Dalton, Glen Campbell, Merzbow.

AM: Where is one place that you feel completely in touch with your creative self/music?
NE: Definitely not on tour. It's completely alone in a place where I know that no one can hear me.

AM: What can we expect to hear from you next?
NE: Mauno will be taking some time off for some other projects. I will be in school full time, and Eliza will be back in Toronto working on her solo project under her name Eliza Niemi.