Interview & Premiere :: Mailer Daemon

May 7th 2013

FBi Radio

Are you into trill dub?

Space rock?

Dream step?

Does bass punk tickle your fancy?

Are you fascinated and possibly even a little confused by these eclectic terms?!

With tunes described as ‘genre-agnostic’, Mailer Daemon is anything but your run of the mill producer. As an artist and DJ, he seamlessly and entrancingly melds a diverse array of musical styles into his very own alternative swag.

His debut EP, Gravitas, drops on May 10 and is surely destined to become iconic far beyond Aussie shores. You’ll catch a taste of vocal talents such as Jackie Onassis, Jeswon of the Thundamentals, and The Tongue of Elefant Traks! So what are you doing still sitting there stupidly… press play and let Mailer Daemon guide your ears on the aural psychedelic trip they’ve long been yearning for.

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FBi: Out of curiosity, why did you decide to call yourself Mailer Daemon?

Mailer Daemon: Well, in ancient Greek mythology times, they believed that the daemon was like a spirit guide, and that any form of creativity would come from them. So I like the classical notion that creativity is coming from a sort of demigod source. Also in a modern context, the ‘mailer daemon’ is actually an internet bot that rebounds any email addresses that don’t exist. So people kinda know the term, they’ve heard of it, but they’re not really sure what it is. I liked that mysterious yet familiar name, with the modern use of it.

I know it’s only a few days until the release of your EP, Gravitas. How are you feeling about it? What kind of response do you anticipate?

I’m feeling fantastic. It feels really great to release a very cohesive full body of work. I feel that the features on it are very strong, and it’s really going to resonate in terms of a modern, hybrid philosophy of music, taking all this hip hop into somewhere new — somewhere into the future, while looking at the past for some nostalgic inspiration.

The fact that your music dips into so many genres is particularly what makes it so unique. Do you pride yourself on this diversity?

Yes. I like to coalesce different aspects of my personality, including alternative rock, hip hop and EDM. So all these styles naturally come together when I make my art. Primarily it’s hip hop with the masculine kinda rap verses, but the choruses are more anthemic and really broaden the genre outside of hip hop as well. And you can hear things like shoegaze guitars with 808 bass. I’m all about fusing different things.

What was it like being able to collaborate with such a variety of different artists on Gravitas?

I already engage with these people in my local music community on a social level, and just to be able to create some art out of those relationships is a really beautiful thing. And I’m quite excited for people to come into my world and explore the different aspects of it.

So it’s very personal, then?

Yeah, it comes out of my personal relationships; these are my friends. And the diverse musical scene of Sydney has given me a lot of inspiration. I’ve seen so many wonderful different things in Sydney’s music scene and I’m excited to combine all the different vibes into one package.

If you could sum up Gravitas in 3 words, what would those 3 words be?

Rocking, popping and dancing.

What can we expect from Mailer Daemon in the future?

You can find me DJing for Enkae—he’s the rapper in my live show—and you can find me MCing for Canecutter, who’s the guitarist in my live show and an amazing producer as well. We’ve got some special surprise guests on my launch on the 9th of May, so it’s really going to be exciting to see who might pop up on stage to join us on these songs. And we’re going to have many more Mailer Daemon live gigs, so stay tuned to see the beautiful musical journey ahead!

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EXCLUSIVE PREMIERE:

FBi was lucky enough to get exclusive access to the brand spankin’ new video for ‘Spread My Wings’, featuring Dasha Logan’s vocal stylings on the chorus and cameos from Crochet Crooks, Native Wit & Verbeleyes

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GIVEAWAY:

For your chance to win a copy of ‘Gravitas’, email flogmusic@fbiradio.com with ‘Mailer Daemon’ in the subject line.