Australian singer-songwriter Calan Mai has released ‘Cup’, the new single from his upcoming sophomore EP, ‘This Isn’t How You Get Home’. Recorded with richly-textured harmonies and a sublime fusion of droning folk guitars and expansive, electropop drum loops, ‘Cup’ sees CalanMai subverting listener expectations and continuing his exploration of new and exciting modes of production.
The single was produced and mixed by Adam Lyons (FAIRCHILD, Lyon Apprentice) who called upon friends and collaborators from Manchester, Ireland and Australia (RUNAH, First Pope, Che Desouza) to assist in the recording process and create a soundscape awash with distinct and diverse vocals. Blind Boy Studios founder Brad Hosking even recorded trumpet parts on the Gold Coast via online correspondence. In this sense ‘Cup’ is a joint venture, a collective meditation on what it means to feel alone when you’re anything but.
Calan Mai is the moniker of Jordan Lawrence who, early last year, relocated from Gold Coast, Australia to Manchester.
Speaking on the track, Lawrence explains, “Cup is about being alone. It’s about that last-ditch feeling of panic that sinks in when you lose a person – that sort of fight or flight instinct that says ‘don’t let them go, make them stay’. In a way Cup, like the other songs on the EP, focuses on the danger of turning people into homes, places into people. The song isn’t really personal – it’s universal. It made sense to bring friends into the recording process. I didn’t want to sing this song alone.”
Meet Calan Mai
for those unfamiliar with your history, can you tell us a little of your back history?
I grew up on the Gold Coast in Australia. I studied journalism and interviewed a local band,
Fairchild. Two brothers from Fairchild started a label called Canvas Sounds and I am now signed
on it and living with the Canvas team in Manchester, UK.
who would you list as your musical influence?.
Adam Duritz, Justin Vernon, Conor Oberst
whats the coolest thing that's happened to you as a band since you started up?
Opening for Band of Horses at The Albert Hall in Manchester
what are your hopes and dreams as a band for the next few years.
That I will play music full time and continue working with Canvas Sounds
what are some of your favorite albums from the past few years?
Upside Down Mountain – Conor Oberst, Grown Ass Man – The Shouting Matches, Channel
Orange – Frank Ocean
Do you see any real use for social media , or is it all just a pain in the ass to keep with?
There’s a definite, undeniable use for social media. It’s still a pain in the ass to keep up with.
Do you pay attention to reviews or comments from people about your music or do you just turn
that noise off.
I pay attention more than I’d like to.
If you could tour anywhere in the world , where would you want to go.
U.S.A
Can music save the mortal soul or is just a good backbeat to your life.
I’d place it somewhere between the two.
Any last thoughts for your fans?
Denzel Washington did not deserve to win the Oscar for Training Day. Russell Crowe was robbed.