Mayer Hawthorne

All Music Guide:

Ann Arbor, Michigan native and longtime eclectic DJ/producer Andrew Cohen, onetime member of the rap groups Athletic Mic League and Now On, began recording soul-seeped material as something of a joke, but didn't plan to have it reach beyond his circle of friends and family. Mayer Hawthorne, the pseudonym Cohen used for the songs, eventually took on a life of its own. When a couple of Hawthorne songs were played for Peanut Butter Wolf, the Stones Throw label head was baffled; he initially thought he was hearing re-edits of obscure late-'60s/early-'70s soul singles, not the work of a multi-instrumentalist who laid everything down himself. Subsequently signed to Stones Throw, Cohen debuted Hawthorne with "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out" b/w "When I Said Goodbye," a pair of scratchy and bittersweet tales of heartache, on red heart-shaped 7" vinyl. A 12" featuring a cover of New Holidays' obscure 1969 single "Maybe So Maybe No" followed shortly thereafter, preceding the full-length A Strange Arrangement, released in October 2009. After a live set (Stones Throw Direct to Disc #1) and a couple single releases, Hawthorne released his second album, How Do You Do, for Universal Republic in October 2011.

Wikipedia:

Andrew Mayer Cohen (born February 2, 1979), better known by the stage name Mayer Hawthorne, is an American singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, California. The stage name "Mayer Hawthorne" is a combination of Cohen's real middle name (Mayer) and the name of the street he grew up on in Michigan (Hawthorne Rd). "Mayer Hawthorne and The County" is a name Cohen often uses when performing or recording as Mayer Hawthorne with other artists. In Cohen's words, "The County" is basically anyone who plays an instrument or sings on his album. It is also his band when he performs live. Cohen also performs and records hip hop under the stage name Haircut, sometimes as part of the groups Now On and Athletic Mic League.

Life and career [edit]

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Hawthorne moved to Los Angeles in 2006 and was eventually signed to Stones Throw Records by label head Peanut Butter Wolf. Originally the Mayer Hawthorne tracks were meant to be just side projects for pleasure, but upon hearing them Peanut Butter Wolf insisted they be made into an album. Hawthorne has had no previous vocal training.

Mayer Hawthorne draws influence from the music of Curtis Mayfield, Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, Barry White, Smokey Robinson and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Edward Holland, Jr. (known collectively as Holland–Dozier–Holland). Taking umbrage at the notion that his is a purely "throwback" soul sound, however, Hawthorne also cites more contemporary artists, such as J-Dilla, as significant influences.

Hawthorne has performed with major acts such as Foster the People, Bruno Mars, Amy Winehouse and Chromeo.

His debut single, "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out"/"When I Said Goodbye", was released on a red heart-shaped 7" record on Stones Throw Records on November 4, 2008. His second single "Maybe So, Maybe No"/"I Wish It Would Rain" was released on a 12" record on Stones Throw Records on April 19, 2009. His debut album, A Strange Arrangement was released on CD and LP on Stones Throw Records on September 8, 2009.

In July 2009, Hawthorne was featured on the cover of the third anniversary issue of Beyond Race Magazine (BRM).

The song "When I Said Goodbye", was featured in the Kanye West/Spike Jonze short film We Were Once a Fairytale.

Hawthorne's song, "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" was featured in the fourth season of Ugly Betty in its finale episode, "Hello Goodbye". The song begins in the scene at Betty's goodbye party when Marc asks Troy if he would like to dance.

In 2011, Hawthorne performed guest vocals for the SebastiAn song "Love in Motion" featured on SebastiAn's 2011 album Total

Discussing How Do You Do, Hawthorne says, "I found my own unique sound on this album, which I'm excited about." The album has a vintage sound, which involves twelve '70s inspired tracks, filled with orchestral pop and funky bass lines—"I've taken what I can from the classic heroes of soul and updated it with the music I grew up listening to and loving like Public Enemy and Juan Atkins and Cybotron." He first found his musical voice in hip-hop and rap from his father, who plays in a band in Detroit, Michigan.

On July 15, 2011, Mayer Hawthorne was a guest, along with famed Memphis/Stax Records keyboardist Booker T. Jones, on Episode 43 of Daryl Hall's "Live from Daryl's House" Webcast. Hawthorne, Hall, and Jones combined with Hall's house band on "Strange Arrangement," "Green Onions", "No Strings," "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out," and "Your Easy Lovin' Ain't Pleasin' Nothin'" and Hall's "You Make My Dreams Come True" and "Private Eyes." During Hall's dinner for the group, Hawthorne stated that, when working as a hip-hop DJ, he began recording his own Motown-style tracks to avoid paying fees for sampling other artists' work. He also played all the instruments on each of those tracks, in addition to recording all his own vocals.

Mayer Hawthorne and The County were musical guests on the Conan O'Brien Show on October 17, 2011, and the Late Show with David Letterman on October 25, 2011. On both shows, the group performed their first single from How Do You Do entitled "The Walk."

In 2012 Hawthorne released the six-track live EP, KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, as a part of Record Store Day’s Black Friday. [1]