Inspired #389 - Mazey Haze
Having just announced a date supporting Feng Suave at London’s Lafayette - Mazey Haze has just released her 80s-psych fueled track ‘The Weight of the Weekend’.
Wreathed in light, cinematic with its gong-like percussion, the new single traces the difficult terrain of her childhood. “It’s sensitive for me, so it was a scary song to release,” she shares.Toning down the more ethereal, synthetic textures present on her acclaimed 2021 debut EP 'Always Dancing', Mazey Haze's new material finds her rooting herself to the earth, together with a little less perfectionism. Organic, acoustic sounds, her love of French New Wave cinema, Italian film scores and 60s psych-rock informs the vein of nostalgia that runs through it, finding its way back to a distant world.
She took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
Right now I think it’s The Beach Boys, Johnny Cash and ABBA. To me they were all very much themselves with no concessions. Because of that they made some very fresh, rich, honest and timeless music based on intuition and feeling, which always inspires me to try and do the same.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
...And Justice For All. The main character Arthur (played by Al Pacino) is a lawyer and very passionate about honesty, realness and actual justice in a horrible corrupt world. He goes far to get real justice and has a heart for the people he’s working for. To me that’s inspiring, to always stay honest, true to yourself, pure and work for an actual righteous environment which seems to get a bit more lost everyday.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
Bar-le-Duc. I shot the music video for "The Weight of the Weekend" there with my friends, and it was like we were walking on a quiet and beautiful film set all the time.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
Right now I think my oldest brother. Because he’s truly trying to do all the stuff I mentioned in the previous answers...
What were your inspirations when writing The Weight of the Weekend?
My childhood, the feeling of disconnection and depersonalisation.
How would you like to inspire people?
To go fully for what they feel they should be doing. To take the hard but in the end most fulfilling way in life.
