Mayer Hawthorne

Gavin B. · 05-14-2013, 04:23 AM

Mayer Hawthorne (real name: Andrew Cohen) is a 34 year old Ann Arbor Michigan native who created a buzz in the neo-soul scene in 2009 when he released his debut album A Strange Arrangement.

Album cover for A Strange Arrangement (2009)

Don't let his "lord of the dorks" appearance fool you, Hawthorne is a first rate R&B/Soul musician who produces, writes, arranges, plays all the instruments and sings all the vocal parts on his albums. He has the kind of musical talent we all wish we were born with.

Just Ain't Gonna Work Out sounds like a song that could have appeared on an old Chi-Lites album in the '70s.

In October 2011, Hawthrone released his second album, How Do You Do, which had an even better set of songs than his debut. Shortly thereafter Kanye West declared Hawthorne to be totally cool & in doing so expanded his audience, but Hawthorne remains a bit of a cult figure on the fringes of the neo-soul & alternative music scene in the USA.

Album cover for How Do You Do (2011)

The song A Long Time is Hawthorne's heartfelt tribute to the city of Detriot, the Ford Motor Company & Barry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records. The song recalls some of the hopeful, socially conscious songs written by Curtis Mayfield in his prime.

The Walk is a breezy shuffle-time song that oozes the classic Philly soul sound of the early '70s.

~~Soulflower~~ · 05-15-2013, 07:53 PM

I love him!

sllmusic · 08-07-2013, 09:03 PM

Hawthorne can do no wrong! You should check his 'secret' Tuxedo project too - couple of tracks still available for free download on Soundcloud I think...

NSW · 08-07-2013, 09:27 PM

Mayer Hawthorne is one of the best pop-soul musicians around. His first album A Strange Arrangement was decent but How Do You Do is slowly becoming my favorite. There is no way you could listen to a song like "The Walk" and not have to move with the music. Get those shoulders bouncing people! Where Does This Door Go, his latest album, is a little too mainstream R&B sounding for my taste. Not to say R&B is bad necessarily, but when you're used to hearing Hawthorne's fun, creative, poppy soul music, a mainstream sound that strays away from that is just a bit disappointing.

Gavin B. · 08-07-2013, 10:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsubmissivewife

Mayer Hawthorne is one of the best pop-soul musicians around. His first album A Strange Arrangement was decent but How Do You Do is slowly becoming my favorite. There is no way you could listen to a song like "The Walk" and not have to move with the music. Get those shoulders bouncing people! Where Does This Door Go, his latest album, is a little too mainstream R&B sounding for my taste. Not to say R&B is bad necessarily, but when you're used to hearing Hawthorne's fun, creative, poppy soul music, a mainstream sound that strays away from that is just a bit disappointing.

I agree, his brand new album is a big disappointment. It reminds me of the yacht rock music of Hall and Oates.

~~Soulflower~~ · 08-08-2013, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonsubmissivewife

Mayer Hawthorne is one of the best pop-soul musicians around. His first album A Strange Arrangement was decent but How Do You Do is slowly becoming my favorite. There is no way you could listen to a song like "The Walk" and not have to move with the music. Get those shoulders bouncing people! Where Does This Door Go, his latest album, is a little too mainstream R&B sounding for my taste. Not to say R&B is bad necessarily, but when you're used to hearing Hawthorne's fun, creative, poppy soul music, a mainstream sound that strays away from that is just a bit disappointing.

The reason why the album sounds so different is because he collaborated with alot of mainstream engineers, singers and producers. He also switched to another label. I think they were really trying to make him have more appeal with this album. I adore his previous albums. I figured his music would changed once he changed labels. I notice they tried to change his image as well.

Cover of new album

Woopiking · 02-25-2014, 03:08 AM

I've been meaning to get his latest album, I'll try not let the 'mainstream R&B sounding' comment above put me off!

MarliQQ · 03-13-2014, 01:25 PM

I have been meaning to get around to picking his tracks apart, because knowing me, there will never be an entire album of anybody's I will ever like. Glad this was posted, forgot about him for a moment.

William_the_Bloody · 05-13-2014, 12:58 AM

Great stuff Gavin, cheers.

triumph · 05-15-2014, 08:27 AM

Cool stuff, will check out further!

05-14-2013, 04:23 AM	#1 (permalink)
Gavin B. Model Worker Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,248	Mayer Hawthorne Mayer Hawthorne (real name: Andrew Cohen) is a 34 year old Ann Arbor Michigan native who created a buzz in the neo-soul scene in 2009 when he released his debut album A Strange Arrangement. *Album cover for A Strange Arrangement* (2009)** Don't let his "lord of the dorks" appearance fool you, Hawthorne is a first rate R&B/Soul musician who produces, writes, arranges, plays all the instruments and sings all the vocal parts on his albums. He has the kind of musical talent we all wish we were born with. Just Ain't Gonna Work Out sounds like a song that could have appeared on an old Chi-Lites album in the '70s. In October 2011, Hawthrone released his second album, How Do You Do, which had an even better set of songs than his debut. Shortly thereafter Kanye West declared Hawthorne to be totally cool & in doing so expanded his audience, but Hawthorne remains a bit of a cult figure on the fringes of the neo-soul & alternative music scene in the USA. *Album cover for How Do You Do* (2011)** The song A Long Time is Hawthorne's heartfelt tribute to the city of Detriot, the Ford Motor Company & Barry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records. The song recalls some of the hopeful, socially conscious songs written by Curtis Mayfield in his prime. The Walk is a breezy shuffle-time song that oozes the classic Philly soul sound of the early '70s. __________________ There are two types of music: the first type is the blues and the second type is all the other stuff. Townes Van Zandt Last edited by Gavin B.; 08-07-2013 at 10:10 PM.

08-07-2013, 09:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
NSW Bigger and Better Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Texas girl living in the UK Posts: 2,596	Mayer Hawthorne is one of the best pop-soul musicians around. His first album A Strange Arrangement was decent but How Do You Do is slowly becoming my favorite. There is no way you could listen to a song like "The Walk" and not have to move with the music. Get those shoulders bouncing people! Where Does This Door Go, his latest album, is a little too mainstream R&B sounding for my taste. Not to say R&B is bad necessarily, but when you're used to hearing Hawthorne's fun, creative, poppy soul music, a mainstream sound that strays away from that is just a bit disappointing. __________________ Hi.

05-15-2013, 07:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~Soulflower~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 2,304	I love him!

08-07-2013, 09:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
sllmusic Groupie Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Sydney Posts: 4	Hawthorne can do no wrong! You should check his 'secret' Tuxedo project too - couple of tracks still available for free download on Soundcloud I think...

02-25-2014, 03:08 AM	#7 (permalink)
Woopiking Groupie Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: East of Suez Posts: 22	I've been meaning to get his latest album, I'll try not let the 'mainstream R&B sounding' comment above put me off!

03-13-2014, 01:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
MarliQQ Groupie Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Cheesesteak Posts: 19	I have been meaning to get around to picking his tracks apart, because knowing me, there will never be an entire album of anybody's I will ever like. Glad this was posted, forgot about him for a moment.

05-13-2014, 12:58 AM	#9 (permalink)
William_the_Bloody Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Sunnydale Cemetary Posts: 2,093	Great stuff Gavin, cheers.

05-15-2014, 08:27 AM	#10 (permalink)
triumph Groupie Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 23	Cool stuff, will check out further!