We first heard of Mayer Hawthorne back in 2009. Soul croonings, killer suits and hip hop inspired, smokey background beats were enough to get us interested. When we were lucky to catch him live in January 2010, with his band The County dressed to impress and sweating it out at the Basement in Sydney, we were hooked.
Good news is that Mayer Hawthorne & The County are once again gracing Australian shores this month
Mayer counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield and others. His record label boss Peanut Butter Wolf recalls when he first heard Mayer's music - "He showed me two songs and I didn't understand what I was listening to," Wolf recalls. "I asked him if they were old songs that he did re-edits of - I couldn't believe they were new songs and that he played all the instruments."
Mayer spoke to Billboard recently saying "You're going to hear more of my affinity for Steely Dan and the Beatles and the Byrds and the Hollies and the Doobie Brothers -- probably some Public Enemy and N.W.A. too."
We can't wait to hear the new tunes and see the new suits
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