News Class Of 2014: Mausi

What’s the best thing that happened to you in 2013?
Touring. So many good gigs and festivals. Having people sing the words of your songs back to you never gets old, it makes all the travelling and eating service station food for every meal worth while.

…and what’s the worst?
Half way through our most recent run of shows Thomas managed to break Benji’s finger loading in for a show by jamming it in the bass amp, which is very heavy. The full impact crushed Benji’s finger, it’s still bruised now… The worst part was that it was just before we had a string of shows with AlunaGeorge and Clean Bandit, so he had to be hopped up on painkillers every night.

Why do you think 2014 is going to be a great year for Mausi?
2014 is the year of Mausi. It’s been decided. Tell your friends. What we have out there for everyone to listen to and see is only the tip of the iceberg, when it’s all out there it’s going to be magical.

If people were to listen to just one of your songs, which one would you hope it was and why?
It’s always hard to just choose one. We have a lot of different sides to our sound. We describe our music as the soundtrack to a young European girl’s summer, jet setting around Europe, going to house parties and staying up till sunrise. An escapist summer with her friends on the riviera. So it depends on what mood you are in. If we had to pick one though, It would be one of our new tracks: ‘Rich Girl’. It’s about a girl who wants designer clothes, money, success and is desperate to live the ‘rich girl’ lifestyle. Musically, it shows a more interesting side to the Mausi sound and we can’t wait to release it.

Is there one festival you’ve got your eyes on playing in particular, and why?
We would love to play Glastonbury. Having played quite a few festivals this summer, including the BBC Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds, we got a taste for the festival circuit, and it’s glorious. Glastonbury would be the cherry on top.

What’s the worst piece of advice anyone’s ever given you?
Probably the clothes I have been asked to wear on shoots. In particular the low cut tops, short skirts and massive heels. I am a true believer in trainers, which are not only for the gym… but sneakers, a t shirt and jeans doesn’t seem to be what this industry wants of females these days. It infuriates me every time I see females in the music industry barely clothed and gyrating on male dancers. They are supposed to be the embodiment of female power, surely the music should be enough and speak for itself.

Is there such a thing as being too hyped up? Can it overwhelm new bands?
Definitely. When you are so hyped up the bulk of your fans will have been told that they are supposed to like you, whereas if you take your time and really build your following, the fans are a lot more loyal and feel like they are a part of what your journey as an artist. It takes time to know exactly who you are as a band and where you fit in to the industry, if you rush things there’s a chance you have taken short cuts and you might end up being somewhere you didn’t envisage yourself being.

Which other bands should people be looking out for in 2014?
MØ and FKA Twigs made some of coolest and weirdest pop songs and videos this year… and pretty sure Bondax will have some kind of super hit next year too.

If you were to give yourself a motto, what would it be?
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here, we should dance.

What’s the weirdest thing anyone’s done at one of your gigs?
We played Melt! festival in Germany earlier this year, which was awesome by the way. Amazing festival. Crowds in Germany really get in to it… One of the guys in the crowd was dancing so hard his pants ripped all the way up.

You’re part of DIY’s Class of 2014 - what was your favourite subject at school?
We all had different favourite subjects. Benji’s favourite subject was Theatre, Thomas’s was Music, Ben’s was Politics and mine was Art. Ben always said that he would have loved music if it hadn’t of been for the teacher, who told him he would never be good at anything musical. Look at him now!

Tags: Mausi, Class of…, Features, Interviews