When Elaine Mai began making music she kept things simple. Layering melodies and acoustic guitar over harmonies allowed her voice to lead the music, and in the process she slowly but surely began to attract a following. Gigs, and collaborations followed, and then, Elaine got bored. Or rather, her sound began to grow. Recently her production has begun to expand, focusing more on beats and synth, fleshing her sound out as she grows as a person; but crucially the voice remains the epicentre of her work. Having toured extensively in 2013 and had supporting slots in the past with the like of Le Galaxie, Daithi and James Vincent McMarrow, Elaine’s star is very much on the rise. An album is in the works and no doubt she is keen to notch up a few more appearances on the festival post. Something tells us that she may not have time for supporting slots in the future, she may well be the main attraction.
Hi Elaine. Tell us about your background in music.
I’ve been singing since I was very small and picked up the guitar at 16. I really didn’t start to take music seriously though until about three years ago. I got a loop pedal and just enjoyed using it so much that it pushed me to write some songs and do an EP. My sound has changed quite a bit since then, I started to use a laptop about a year and a half ago and that has given me the ability to flesh songs out more. As long as I’m enjoying it, I will keep doing it.
Did growing up in the West have any influence on it?
Well being from a quieter rural town did give me plenty of time to play and I started writing songs from age 12. I remember using a cassette deck with a crappy mic to record one track, then I would switch the tapes around and do harmonies over the original one. Eventually the tape would warp so badly that it sounded terrible… but yes I think growing up there was great for me. I had lots of time to play music, to experiment with it, and my Mum was and always will be incredibly supportive of me doing this.
How has your sound evolved since you first started playing?
It is much fuller now, using Ableton has given me the ability to do so much more. My new EP has more beats and synths and if I’m being totally honest it’s the kind of music I’ve always wanted to make but simply did not have the ability to make before. I think you can still hear the connection to my earlier EP in this new one, it’s still very melody and harmony driven, but it’s a much more complete and full sound.
2013 was a good year for you, any highlights?
So many… the two that stick out most would be being voted in Nialler9’s readers’ poll top 5 remixes of the year for my remix of Daithi’s Chameleon Life. As I said earlier, that kind of production was something I never thought I’d be able to do so I was chuffed to be mentioned in there. The other was singing Love System with Le Galaxie at Electric Picnic last year. Only one word for it… Unreal.
You often guest vocal for Daithi and Le Galaxie. How did those collaborations come about?
I met Daithi through a band I was playing in a few years back called Go Panda Go. He’s such a genuinely awesome dude and we clicked and have been great friends since, so I guess it was natural that we would work together. He produced my new EP and did such an amazing job on it. Le Galaxie approached me about doing a track a few years back at Castlepalooza and the whole thing just happened so easily. I came up and recorded the track with them in one of their houses and we all really couldn’t be more delighted with how well it did, especially when the whole process was just so much fun.
What can we expect from the new EP?
Hooks, beats and harmonies!
Her latest single EDC is out now and her new EP will be released in March. All proceeds from downloads in February go to Marriage Equality.