Mae Muller

By: Brenna DeBlasio

While the majority of things in 2020 have been So Annoying, the release of Mae Muller’s song “So Annoying” and the rest of her new EP, “No One Else, Not Even You,” is anything but that.

The Capitol Records artist was excited to discuss her newest release and explain why this is her most authentic set of songs yet.

During our Zoom press conference, Muller said, “this is the first body of work which I’m like ‘this is me,’ and I'm so proud of every single song and they are all so different but they also complement each other.”

Although the EP was completed in the past few months during pandemic lockdown, Muller admitted the songs included on “No One Else, Not Even You” were a culmination of pieces she had been working on for years, and never got around to finishing until now.

“Instead of trying to muster up the energy to create something completely new, I actually backtracked a bit and thought, ‘oh actually that song still needs a bridge let me write that’ or ‘I could make that verse a bit better and make that chorus stronger.’ Then I actually came out [of lockdown] with sort of all my songs, but they were much better and finished and kind of ready to go, so it was very mix and match for me.”

Muller’s fresh and relatable use of humour to help tell her life experiences was able to shine throughout the majority of songs included on the EP, especially “So Annoying,” which ironically, tells a story about love. Muller explained she wrote the song with writer and producer Rick Nowels, after chatting with him about her feelings for a guy she likes.

“We were just talking about the idea of how, you know, a lot of you would think that falling in love should be like the best thing ever but really it can be a bit of an inconvenience and it is a bit annoying. And I thought it was such a conversational way to put it so that's kind of how it grew,” she said.

Muller enjoys peppering in humour when sharing these personal experiences, explaining it’s a coping technique she uses both in and out of the studio.

“I think for me it's kind of like a defence mechanism in a way,” she said, explaining in most cases, “someone's actually really hurt my feelings but my way of dealing with that is kind of making a joke out of it… it's always good to make [the story] a little bit cheeky.”

While this raw and honestly fresh attitude is attractive to a variety of music listeners, Muller hopes her style is most inspirational to her young female audience members.

“I write music that I wish I could have listened to when I was 15, 'cause I wasn't always this outspoken, sassy person. I used to let people walk all over me and I've given other people so much power, you know, over me as well. I'm kind of like making up for that now because I've got this newfound voice and confidence.” 

Muller feels strongly about being an inspiration to her young female fans in any way she can, even on her personal social media pages.

“I think for me, I've been given a platform and you know I think with anyone that has any kind of platform whether it's smaller or bigger, I think you do have some kind of responsibility to talk about issues and I think as an artist it’s way more than music,” Muller said, adding that her platforms are a safe space for all, especially with the recent issues going on, such as Black Lives Matter, which the artist openly spoke about on her social media pages. 

“I was just thinking that there could be some followers of mine and, you know, they might be a bit younger, and they might be at home during lockdown, their parents might not be speaking to them about it, they might not have any other person that they're looking up to speaking about it, so I was like if I can be that one, then I will.”

Although Muller’s ‘bad bitch energy’ is what stands out most in both her songs and personality, the artist feels she wouldn’t be totally and honestly showcasing herself if she didn’t include the difficult and more serious emotions in her work as well.

“No one feels 100 percent all the time,” she said, adding, “sometimes we have our off days and I think it's good to show that more vulnerable side because that's just real, isn’t it? Everyone has days and times when they’re not feeling great, so I just thought if I get that in some of my songs, most of my songs are sassy and, you know, ‘nothing bothers me,’ but I think it's good to interject it with a few little emotional moments here and there.”

Muller hopes the overall message fans are able to take from her music is to, “know their worth and that you know it's okay to be an outspoken woman and for women to use their voice and to not be afraid to speak their truth. Because I've got to a point now where I'm like, ‘this is how I feel and you can either like it or get lost,’ you know what I mean?”

Muller beautifully combines both her ‘sassy’ and ‘serious’ sides to make the new EP so authentically honest to who she is as an artist and person.

“There's a lot of emotions, a lot of different moods,” she admitted. “I think it's just showing a bit more of like my personality and the different sides to me. I'm looking forward to seeing how people take it, really.”

Decide for yourself how you ‘take’ Mae Muller in her newest EP, “No One Else, Not Even You,” available on all music platforms.

Follow: @maemuller