Multi-GRAMMY Award winner and Songwriters Hall of Fame Honouree Jason Mraz recently revealed new single ‘Pancakes & Butter’. This track is a smooth love song and is accompanied by a fantastic music video. The song is from his upcoming eighth studio album, ‘Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride’, out 23rd June via BMG. Directed by Jaime Valdueza, the video for ‘Pancakes & Butter’ presents Mraz and his band/longtime collaborators Raining Jane on a variety show circa the 1970s.
‘Pancakes & Butter’ follows the album’s joyous lead single ‘I Feel Like Dancing‘, which was A-Listed at BBC Radio 2 and reached the Top 20 of the US Airplay Charts. Mraz brought an audience to their feet with the first televised performance of ‘I Feel Like Dancing’ on Live with Kelly and Ryan for their post-Oscar show, watch below:
‘Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride’ is a return to pop music for Mraz, who reunited with producer Martin Terefe (Coldplay, Train, Mike Posner), his collaborator on ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’, Mraz’s landmark album featuring ‘I’m Yours’ and ‘Lucky.’ Mraz recently announced a US summer tour by the same name, running from mid-July to mid-August, full details here. On August 17, the tour will conclude with a one-night-only performance of Mraz and his band with the iconic New York Pops led by Musical Director and Conductor Steven Reineke. The concert, at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY, will feature Mraz performing selections from his two-decade career arranged for the full symphony orchestra.
We managed to catch up with Jason Mraz for an interview in what was one of the most down to earth conversations we’ve had with a singer since starting OriginalRock.net. Check it out below!
So how has your latest single ‘Pancakes and Butter’ gone down with fans so far?
Oh, really well yeah it’s fun nice surprise! They love the smooth R&B and the humour in it and the video for it’s humour even if it’s somewhat being a platform for queer expression. It’s been a fun process and honestly as a recording I feel like it’s one of my favourite recordings I’ve ever made.
How much are you looking forward to sharing your upcoming album next month ‘Mystical Magic Rhythmical Ride’?
I’m very excited, I mean last time I put an album out it was reggae and it was a pandemic so yeah two things that were very challenging to get out there. It’s a thrill to still be going and you know damn it’s filled some songs that just the kind of songs that my catalogue just hasn’t had yet. There’s some fun dance bangers so I’m excited to be out there and like learn how to play them and and experience connecting with fans again. Music gives me the illusion that I’m not aging you know that I’m still doing what I love to do.
How did you come up with the name for this album?
It’s a lyric from inside the album and looking at the album when it was all done, I saw that this album is really kind of a journey through time and it’s a look at life and that’s what life is – it’s a mystical magical rhythmical radical ride. If I had just called the album ‘Life’, no one would have given two shits about it you know so that’s it but you call it ‘Mystical Magical Rhythmical Ride’, it’s like wait ‘what is that, I want to enjoy that ride what is it?’. It’s your life, enjoy it
What was it like reuniting with Martin Terefe for the album who also produced your landmark album ‘We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.’?
It was amazing because he is so he’s experienced but he’s also very easy to work with because he wants the artist to be uniquely themselves while at the same time delivering something that’s familiar and something that’s funky and something that’s emotional that you can connect with. It still has to maintain some kind of unique integrity so he becomes I guess a fly on the wall and he’s observing us as a band and you know helping us see gaps or encouraging us to take chances on tempos or keys and approaches to certain songs. Where we thought one song might have been a a slow song, he’s like no this song has a lot more tension in it than you think and it could actually be like a dance song if we treat it that way so his expertise was really crucial and all of his participation really came through.
Just being in the flow because we weren’t vetting producers, we weren’t out there hunting for producers or testing songs and that usually what happens when you make an album. You go and try three, four or five different producers that produce a song and see what clicks but I already knew Martin and we’ve worked together for almost 20 years so he called me up one day to see how we were doing and let him know what we were up to and by the end of the conversation it was like ‘I think we should just go to Martin’s place and jam over there and it was that easy.
Have you got any plans for a UK tour any time soon?
We’re trying to figure that out now, the band is so big that it’s challenging to put all those logistics together so right now it’s looking to be sometime in 2024.
So you prefer performing solo or alongside your Superband?
I love the season of The Superband, I do because boy is it funky and delicious and you know when I was in high school and college, one of my favourite bands was Jamiroquai. They were just like the funkiest thing since sliced bread and my experience in the last few rehearsals was like this band is starting to have a little Jamiroquai vibe in it because finally our tempos are coming up and we’re planting disco and dance music and and The Superband is just fiery so these are quirks and perks that I don’t get when I play solo.
It becomes very much about the story and the foundation that is the song but I don’t have the fashion designer (producer) on the road to help me dress the song up so you know its the best potential so I’m loving the season of The Superband right now.
So with you being a multi Grammy Award winner with the brilliant Make it Mine and Lucky with Colbie Cailat as well as nominated for I’m Yours, are there any particular awards you are still aiming to win?
No, no more goals, no more awards, I feel great I’ve accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish Not to say if I got on the kind of project of a Broadway show that find a a movie um you know I wouldn’t be upset if I picked up a Tony, Oscar, Emmy or Golden Globe – I’ll take all those but at the moment I kind of don’t want any projects. I’m just happy to be putting an album out and then knowing that I’d have some future time with my cat. I’m in a zone right now where I get to make music without anyone needing to approve it. It’s like while I’m in this space, I’m going to really enjoy that because I don’t have any like producer or committee or no one else owns it to tell me what to do.
Do you think your single ‘I’m Yours’ will ever reach a billion views on YouTube?
Yeah in the next 5-10 years probably you know like that’s the beauty of the streaming world is that
over time the numbers do go up. When I first started in music, it was out on CD and someone would buy that and maybe they’ll listen to it on repeat a thousand times but we would never know that. So the streaming world at least gives you that little benefit of that little counter just turning over every once in a while. It’s sweet you know and sweet to see and to know that it’s just available for anyone to swing by and listen or watch it, so yeah it’s cute.
What advice would you give to upcoming singers who’s just starting up right now?
Let’s just say the more personal you are, the more universal you will be so just be you. If you think you’re weird, embrace that you’re weird. I let people see that now in what I’ve recorded. Even if it’s just like a thousand people listening to or a million, I think if it feels good for yourself. I think that’s the main thing, you have to be your first fan. You should want to hear it back, you should want to put it in your car and listen to it on your headphones and be like this is fucking sick.
Official Tracklist:
1. Getting Started
2. I Feel Like Dancing
3. Feel Good Too
4. Pancakes & Butter
5. Disco Sun
6. Irony of Loneliness
7. Little Time
8. You Might Like It
9. Lovesick Romeo
10. If You Think You’ve Seen It All
Pre-order/pre-save album available here