EDM band MAKO recently debuted their first album HOURGLASS and showcased their music at the Mercury Lounge in the lower east side of Manhattan on Tuesday, December 6, 2016. Created by Alex Seaver and Logan Light, MAKO is a unique mixture of classical music mixed with electronica, and they recently sat down with me and talked about their new album and musical process.

MAKO started their career by song-writing for other DJ producers; from there, they started the beginnings of their own musical style. "Some of our songs are pretty cinematic, we record a bunch of string players for various songs," says Alex Seaver. Groups like Daft Punk and Radiohead are cited as major influences for Logan Light musically, and Alex says that one of his favorite composers is a well known movie composer by the name of John Powell, as well as various other 19th century composers. Classical music and electronica music blended together is what defines MAKO and can be especially seen in their song "Ghosts".

Because MAKO comes with a background in music education, with Seaver studying musical composition at Julliard, the duo comes with an expertise that other musicians may not have. "One of the ways we could separate ourselves working with other DJ producers was creating all these orchestral textures and playing in different keys, and moving forward, we really want to lean more towards that to set us apart because not everyone has a classical background and plays electronica music, so why not?" says Seaver. Both Seaver and Light believe that while electronica music is something that is definitely created by more recent generations, their music and style is something that can speak to all generations.

Unlike releasing individual singles, MAKO says that their approach with their album HOURGLASS was completely different. At first there was a dance music focus, of getting their music into a club and have it be hot. Now, the focus is creating music for the sake of music. As a result, the process starts differently, and ends differently. Live musicians are brought in. Seaver and Light now think about the music in terms of 'How much does it speak to us?'. "An album is a great place to do that, to explore yourself and stuff like that," asserts Seaver. MAKO is now more about creating their our own identity and unique expression. Light and Seaver are using HOURGLASS to create the MAKO original sound and feeling, and trying to communicate from that place.

MAKO's performance at the Mercury Lounge was their first live performance, not a DJ set, and the crowd was made up of true fans who know their music and specifically came to see them. They played several songs from their album, including "Devil May Cry", "Our Story", and "Paradise Lost". Their performance was passionate and, of course, showcased some classical instrumentals with a haunting and violin and cello solo by a friend of Seaver's from Julliard. MAKO's debut album and live set was definitely well received by the audience.

"Normally when we play a club, we're just playing a club, and maybe a couple people who know us and there are just people who wanted to go to a club that night," says Seaver. "But a venue like this, there are people who bought tickets to see us, and we played through full songs and people sang the lyrics to them; that never happened before, that was our first time experiencing that, and it is the most amazing feeling." Seaver went on to say that seeing people really enjoy their music makes it worth it.

"We learn things along the way and overall, I thought it was good, a really fun night," says Light. Light said that they released about twelve songs, four within the last week, and people had already memorized the lyrics and sang them out loud along with the band. "I was shocked!" he exclaimed. Both Light and Seaver remain humble as they become more recognized for their work, and they see it as motivation for future projects

The music that MAKO produces gives a window into the current direction EDM is going to, and blends their music in such a way that it gives the best of both worlds: the kind of classical music that is meant to be listened to, and the kind of EDM that makes people dance. HOURGLASS can be pre-listened to on YouTube and Spotify, and purchased on iTunes.

Website: https://www.wearemako.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WeAreMako/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/WeAreMako