Reinvention is at the heart of Mako‘s upcoming album, Fable. Los Angeles based creative and mastermind behind the project, Alex Seaver has been consistently challenging genre-constraints with his music, be it with Mako or even in his work as a composer with League Of Legends, and this upcoming release is no different. Even stepping into an admittedly unprecedented time in the music industry, this desire to reinvent, experiment and most importantly, keep growing and changing was stronger than ever, which lead to the creation of Seaver’s most ambitious release yet: Fable. Born from the need to explore an entirely new musical landscape while creating songs that are both personal and relatable, Fable continues to break down the barriers between genre and showcases Seaver’s songwriting prowess.
So far, Mako has shared a few singles from Fable, out December 18th, including “Ocelot” and “Again“. With the album out soon, we caught up with him to chat about the creative process, the challenges that COVID-19 has posed this year and plans for the future. Read the full interview below.
Prelude Press: Although 2020 has been an unprecedented and challenging year in the music industry, it has also been an incredibly productive year for you and found you finishing up your sophomore album, Fable. What has been the highlight of your year so far?
Mako: I mean, no question…what a rough year this has been. I’m so grateful that my business and passion were spared from the nature of this virus, I’ve been able to keep busy and inspired. No question the highlights for me have been finishing Fable, and kicking off my work as a film composer with League Of Legends’ new animated series.
What kind of challenges has this year posed for you? Were there any difficulties that you had to overcome when working on the album?
Yeah…so, this is a tale as old as time, but I’m an insanely emotional and anxious creator. That whole lovely cocktail of being a perfectionist and terrified that my work isn’t good enough…yum. The biggest hurdle with Fable, specifically, is that I truly felt like I was setting my whole career on fire when I realized what I needed it to be (I mean…I still could be, time will tell haha). I knew I wanted to begin charting a path forward with a brand new sound that is specific to me. One of the tough aspects of that is not having any sort of guiding north star on what that sound was supposed to be. It took a lot of exploration and some trust that wandering around in the fog was worth it, that I’d be able to finish what I started.
What are you most excited for fans to hear on Fable?
Personally, the first 3 tracks – Parable, Coyote, Peregrine. Without being so dramatic, I really bled over those three songs. I feel like the finished product was what I had hoped for…some material that felt so specifically ‘Alex’ and unlike anything else out there. It’s not gonna be everyone’s cup of tea, no question. But I dunno, it seriously feels like music that I would want to listen to on my own time.
You’ve mentioned that each song on Fable represents a specific moment or memory when working on the record. Are there any stories or moments that really stand out to you? Any stories that you were excited to tell?
Oh man…you know. There’s a couple breakups in there, a wild debaucherous week in Sweden, stories about people I love, and great fears that I have. It’s in the music as much as it is in the lyrics, for me.
Sonically, did you have any major goals in mind when you began working on Fable?
I sort of had hyper-specific ones, and then absolutely none at all. I know that makes no sense haha. The first bullet was “use no template, don’t compare this to anything, just literally make what you feel like anonymously making and follow any spark that strikes ya”. It’s not really much of a surprise that the end result was such an even split of my life in music. Classical, Film Scoring, Electronic, Pop…It’s all sparkling away in there.
Did you learn any lessons or anything about yourself when working on the album?
Wow actually, that’s a great question. I’d be so curious to ask other artists about this. Unequivocally, I learn soooo f*cking much from an experience like making an album. I feel like I grow by leaps and bounds as a writer, as a producer, as a storyteller and seriously as a person. Things like albums really take so much out of me that they represent full chapters of my life, everything from the ages of 27-31 is in Fable. It’s almost like a scrapbook lol. I think I’d be beyond terrified if I ever wrap up an album and think, “cool, right back where I started”.
What would you like for fans to take away from the album?
Oh god, I mean, I don’t think there’s wisdom or anything in it. I just hope people can be taken on a unique journey with it. I hope people can appreciate, “hey, this is something different than everything else.” I don’t even expect fans to have these thoughts, but I hope some people out there might appreciate how awkward and risky it feels to try something different in music these days. That people who take that chance do it for themselves and for the small group of people out there that might connect with it, enjoy it specifically because it comes from a singular voice. This all reads too self-aggrandizing..but I dunno…I really had those thoughts when I started the record. It was one of the goals up on the wall, tbd if I’m anywhere in the zip code of achieving that. Kind of a funny thing about releasing music, you might never know if a random person out there gets hit hard by some thoughts you had while cooped away in a studio in North Hollywood.
With Fable dropping soon and the year quickly coming to a close, what goals or plans do you have for the future?
My next project kicked off immediately after I finished the record funny enough. I’m scoring my first television show….and omg, this is one of the coolest projects I’m sure I’ll ever be lucky enough to work on. Immensely excited to share this with people.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Thank you immensely for chatting with me, and for anyone that sends Fable for a spin! It really means the world. Hope everyone is safe and healthy, fingers crossed 2021 is a bright one for everyone.
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