American musician Mark Mallman brings something of a retro feel to the modern world of pop-rock, as latest release Seen My Own Ghost shows. It’s a fantastically catchy song, yet it never sounds too commercialised, giving the listener the best of both worlds – in my humble opinion! If you missed the track the first time round, you can also find it below!
By Jane Howkins
You recently released a new track called Seen My Own Ghost. What can you tell us about the song?
I was using this technique where I wrote titles first and then a song an hour for about eight hours. It’s a style I’ve used sometimes over the last 25 years and it limits the time of writing a song so that it maintains its immediacy upon listening. Then, I refined the lyrics, which in this case are about my ex.
How has the reception to Seen My Own Ghost been so far, and where can it be purchased?
Everybody’s been lied to. It’s a universal feeling that really hurts inside. That’s what people dig about this track. It’s catchy, but also hits because it’s a personal truth. What we’re ultimately looking for from songs is a reflection of this uphill world we live in.
Do you have any more singles planned for the near future?
I will be putting out a lot of singles from this album before it drops. The next one is about astrology.
Are there any plans to release a full length album or an EP anytime soon?
I’ve been working on this record for quite a while. It’s all done and we should have it out this fall and then a US tour behind that.
Your music has an 80s synth-pop/post-punk sound. What/who are you most influenced by? What have you been listening to recently?
Oddly enough, what I’m listening to is probably the most modern thing a person can be listening to. I’ve been listening exclusively to AI generated music for the last week or so. It’s disheartening, but also inspiring – on my TikTok I’ve been addressing some of the issues that brings up. Namely, that it’s stepping in that space validation I was referencing earlier. If a person says it’s an uphill world, we know they’ve been through some shit. When a computer says the same thing it’s laughable and fake. The hard part when it can write songs better than people – then the fakeness becomes convincing.
You’re based in Minneapolis. What is the local music scene like?
The scene is one of the best scenes in America. I’ve done over 35 US tours and I find local scenes are much more vibrant than what is happening in the spectrum. Local scenes aren’t dictated as much by trends as the national music scene would be because of money, capitalism etc. We’ve always been known for underground music. My favorite Minneapolis bands are probably 12Rods, Poliça, and Husker Du. There’s a great artist here in town right now who is hyperpop adjacent and goes by SYM1.
What is the writing and recording process like for you?
It’s been my life’s work, both professionally and personally, for my entire life. I started playing piano when I was three. Music is as common as breathing or bleeding to me. Everything I write comes from personal experience. My songs are my journals. Recording is like painting. Recording is like cooking. Recording is a process, not a product. With AI music there is no recording and that to me is misfortunate.
Do you have anything else exciting coming up over the next few months?
I finished my new book and we are currently in the editing stages. Fortunately because of the success of the last book, we have a lot of options, but I haven’t picked one yet. People keep asking when it’s gonna come out – I’m saying 2025. I would never sign with a publisher who is going to put it out in 2026. That’s always a turn down.
Do you have any tour dates lined up for the UK?
I’d really like to get back to the UK and hopefully this record will have some success overseas and will be able to do that. I love it there so much. I’d like to live there. If anybody out there wants to give me a stipend to live in the carriage house on their mansion in London please reach out. Ha ha ha ha ha ha.
Any last words for the fans?
In the coming years, AI will be consuming more and more of our intellectual bandwidth. However, to seductive it may be, it’s imperative that we focus on our circle of love. The matrix is becoming more alluring by the microsecond. We mustn’t let capitalism overtake our hearts. That’s why it’s important that music is performed live.