Interview with Mayflower Madame: ‘This Is Our Best Album So Far’
Norwegian formation Mayflower Madame has carved a niche in the global music scene with their hypnotic blend of dark Post-Punk, Shoegaze, and what they call themselves ‘Neo-Psychedelia’. Known for their brooding soundscapes, haunting melodies, and atmospheric live performances, the band’s music transports listeners into a shadowy world of noir narratives and dreamlike intensity. Since their beginning Mayflower Madame never stopped captivating audiences with releases like “Observed In A Dream” (2016) and their critically acclaimed album “Prepared For A Nightmare” (2020). With their latest offering, “Insight”, released by Icy Cold Records, Up In Her Room & Night Cult Records the band delves even deeper into their signature sound, exploring themes of introspection, alienation, and fleeting moments of clarity in a chaotic world. I got in touch with core member, singer, guitarist and bassist Trond Fagernes. (Picture credits by Miriam Brenne / Interview courtesy by Inferno Sound Diaries)
Q: Let’s start with the beginnings of Mayflower Madame. How did the band come together, and who were the founding members? Is there a leader or someone who takes on more responsibility within the group? What do you think creates the unique chemistry among you all?
Trond: The band was founded by me and my childhood friend Rune. We both started playing guitar in high school and were determined to form a band even though we only knew a couple of chords. We tried out different singers, drummers and bassists for some years before Petter (bass) and Ola J. (drums) eventually joined the band, and Mayflower Madame officially came into fruition around 2011 when I had started doing vocals as well and we recorded our first real demo.
Five years later we released our debut album “Observed In A Dream” and Kenneth (synth) also became a recording (and occasional live) member of the band. Since then there’s been some line-up changes and on our second album “Prepared For A Nightmare” (2020) and our third/new album “Insight” (2024) I also played bass in addition to guitar and vocals, but Ola J. and Kenneth have been permanent contributors on every recording as well.
I’m the main songwriter and I guess I can be called the leader of the band. However, everyone participate with ideas for their own parts. I think we have some sort of unique chemistry, but I’m not exactly sure what creates it. Perhaps it’s just that our playing styles complement each other and the rest of the band know me so well that they almost automatically fulfill my ideas when we start working on new songs.
Q: There seems to be a four-year gap between each of your albums, though I imagine this isn’t a deliberate pattern but rather a reflection of the band’s careful approach to developing new work. Can you tell us more about this process? When did you begin working on the first song for “Insight”?
Trond: Well, you’re right, it’s not really a deliberate pattern and we considered launching an album in 2018 too, but finally decided we were not quite there yet, so we ended up with just releasing four of the songs as an EP called “Premonition”. The songwriting and recording process of each album usually feels quite ‘draining’ so I normally take a pretty long break from it all until I notice some sort of inner force that urges me to create something new again. Most of the songs on “Insight” were written and recorded simultaneously in 2022 and the first half of 2023. Then we tried out different mixers for a few months before we realized that Maurizio Baggio (who’s previously worked with The Soft Moon, Boy Harsher, The Vacant Lots etc.) was the perfect choice. Until now, we’ve recorded everything ourselves in our own rehearsal space/studio which allows to work on and off, and gives us as much time as we want to perfect and experiment with each part on each song, but it also means that the process is a bit longer than it would have been if we had an external producer and studio.
Q: What is “Insight” all about? Is there a specific meaning behind the album title, and were there any particular influences -musical, literary, or visual, that helped shape the album?
Trond: I came up with the title as I realized that the songs, separately and as a whole, represented a search and finally an achievement of insight -a deeper understanding of my inner nature, passions and struggles, which hopefully also can be relatable for others. While our two previous albums, “Observed In A Dream” and “Prepared For A Nightmare”, were a bit more vague, indicative and mystical, the new album feels clearer and more to the point. I’ve always found much inspiration in visual arts -I’m especially a fan of German Expressionism and Surrealism, and musically a mixture of early 80’s Post-Punk as well as newer Shoegaze and Neo-Psychedelia has been dominant, but I actually think the new album has fewer external influences -it was more an internal process, hence also the title, and I didn’t really listen to music from similar genres at all while I wrote it.
The two artists I listened to most were probably A-Ha (I finally fully discovered the grandness of their second album “Scoundrel Days”) and Leonard Cohen. I don’t know, perhaps some inspiration from them is discernible in the new songs, but no one has pointed it out yet.
Q: Can you give us more details about the songwriting for “Insight”?
Trond: As mentioned, I’ve always been the main songwriter in the band, but “Insight” was a bit more like a solo process than our previous albums. I penned and recorded the guitars, bass, and vocals with a drum machine first, then acoustic drums and synths were added later by Ola J. and Kenneth as well as additional guitar on three songs by returning founding member Rune. That being said, each band member/instrument definitely made a significant contribution to the final result.
Q: Every album comes with its own set of challenges. What was that experience like for “Insight”, and now that it’s complete, how do you feel about the final production?
Trond: Like always, there are good days when you feel really creative and everything just ‘pours out’ and there are bad days when things go really slow and you’re not happy with anything, but other than that the process was pretty smooth. I’m very happy with the final production. I guess there’s always some things that could have been done differently or better, but I haven’t thought of anything in particular and I prefer not to dwell on it anyway, I’ll rather save my energy for the next record.
Q: How has the response been so far from fans and critics, and does it align with your own expectations for “Insight”? Also, what can fans expect over the coming months in terms of live performances, singles, remixes, music videos, and other plans?
As far as we know, the responses have been great from both and we also think ourselves that this is our best album so far. We perhaps don’t pay as much attention to reviews as we used to, fan opinions are just as -or even more -important, but we still highly appreciate every praise of course -especially when you can tell that the writer ‘understands’ your music.
We’ve already done a string of shows in the UK, Germany and Poland this autumn and there’ll certainly be more in 2025. So far, our first ever tour in Italy has been announced for the spring and more shows and countries will be announced soon. Also, there are some new songs that didn’t end up on the album which might be released in some form next year and just the other day I actually already felt the inspiration to write new songs, so who knows -perhaps it won’t be four years until our next album this time.
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can - and we refuse to add annoying advertising. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.
Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.
The donations are safely powered by Paypal.
