LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Often dubbed the prince of indie music, Mac DeMarco has built a devoted fanbase through his mix of distinct slacker rock and being unafraid to show off his endearingly offbeat personality.
His latest release 鈥 a nine-hour, 199-song album 鈥 has confounded and stunned fans and critics alike. But for DeMarco, it was a way to reach his next creative phase.
鈥淚f I鈥檓 going to write something, I need to move forward,鈥 he said in a recent interview, his first since his opus, 鈥淥ne Wayne G,鈥 was released. 鈥淚 like this stuff. I鈥檇 like to share it. I don鈥檛 really know how. I might as well just give it all at the same time.鈥
The album is a window into DeMarco鈥檚 creative process, as well as his extensive range as an artist. He drew the cover art himself as a finishing touch to the personal project. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a self-portrait. And that鈥檚 essentially what 鈥極ne Wayne G鈥 is, you know, five years of me,鈥 he said.
The album arrived roughly three months after 鈥淔ive Easy Hot Dogs,鈥 a collection of instrumental songs he recorded during a road trip and is particularly proud of.
But more than just a way to get unreleased and some seemingly unfinished songs off his chest, the 33-year-old saw 鈥淥ne Wayne G鈥 as an opportunity to subvert expectations of what releasing an album nowadays should look like.
鈥淧eople are making music for TikTok or really short songs and there鈥檚 like 9,000 writers on a pop song. It鈥檚 very single-driven. So, I was like, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檓 going to put out like nine hours and most of it won鈥檛 have song titles. It will just have dates,鈥欌 he recalled.
The scope of the album is daunting, but listeners have found rewards in all those tracks. summed it up: 鈥淭here鈥檚 a Tender Album Hidden Inside Mac DeMarco鈥檚 One Wayne G, But It鈥檒l Take You Nine Hours to Find It.鈥
DeMarco made a name for himself as a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his laid-back style of music. He has become synonymous with his DIY-ethos and his proselytization of analog recording methods.
He showed up for his interview with The Associated Press in the most unfussy way possible. Missing were the combination of publicists, managers and hair and makeup people that often trail stars to interviews.
Instead, DeMarco rode his motorcycle to downtown Los Angeles from his home a few miles away, sporting a solid blue hoodie with his keys and a keychain which reads hanging around his neck.
And while DeMarco was confused by the question about his missing entourage, the musician conceded that he has reached a surprising level of fame.
He built a steady following after he released his second full-length studio album, 鈥淪alad Days,鈥 but said he doesn鈥檛 feel pressure to recreate the same kind of sound that led to his ascent. 鈥淭here are a lot of people that want me to just make 鈥楽alad Days鈥 over and over and over again,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut that was a certain period.
鈥淚鈥檝e made a bunch of records that have made me enough money to live comfortably and like, I鈥檓 in a position where I can make the art that I want to make,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know, I just enjoy 鈥擨 love music. Music is cool.鈥
DeMarco likes to segment his music into periods. 鈥淔ive Easy Hot Dogs鈥 emerged from a road trip that he said would only end once he finished the album.
鈥淚t all feels like it鈥檚 just so encapsulated. It鈥檚 kind of like, 鈥楾his is a period in time. This is where it was made. This is where it was mixed. This is the vibe.鈥 And you know, for me, I like that,鈥 he said. 鈥淧eople can take it however they want, but it was an important period in my life.鈥
He plans to make his next album the same way, except this time on his motorcycle. Asked how that would work, he grinned, as if having a plan up his sleeve, and replied, 鈥淚鈥檒l figure it out.鈥
In addition to music, DeMarco has gained a reputation for some offbeat antics.
There鈥檚 the time he was on 鈥淭he Eric Andre Show,鈥 or the time he at his Los Angeles concert and the pair kissed, something DeMarco didn鈥檛 remember. Or one might come across his 鈥 ,鈥 a series of insightful but mostly absurd videos, during which his face is inexplicably doused in Vaseline.
鈥淚t was fun at first, but then, especially the longer my hair is, the worse it is getting the Vaseline off,鈥 he recalled. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 matter how much shampoo you use. You have it in there for about a week.鈥
Although his irreverent attitude is still very much intact, the Canadian musician appears to have matured and mellowed with age. He has cut out caffeine and alcohol, regularly sees an acupuncturist and quit smoking a year ago while on his 鈥淔ive Easy Hot Dogs鈥 road trip.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 like being beholden to things like that, you know? As humans, we got to have water, you got to have shelter, you got to have food. That鈥檚 enough things to be trapped by,鈥 he said of his spartan lifestyle.
But DeMarco still enjoys a good prank. After 鈥淥ne Wayne G鈥 dropped, his record label of the 199 songs on social media, something fans will be disappointed to discover is not going to happen.
鈥淲e had these fake mock-ups of a vinyl and a cassette and it鈥檚 just like, it鈥檚 not going to fit. I鈥檓 sorry,鈥 he laughed.
