Q&A with Mae Krell

Mae Krell is a lot of things. They're a teenager, a musician, and a fan of Post Malone. They're vulnerable, honest, and empathetic. Their music is rooted in their concept of identity as both an artist and an 18-year-old beginning to navigate an industry and adulthood. 

What’s your songwriting process like - from beginning to finished song?

It’s really a mixed bag! Most of the time I write around one line, though! So I’ll have one idea/line already written, and then I’ll form a story around that basis. Lyrics are usually done first, and then a melody appears- but there isn’t one set way to do it for me. It’s whatever i’m feeling with each particular song, I think.

How has your gender identity affected the way you write music and think about music?

I write music about the way I experience life, and the way I observe the people around me do the same. My gender identity has affected so many experiences and feelings throughout my childhood / teen years. Essentially, I think that all of my music is in one way or another affected by my gender identity, as any important part of one’s identity helps define the art or music they create.

Your recent single “Monsters” has been met with a lot of excitement and buzz. Has it been challenging to take something so intensely personal and share it with so many people? 

From the moment that “Monsters” was written to the day it released, I never thought it, honestly. When the track started gaining some attention and the numbers of how many people were listening got relayed back to me, it became so surreal. I think I’m still processing it. It’s definitely scary to think of how publicly vulnerable I’ve made myself, but at the same time, I’m very thankful that people are being introduced to me and my music through vulnerability and honesty rather than something else. 

What do you hope your audience will experience when listening to your music?

Honesty. I want people to listen, and feel something. Whatever that feeling is, is personal to them and their own experience. All I want, is for them to feel something.

What does the word queer mean to you?

I think just being defined/self defining as “other” in one way or another. My first introduction to the word queer as a non-derogatory term was within the lgbt+ community, and since then i’ve openly reclaimed it for my own identity. Although non-binary, I consider myself genderqueer, and just queer in general. I’ve always felt like I’ve had to define and explain so much- identifying myself as queer has become a safe space for me to know that I don’t need to be 100% defined and refined now if I don’t want to be.

What influences and inspires the music that you write?

My experiences and the experiences of the people around me, mostly. Stories I hear, people who I meet- everything and anything can somehow become music for me.