Singles Club - Premiere Edition: Maũ

We're all familiar with the concept of animal magnetism, but what about aural magnetism? You know the feeling - when you first hear a certain song, and all of a sudden the world stops, time stands still, and you're overcome by a temporary inability to focus on anything other than what you're listening to.

If you're wondering why I'm talking about the idea of aural magnetism, well, it's because that's what happened to me the first time I listened to Maũ's "Soggy Toes." Combining the sinews of carefully-chosen beats with Kamau Wainaina's fluid, velvet voice, "Soggy Toes" captures the special, passionate flush of love. It's a thoughtful, tender composition, and every note is a gem in and of itself. I'm thrilled to be premiering this song and to be able to share a little of Maũ's aural magnetism.

Says Wainaina, "I made this song in the dead of winter, but it’s such a summer tune. I'm not sure if that was conscious considering summertime back home in Kenya always happens as soon as it starts to get cold pretty much everywhere else. I was just messing around with these really sunny chords and started singing something about love, in a very sort of objective abstract way; the whole chorus was kind of a freestyle, and by the end I was like "this doesn't make complete sense, but I'm not sure it has to." I liked how it caught that sunshine feeling."

When I listen to "Soggy Toes" I can feel the balminess of a summer evening, right when the sun is going down, possibly at the end of a summer storm, when the light is lifting out of the dark clouds and for a moment there's something magical in the air. Wainaina's Maũ evokes such a perfect summer mood, though believe me when I say this song's appeal is year-round. I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did (and do), and be sure to check out Wainaina's self-directed video, too.

[posted 11.1.18]