Dalton Mauldin – the cabin

By starrymag | February 19, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I would describe my sound as ambient. The word “ambient” means relating to the immediate surroundings of something. I feel as though I am constantly growing, learning and evolving every day as an artist and as a human. My writing is impacted throughout new experiences, new feelings and new perspectives that are always changing. My music is impacted by my surroundings of where I feel like I am on this journey we call life.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) My musical influences honestly have no limits. I grew up on country music and rock and roll. Every Sunday my dad and I would sit on our back porch and listen to bluegrass and, when that was over, we would turn on AC/DC and then grill out for dinner. As I got older, around my second year of college, I started getting into alternative music and finding music that I really enjoyed and took to heart. Some of my musical influences are Corey Harper, Jeremy Zucker and LANY.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Deja Vu.”

 

A) I wrote “Deja Vu” about someone that I admire. The idea came from hanging out with this girl and developing feelings as we continued to hang out. As time went on, I kept catching myself thinking about her a lot more than I normally did. Times like when I would wake up in the morning, when I would listen to songs that she liked, late at night watching TV, etc. I kept having these “deja vu” moments that reminded me of her. The real catch here though was that I had no idea if she had feelings for me. I thought she did, but I wasn’t sure. So, I wrote this song with the idea of what it would be like to be together, while at the same time explaining that there was no way that I was the only one having these “deja vu” moments about us.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) You know, when writing this song had no intentions of writing something that was relatable to anyone. I just had the idea of the song in mind and wrote it solely off of my own perception, but I’ve had a lot of people telling me they can relate to it. When Parker [Livingston], Jackson [Stokes] and I made the song, we were listening back to it and it was one of those songs where we all immediately started bobbing our heads and looking at each other with the biggest smiles on our face. I think that was the moment we knew it was going to do so well.

 

Q) What is your song writing process? Do you need music before you can create lyrics?

 

A) Depending on the atmosphere of where I am, the process differs. Most of the time it’s just myself sitting down and strumming guitar chords, while expressing how I’m feeling. The writing process goes anywhere from humming a melody in my head and recording it on my phone, to going throughout my day and having an idea that sparks in my mind and writing it down in my notes.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music?

 

A) With the making of this EP, I originally had written the four songs on my guitar leading up to the week of the cabin. Parker focused on creating the track as far as instrumentation and Jackson focused on making sure the vocals sounded perfect for the project. For the cabin, we had an idea of an acoustic EP because of the whole vibe of the place we were staying at and creating all week. Parker and Jackson are truthfully so good at what they do that I let them do their thing on this. We all work together on the little things for production and discuss dynamics that we like and don’t like about the progress on the track, but Parker ran the show on production. When speaking in terms of vocals, Jackson is extremely talented when it comes to melodies and pronunciation of lyrics so that the message comes off as more clear.

 

Q) Tell us about the cabin EP that you just released? What tracks resonate with you the most?

 

A) The EP is my favorite project I’ve ever released. Making it was the best week of my life. I thoroughly enjoy every single track off of the EP. “idwgtsrn” and “run” resonate with me the most. As I grow as an artist, I’ve slowly felt like being vulnerable is becoming a bit easier. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still terrifying to show people my vulnerable side, but it’s helping me learn who I really am and reassured me to be unapologetically myself.

 

Q) How do you usually shake off a long day in the studio?

 

A) So, as you know, I’m in college full time. I play a collegiate sport while also trying to keep up with a social life. So, anytime I’m able to be in the studio I appreciate it. Unfortunately, I don’t get to be in there as much as I’d like to be because of my baseball and school schedule. So, anytime I’m able to get in there, I want it to be a long day in the studio and I enjoy every second. Being in a room with creative people who love the same thing as you do is the best feeling ever. Not to mention that you end up with a song at the end of the day.

 

Q) With concerts currently on hold, what do you miss most about being on stage?

 

A) I miss playing in front of people. I’m really hoping to get out on stage a lot more this year as long as everything clears up with COVID. I missed out on some of my favorite artists (Jeremy Zucker & Lauv) this past summer due to cancellations of shows, so I’m really hoping the opportunity to see them will come again soon.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) I really like the direction that Zachary Knowles is going. I’ve been a big fan from the start and I feel like we could work well together in the same room with our writing styles and our sounds.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) The past month I’ve been listening to Ben Kessler and Sam MacPherson ALOT. What I love most about them though is their voices and their lyricism. Their songs are tracks that catch your attention within the first five seconds. Listening to their songs literally makes me create a picture in my mind while listening and it gives me this feeling of nostalgia.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) If you’re an artist of some sort and you’re not on social media, I think it’s time to start. The opportunities are endless on the web. The internet allows me to conversate with everyone who supports me by just the push of a button. Also, because I’m an being an independent artist, I don’t have teams of people running all of my marketing so social media allows me to do that on my own. It’s been such a help with growing followers and listeners over the last few years.

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in today if it weren’t for my supporters. They continue to constantly support and encourage me day in and day out. My fans are people that I know I can count on every single day to be there for me, and I want them to know that I’ll always be that person that they can count on as well. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to the moon and back to each and every one of them and let them know that they mean the world to me.