Mayer Hawthorne, according to Wikipedia, is “singer, producer, songwriter, arranger, audio engineer, DJ, rapper, and multi-instrumentalist.” Basically stating that this man does it all. Originally hailing from Ann Arbor, MI, Hawthorne’s sound is so soulful that it’s hard to imagine this voice belongs to a 29 year-old white boy from the Mid-West. While “Maybe So, Maybe No” is a more youthful turn for Mayer, “When I said Goodbye” is a track that could have easily been recorded back in the 50’s. Consequently, he states his influences as Curtis Mayfield, Barry White, Isaac Hayes and Smokey Robinson just to name a few.

I am really digging this guy’s vibe. Take a listen for yourselves:

[For my Cali heads, the video below is an homage of sorts to Venice Beach. If you frequent it like I do, you will notice some familiar faces that are staples there.]