Mayer Hawthorne @ Union Transfer Next Tuesday.

Mayer Hawthorne is a singer, songwriter and a DJ who has embraced the old-time sounds of Philly Soul (even Hall & Oates).

Like a musical scholar, he has paid attention to the masters but now, it’s his time to say something new. He refuses to be pigeonholed. He likes to break musical rules. Hawthorne mixes unlikely genres and instruments, including reggae, rap, American rock and Turkish sounds to create tunes that surprisingly feel right and everlasting.

His latest album, Where Does This Door Go, takes listeners on a musical tale of his life, filled with trials, missed opportunities and tons of good times.

Hawthorne, who will perform at Union Transfer on September 10th, recently spoke with our Jumah Chaguan.

How would someone who listened to your music would describe your latest album?  

Honestly, I don’t really care what you call it. Well, I always say, “I don’t care what you call me, as long as you call me.” There are two people who genres matter for and that’s record stores and radio stations. To everyone else, it doesn’t matter at all.

Your music has changed direction. What’s it like for you right now, this moment in your evolution as a musician?  

That’s the key word. It’s evolution. In the future is gonna hopefully be different again. It’s going to continue to evolve. All my favorite artists have always evolved throughout their careers. I’m hoping to do the same. I’m in a place right now where I feel the most free as an artist that I’ve ever been. I just hope I can continue to embrace that freedom. Really keep the perspective that there are no rules.

Your evolution is kinda like the American dream, in a way. Here you are, a guy from Michigan, from outside Detroit. You started out scratching vinyl and then set out for LA with a dream.  Now you are being embraced by the music elite like Pharrell Williams and Greg Wells. How do you feel right now?  

I’m excited that I get to wake up everyday and live my dream, which is to be able to make music for my job. I’m one of the few lucky people who can get to say,  “I make music for a living.” I’m thankful for that every day.

You also got a new look. Your personal style evolved from sexy ’60s crooner style. Now you seem to have a Miami Vice impresario. How would you describe your personal style?

The style has always been the same. The motto is always the same – flashy but classy. I try to model myself after my grandmother and her sister.  There were the kind of people who when they walked in the room you always noticed them. They made sure they stood out from the crowd, they did their own thing.

You come off as really humble but you also work hard. You’re a singer, songwriter, DJ, producer, musical engineer and you play several instruments. You’ve been called a prodigy. How do you take that label?

I definitely would never consider myself to be a sort of prodigy. There are a million people who can play instruments better than I can, or can sing better. I think my strength is my song writing. I’m a real student of music.  Like you said, I come from a blue-collar, hard working family from Michigan. We work hard and play hard.

This album is a departure from your previous work. The themes are more broad than just heartache. Tell me about some of the messages in this album.

Yeah, definitely, the topics on the new album have expanded quite a bit. It was more about throwing all the rules out. Throughout this album there was a major focus on storytelling. That was something that Pharrell was adamant about. He wanted me to focus on telling the stories in the most vivid detail possible. The stories are about my youth, a coming-of-age. I was fortunate to have some incredible experiences growing up. It covered a wide range.

You took a lot of risks. Perhaps you are being rewarded. Rules confine you and you step outside those rules. That’s what makes for more interesting people.

Sure. If you sit around watching TV, you won’t have many exciting stories.

In this album, it seems like the woman is more real. There are more dimensions to her. She’s many things – lost, a femme fatale or even a woman who struggles to find Mr. Right. What kind of muse is the woman in your work?

Anybody who asks me what my inspiration is for making music, my answer is always beautiful woman. That’s pretty much it. That’s what makes the world go round. That’s what inspires me to keep doing this thing.

I guess you really like that song by James Brown “It’s a Man’s World,” but “it wouldn’t be nothing without a woman or a girl.”

It would be nothing without a woman. Ain’t that the truth.

You seem to put out songs that are modern responses to past hits. For example, “Back Seat Lover” appears as a response to Stevie Wonder’s “Part Time Lover.”  Did you consciously set out to do that?

Oh, no. Not at all. I never thought about that. It actually never occurred to me until you said it right now. But there are a lot of songs like that. My sister said that when she heard the title track “Where Does This Door Go,” she thought it sounded like Pink Floyd. I told her that she was absolutely right. Pink Floyd is not even a band that I would name as one of my influences. But I love Pink Floyd and it crept it’s way into the music too. This album more than ever is about all of my musical influences, is not just Motown or Philly soul. I let them all shine through on this one, even down to some KRS. “Crime” is my version of NWA’s “F&*T Tha Police” song. There is a lot of Steely Dan and Beastie Boys. Everything shines through on this one. I’m never trying make a song that’s an answer to another song. I’m never trying to replicate what other artists were doing, but I’m certainly inspired by what they were doing back in the day.

You are creating songs everywhere – in hotel rooms, in the shower, even while waiting at the airport. You’re at a peak right now.

So far, it’s been pretty consistent. Hopefully it never slows down. I have a lot of music that I want to make. I’ve been fortunate that the inspiration is coming out of my brain. I just hope that it keeps going so I can continue to write it.

Let’s go back and talk about your song “Crime.” It’s your anti-establishment song.  Why did you write it?

Myself and my homies had gone to the beach at Malibu. We got fined $300 a piece. It’s illegal to drink wine on the beach in California. We thought it was bullshit. We were frustrated by it. We had gone all over the world and partied in Europe, on the beaches of Australia, South America and we weren’t being irresponsible. I was really frustrated by that and I took that fuel and I came up with “Crime.”

In your opinion, is American music at the moment apolitical?

I think there is music out there that’s creating change. I definitely don’t think that there is much on Top 40 right now. I don’t know. It takes people to be upset for you to have music like that. I think we are pretty complacent. We are happy just watching reality TV. That’s one of the reasons why I really like Kanye’s new record. Whatever you want to think about him, at least he’s making controversial music that’s getting people talking. His new album is angry. He is mad. He’s vocalizing it. Whether you like it or not, at least it’s getting people talking and I think that’s good.

Now let me change the topic a bit. There is a lot of fun in this record. On the  album, there are funny conversations that segue into some songs. Where did that idea come from?

The idea came from back in the day when I used to have these records that were story book records. I would play these records and it would tell you when to turn the page in the book. This album for me was very story driven. It’s totally about story telling. So if you watch the behind-the-scene video that we posted Pharrell talks about how the album is like a book. So that was the inspiration for the skits in between.

Many people hope that you can revive a period of American music that relied heavily on musicianship, like Steely Dan. Is that pressure for you?

I don’t really pay attention to that honestly. I make music that I think is good and who ever likes it, that’s fantastic. Who ever doesn’t like it they can listen to Taylor Swift. There’s a million other bands. I don’t feel any pressure to make my music a certain way. My goal is not going to be the most popular artist in the world or for everybody to like me. I make music that I think is dope. If you don’t like it, that’s totally all good. There are a million other bands you can listen to.

Do you think you are turning out younger generations into this kind of music? 

I don’t know. My influences are groups like Steely Dan, Hall & Oates, The Police, Curtis Mayfield and Barry White. Maybe if a young person gets into my music and if they go discover some of the old music through listening to my music that wouldn’t be so bad. But I’m all about making the music forward.  I’m not about taking it back. I don’t want to take it back to the good old days. I don’t want to go there. It will never be like that ever again. It’s silly to take it back to the older time. Let’s move the music forward and create the new good days instead of trying to take it back.

So what can we expect from your concert here in Philly?  

You are going to have the most fun in your life. We work harder than any band out there to make sure that no one ever wants their money back when they come to see Mayer Hawthorne.