The mystery duo, MAINS, based out of The Netherlands consisting of a producer and vocalist have broke onto the scene with their first single ‘I'll Pray'. The track is melodic, emotional and has the perfect amount of nostalgia to remind you of a time past without taking you away from the present. Now here is the interesting thing…MAINS is not new to music. Both members had massive success in the 2000's and toured the world performing. But now they have decided to conceal their identities and create a project that is close to their heart. We were lucky enough to catch up with the duo and pick their mind as their big plans slowly start to take shape.
Many artists choose a life of semi-anonymity. Daft Punk are probably the most relevant, but also individuals like trap producer UZ or the break out 2014 artist ZHU have also chosen a life of concealment. Naturally there are a few reasons to go this route. Possibly to build hype or potentially just social anxiety being quelled with a creative solution. But MAINS took the route of anonymity for a much more pure reason.
[…] we want the music to speak for itself and concealing our identities means that all there is to talk about is the music.
With their first single definitely being discussed and highly regarded MAINS has accomplished what they set out to do. But while listening to ‘I'll Pray' the 80's vibes that exist in the track are undeniable. I was curious if for a producer and vocalist who had much success over a decade ago, were looking for a return to what some refer too as a golden age of dance music with ‘I'll Pray'. Their answer reigned with a cool collection of both serenity and humility.
We never really set out with a game plan, we just love a lot of different electronic music and a lot of the 80's stuff sounds so cool even today. It has always inspired us while writing so I think it's only natural that it's bound to creep in there along the way.
With that being said I was interested on their take of the current climate of dance music. Many artists, some more outspoken than others, have publicly stated their negative opinions on the popularity explosion, while others have embraced it wholeheartedly. MAINS has a welcoming optimism about the high exposure.
It's pretty amazing that the dance scene is becoming the mainstream, hearing dance tracks on the big national radio stations can only create more fans, We don't even think it's peaked yet.
I think the biggest question on the table for the pair was: why, after so much success in the past, have they decided to return to the studio now? It does all seem a little strange to take a break spanning almost a decade to jump back in at a random time. But its clear that both members of MAINS live with a deep passion for music. And they are trying to do something that they hold close to their heart. Which they want to be pure and not distorted by their past lives. MAINS is taking a chance at something they put off for a while, and it just feels right.
Guess we wanted to do something that was close to our hearts and that we hadn't really done before, without giving too much away, it's great getting things back to basics and away from big studio set-ups with a full orchestra if necessary to lay down some tracks. Although we still like to finish our mix running everything through an old SSL desk.
So what is up next for the two mystery individuals? Well a lot apparently. And here at EDM Sauce we cannot wait to see what comes next.
We've got a few tracks coming up that will hopefully keep the interest in Mains going, we're just getting started and there's still a lot we'd like to do.
