A Quick Chat with Mayke

How would you describe your music?
At its heart, Mayke is a love letter to everything happening around me. I’m constantly inspired by the scene and all the steps creatives (and fans) are taking to push it forward. That’s why Mayke is always shifting, morphing and expanding, never tied to just one sound. My remix of Shy Jnr leans into hardstyle, “return2” is all things punk/jungle and “portal2044” is a trance-y ode to the scene - my new track “1234” layers a slick high-pitched vocal over a thumping garage bassline. The project sits in the alt-dance/EDM world, but it’ll always evolve with the scene, especially here in Eora.

You’ve recently played a set for Not Tokyo in Japan, can you tell us a bit about that experience and what you’ve noticed about their scene?
At its core, it’s pretty similar, but one thing I’ve always noticed is how much energy Japanese crowds bring. I remember seeing Tisoki in Tokyo back in 2019 and the crowd was insane, but also super respectful. I tried to channel that same vibe in my Not Tokyo set (super cool crew), leaning into a lot of hard groove, techno, garage, trance, basically anything fun and chaotic.

What does “1234” taste like?
It tastes like one of those blue brain lickers (quintessential Aussie primary school treat)

How would you describe “1234” in four words?
Speedy, sticky, hypnotising, mathematical

Who are your favourite artists at the moment?
The heroes of Australian EDM - I’m looking at you Ninajirachi, 1tbsp and Mall Grab!!

What is this new Mayke direction? Why is it different from your last releases?
I feel like it’s finally time to fully dive into fun, alt-clubby music. My previous releases had that energy, but this is the first time I’m making music for the club, tracks that make sense on a dancefloor. A lot of my artistic journey has carried this “super serious” weight, where everything had to be meticulously thought out. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I got so in my own head it stopped me from releasing anything for a long time. This new direction is about letting go of that pressure and just making what feels good, fast, messy and euphoric.