Every day, a personality invites herself into the world of Élodie Suigo. Today, the American author, composer and performer, Jason Mraz. This Friday, June 23, 2023, he is back with a new album entitled “Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride”.
Jason Mraz is an American author, composer and performer. The public discovered him with his first album Waiting for My Rocket to Come and the general public adopted it with its title I’m Yours in 2008. What characterizes him is his good humor, his sunny and joyful side. A communicative joie de vivre that makes you want to face life. He has already received two Grammy Awards. This Friday, June 23, 2023, he is back with a new album entitled Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride.
franceinfo: Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride is your eighth disc which includes ten titles and I believe that this number “8” is very important for you.
Jason Mraz: At first, I used it as an idea to start the album. I saw the “8” as the sign for infinity and felt like I was continuing on this journey I’ve been on since I was a kid. And then knowing that the music that will live after us will outlive us into infinity and maybe our minds are infinite so that was a starting point to start with.
It became an album very quickly because it was your mother, June, who asked you to build a pop album and she gave you a remark saying: “Do it while there’s still time, so you don’t age too quickly“.
I replied: but what do you know mom? Do you know stuff that I don’t know? But from experience, I think she means: “As you get older, you might not have the energy” or the public for that matter! She’s my biggest fan and we always want to please her fans. And then I wanted to try to make music that I hadn’t done before. In terms of of topics, it’s in alignment with what I’ve done so far, but musically it’s more adventurous.
Your mother fell ill while recording this album. Your stepfather is deceased. This album exudes that. It exudes both joy and sadness at the same time.
Yes, although many of the lyrics were written before these events. We had to record the album during and in a way, it made me more present and more clear and aware of the preciousness of life, that time is not guaranteed. In fact, it helped me a lot and it made me realize all that and appreciate the experience, see the good in a bad situation.
How do you live the time that passes then?
A song is like looking at pictures. For me, it’s listening through sound to my memories.
One day after another, I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. I have so much gratitude. I work on the music every week, I write a song every week and in a way I can look at my life, the life that I have already spent. Watching a song and remembering who I was that week, what I was going through, what I was celebrating, the state I was in, is truly a gift.
Do you remember when your song I’m Yours exploded ? You are propelled to the front of the stage, under the spotlight. How did you experience this moment?
I don’t know why this song exploded. This song got so much bigger than me. It was a joy to arrive anywhere in the world and sing this song with listeners who had fallen in love with the song. And after that moment, it transformed me as a songwriter and I really wanted to have a goal, a goal. That’s how the ego shift happened. I changed from “Look at me !” To “I present to you a song in a different way today“.
There is music to dance, to sing, to do good to the soul. And then there is music to settle down more, to do some introspection. I know that you were very touched some time ago by Buddhism and especially by this art of living. I would like you to talk about the song Irony of Loneliness from a poem by Rupi Kaur.
There will always be suffering, so through poetry, music, art, we can help heal suffering and bring peace to the world.
Yes, this song, specifically, derives and arrives from the pandemic and feeling isolated and distant from the world and our friends. I was working on a few songs that became Irony of Loneliness, but it wasn’t really over until I heard that poem of the same name. And his words say it all. We don’t even need the song. We just needed the poem! That’s the irony of loneliness, we all feel it at the same time. And it really grabbed my heart and let me know that whatever I may be going through, I’m not the only one going through. There is always suffering and Buddhism says that too.
There is a title called feel good, we will stay on that. It’s a feel good album!
Yes, absolutely. I’m living my best life right now.