The Songs Behind: Mabes
Discover the songs that inspired and influenced Mabes, hot off the release of her epic comeback single 'No Regrets'
The end of last month saw folk-pop star Mabes make her return to music, after a four year break, with powerful new release ‘No Regrets’. This defiant comeback single from Mabes, which was also featured as the cover song in last week's Songs of the Week, is also her first as an independent artist, ushering in a new era of musical brilliance. 'No Regrets' not only showcases Mabes soulful vocals built also her lyrical genius, delivering a real positive message of self-love and self-worth, blending her familiar folk-inspired roots with a fresh pop soundscape.
To celebrate the release of 'No Regrets', I am joined by Mabes to hear more about the journey she has been on over the last four years, the story behind the new single, and what to expect from Mabes in the future. All before discovering the songs that shaped Mabes through my 'Songs Behind' feature.
You've just released your first song for four years, called ‘No Regrets’, and it is absolutely amazing, so congratulations! But how does it feel to finally have new music back out there?
“To state the obvious, it is the most amazing feeling for me to finally have music back out there in the world, something new for my listeners and followers to have. I feel like I've made them wait for far too long. I feel like I've had to rediscover myself as an artist, but I just really wanted to ask myself why? Why is now when I’m going to start releasing music again? I don't want to just do it because of likes or attention. I wanted to do it for me. I always found that putting out music is sort of a therapy, and that music can also help other people, so the 'why' was because music is supposed to be shared, and it took me four years to realise that. But I got there, so yeah, I've put my first release out, and it's the most invigorating and exciting feeling. I feel like I'm back to myself.”
Have you found that a lot of the supporters that were there four years ago have stuck around ready for this new era with you still?
“Yes, which blows my mind because, like I said, I made them wait four years, and it’s not like I was headlining Glastonbury before. So for people to still believe in me and to have the patience and the loyalty to stick around and wait for me to basically pluck up the courage to reach my next chapter, it’s totally mind-blowing. I'm so, so grateful, and yeah, the amount of people that I've had message me since putting out ‘No Regrets’ saying ‘I've been waiting for this’, ‘I'm so glad you're back, it's so good to see you doing your thing’, it's the most wholesome heartwarming feeling to feel like there's people there that are ready to receive my babies. That’s what I call my songs, because they are sort of like my babies. It's a dream come true to have people that are so loyal to my project and my journey as an artist.”
So how have the last four years been for you and what kind of made now the right time to step back into it?
“I needed to take some time away. I found that my last chapter of music came to an end very organically. I was ready to just take a breath, step back, and like I said earlier, ask myself ‘why am I doing this?’. Because, although I've got a following, sometimes it can feel like you're getting nowhere. I just needed to take a breather and rediscover myself as an artist. So to have that time away, I was basically recharging my creative battery. I was also recharging my social battery as well, because nowadays, the social media aspect of the artist is so important. It's really crucial as an artist, especially an independent artist, trying to get noticed and get doors opened. It can be full-on sometimes, like at the moment I'm putting out a TikTok a day, and that might not sound a lot, but it is for somebody who isn’t naturally a talking to the camera kind of person. I think it’s the same for a lot of artists that I know as well, that it’s not our forte. We're not necessarily trying to be influencers. We're trying to be artists, but also share insight into our world, but sometimes that doesn't translate. It's just not the same thing as being an influencer. So it can be quite hard sometimes, and you never want anything to feel forced. I was just ready not to be on social media for a bit, and take some time for myself to be a bit more private.”
How different has it been doing things as an independent artist?
“Being independent is definitely a lot more work, but that's also stating the obvious. I wouldn't say I prefer one more than the other, they're just very different experiences. This time, I'm doing all the work myself. There's no budget that's being invested in me, so I'm paying for it all through my own savings, my own income. So I guess there's less money to be thrown around. I have to really budget and be more conscious of that really. But I've got creative freedom, which is great. There are a few songs that are going to be coming out really soon, which I wasn't able to put out when I was signed to a label because they weren't exactly on the same page sonically as where the label wanted me to go. So now I can do what I want and it's very liberating and exciting.
The big difference is now it's all on social media now, and that can be a great thing. It's such a positive because you can reach anybody in the world, so it's not a case of having to get radio play or having to be on the telly. Like when I was growing up, I used to watch Top of the Pops every Friday night, and that's how people would discover new songs. That's not the case any more. You can literally get in front of anybody through a phone. It's a scary and exciting concept, but it also does have its drawbacks as it really is a full-time job. I started writing songs in my bedroom. I was never a YouTuber, which was more my era, when there were YouTube vloggers, but I never set out to be an influencer, but it does go part and parcel now with being an artist.
I think this time I’m trying to have more fun with it. It doesn't matter if I get 10 likes or 10,000 likes. I'm just having fun with it. And I hope that the music always comes first for me. I hope that people discover my music and then might want to check out my Instagram or check out my TikTok, but I hope that it is always musically led for me, because that is what I'm doing this for. It's all about the music for me.”
You mentioned there being this liberation coming back, and whether it's like 10 listeners or 10,000 listeners, you’re going to make the most of it. This seems to mirror much of what the new song is about, having ‘No Regrets’. Is that why this was the obvious choice to come back with?
“I've had this song for three/four years, and I've always wanted to release it. It's a song about empowerment, about creating your own destiny. The sonic scope of it is so much bigger and bolder than anything that I've put out before. I wanted to come back in full force, like back with a bang, and hopefully make waves. I wanted it to make a statement and be like ‘I'm back, I'm back baby’. So, for me, it was very obvious given the message is about having no regrets, looking forward and just knowing your value and self-worth. I've struggled with that since not being signed to a label, thinking things like ‘am I good enough?’. But yeah, I've got no regrets about releasing this song.”
Talking of looking forward, what have you got coming up in the future? I know you mentioned revisiting old songs, so is that the focus? Or has there been new writing done as well?
“I've not been in the studio yet for the new stuff, but I have been writing a lot on my own, so I have a lot of ideas now that I can take to producers. I work with this guy called Matt, who I'd probably say half of the stuff that you've heard so far has been with him, either just production, or writing and production. He just gets me, and gets ‘it’. I'm just obsessed with the way that he builds songs, and he is so intuitive to my sound. So I'm probably going to be taking a lot of the ideas to him, which is so exciting because I'm going to have new songs again. The whole process is so exhilarating for me.
The songs that are going to be coming out imminently are ones that I have had for a while that were never released when I was signed to a label, but I really, really believe in them. I sort of had this kind of epiphany moment when I turned 29, and I feel like it was something to do with me reading ‘Saturn Returns’. With every single chapter I was just reading like ‘this is me, this is me’. So Saturn takes 29 years to orbit the Sun, and every 29 years, the stars and planets are in the same position as when you were born. So, it's almost like a rebirth of some kind to do with energies and all of that kind of thing. I'm not saying I'm really into that because I'm not, but I just really related to it with the place in my life that I'm at. I'm 29, and I feel like the last 29 years have been a warm-up for now, and now it's like time to really smash it. It kind of feels now or never, so this is my time to absolutely smash it.
I’m doing it from a different perspective now. I’m doing it for the love of music, and I'm doing it for myself and the people that have been so loyal to me. So, regardless of where it takes me, I am happy. I'm happy with my contribution to the world through my music."
Favourite Song to Play Live:
'Danny', 'Lonely Nights' or 'Radio' by Mabes
“It depends what mood I'm in. If I'm feeling depressive, then it's got to be something like ‘Danny’ or ‘Lonely Nights’. 'Danny' is a song about a soldier going to war, and it really gets to people. I think everyone can relate to losing somebody, whether it is through war or just loss in general. The rhetoric is, ‘he said he'd never say goodbye’, but obviously you do have to say goodbye to people that you never expect to in life. So that really gets to people. Then ‘Lonely Nights’ is just a bit of an ‘I feel f**king shit song’. It's got a lot of attitude to it, but actually the lyrics are quite cool as well. There's a lyric in the second verse that I'm really proud of myself for writing. I know it's my job to write lyrics, but sometimes there are these little gems, and I'm like, ‘Oh, you're good’, and I give myself a little pat on the back. That doesn't happen often actually, because we're quite self-critical as artists. But the lyric goes, ‘because the squeeze only gave me this flat lemonade, and it flows through my veins making me all bitter and twisted’. I thought it was pretty cool. So yeah, I love those two. But then I also love playing ‘Radio’ if I'm in a good mood. It cheers everyone up because it's such a happy, bouncy song.”
Song That Reminds You of Your Childhood:
“The Spice Girls, like anything by the Spice Girls. Or actually, one of my dreams when I was literally eight or nine. Was to be on Stars in their Eyes as Anastasia. I used to set up a little walkway, have a chair from the dining room and then a step that my little sister used to stand on to brush her teeth. I used to stand facing the back and then spin around to walk down as if it was like a walkway, walking onto the stage and pretending to be Anastasia. I have a really vivid video clip memory in my head of doing that to my grandpa once, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. But yeah, Anastasia. What a babe, iconic.”
First Album You Brought:
'Hits 53 - Various Artists'
“I think it was one of those compilation albums, ‘Hits 53’. There was a song on that by Milky that goes, ‘doo-doo-da, doo-doo-doo-doo-da’, and I used to play that over and over in my room. But that was probably the first album. I'm not so much artist focued, but I do remember going to Woolworths with my dad and buying my first single, which was Nelly and Kelly, ‘Dilemma’.”
Song That Made You Want to Be a Musician:
“A straight answer to this is difficult because I don't have one specific song, but what I will say is that I was brought up in a very musical household. My parents always had music on, whether it was my granddad's jazz records, or my dad, who was really into indie, so artists like Manic Street Preachers. He brought me up on The Smiths, which is a really questionable choice actually, and I slightly judge him for it, but also I think it really influenced me as a writer. So I thank him for it as much as I judge him for it. My mum was super into pop-dance music. She just loved dance and boogie when she was cooking and doing the washing, so it was a very eclectic musical household and environment. So I feel I was always destined to do something in music, and the fact that I could sing as well, it was sort of nailed on.”
I love that. I just had this vision now of your household having Nelly and Kelly blaring upstairs, and then just coming down and everyone is listening to ‘Girlfriend in a Coma’ in the living room
“Literally! You have just hit the nail on the head. That was my house.”
Song That Gets You Through Hard Times:
“The Smiths’ music, and that's not because it's depressing. Everyone thinks that the Smiths are depressing. It's not. It's irony. It's the satire. It's clever writing. Morrissey sings about death and dying, but he makes it funny and there's so many double and triple meanings. I'm a sucker for a metaphor and a bit of a pun, and the writing's just so clever, even though he can be a bit of a d*ck.
Actually, my dad was meant to see him last week and he cancelled the show. That's the third time my dad's bought tickets for a Morrissey show and it's been cancelled. So yeah, it's kind of a running theme with him, which is kind of a d**khead move really, isn't it? He's got fans paying for tickets and making plans around him, but also that’s his thing and that's what makes him who he is. I always think that the mystique that the icons from the past used to have, it wouldn't be the same now if they had to do all of the social media stuff. It's just such a different time for music. So let him cancel his shows, let him be mysterious and miserable. It’s part of him as a character and as an artist. He's never going to change. He's a grumpy old man and I love it.”
A Song You Would Have Loved to Write:
'The Captain and The Hourglass - Laura Marling'
“I would have loved to have written ‘The Captain and The Hourglass’ by Laura Marling. That that song and that album ‘Alas I Cannot Swim’, that she wrote she was only 17 years old, was the reason why I took the guitar and started playing guitar. That song captivates me in a different way. It gives me chills, and it takes me to another place, another world, her world, which is what music's about. She's created her own sound, and I just absolutely fell for that song. Damn it, I wish I'd written it, but it really inspired a lot of my music.”
Song You'd Put On at a Party:
'Wet Dollars - Tazer x Tink'
“So there's always this go-to song that I have and it's not very well known. But I love a female rap, and I literally I can learn all the lyrics, and I will remember them for the rest of my life. I remember female rap songs forever, like it's like imprinted in my soul. It's a really weird like niche skill I have.
So, it's a song called ‘Wet Dollars’ by Tazer x Tink. It starts off going, ‘Slam your brakes when I walk through the place. Scoot down the line if you wanna get inside. Move back, who's that? Open up two tabs. Drinks on me like a billy shot. Very hot, fan me. Better make way ‘fore I pass out. Pretty girls frontin’ on the floor with their backs out. Work that. You gotta wham that’. Yeah, anyway, that's my example. It really gets the people going."
Favourite Song of All Time:
'The Story - Brandi Carlile'
“So I think I'm gonna say at this moment in time, obviously it changes as I get older and I go through phases, but at the moment I think it's got to be Brandi Carlile’s ‘The Story’. Those words are so poignant to me because I've just come out of a relationship, and obviously when you get into relationships, you never plan for them to end. When they do, it's a shock and it's like, ‘oh my God, here I am all alone in the world again’. And obviously I write songs like ‘No Regrets’, and female empowerment songs, but I do have those moments where I'm like, ‘f*k, I kind of don't want to be on my own forever’. This song is really poignant to me right now as she's talking about all of the amazing experiences that she's had, and the adventures that she's having, and the way that she's traveling through life. But then it resolves, and it goes, ‘these stories don't mean anything if you've got no one to tell them to’. That’s kind of where I'm at right now.”
Song You are Most Proud Of:
'Free - Mabes'
“All of them in their own little way. But, I'm going to say ‘Free’. It’s a song that's just me and the guitar, and it was the first song that I released. It’s full of hope and naivety and vulnerability. It says ‘One day, we’ll get up and run. Catch our breath, and stalk the sun. Pack your bags tonight, and I’ll see you on the other side. One day, we’ll get up and run. We could be Free.” I think that says a lot for a lot of people at the moment, with the way the world is. It's a song about hope and that ‘anything is possible’ kind of mentality, which also all these years later still relates to me.”
