Rock and pop are not short of music journalists who have left behind the notepad to take a punt on stardom, such as The Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde and Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant. But for Guitar World editor-in-chief Mike Astley-Brown, the driving force behind instrumental alt.rock project Maebe, fame was never the goal.
“I still find it a bit unsettling being on the other side,” he admits. “I’ve gone through life with so much social anxiety that in conversations I’ll be the guy who’s always asking the questions. So being an interviewer felt quite natural. But then having them put back to me, it really puts you in the perspective of other artists.”
He needs to get used to it, because Maebe’s new album, Brain Paint is a lyric-free work of wonder, referencing the wild invention of Mogwai, the intricate heavy beauty of Oceansize and the riffy fun of And So I Watch You From Afar and bringing them together in exciting new shapes.
Living a small-town life in the Cotswolds, where there was no real music scene to speak of, he started learning classical guitar when he was seven – and hating the lessons.
“I would cry every time I had to practise guitar,” he says. “I think it was just that classical music wasn’t really doing much for me.”
It all changed when the nu-metal and the pop-punk renaissance hit at the turn of the century, and revealed a world of potential. He says his favourite band of all time is Soundgarden, but that grunge foundation opened up to new possibilities when he went to university in Bristol and discovered Mogwai. It was here that he also discovered like-minded music fans, and creating finally became a reality. Performing, however, was a different matter, and his first ever gig in the city with a fledgling band uncovered a case of crippling stage fright.
“We were literally sitting in a café opposite, getting some food,” he recalls, “and I was saying that I would rather die than go on stage, like I actually cannot do this.”
The show turned out to be an amazing experience, and his newfound confidence set Astley-Brown on the path to Maebe. Which brings us neatly to Brain Paint. The title came from a review he’d read in The Guardian, and neatly sums up the musical direction he’s taking.
“The phrase was: ‘There is not enough brain paint in the world to wipe this from your memory.’ Brain Paint sums up exactly what we’re trying to do, which is to just leave a lasting impression. It’s playful and fun. It’s heavy, but I don’t think there’s any point where it feels morose or it drags. I want to make instrumental rock fun again.”
Mission accomplished.