Kamau Wainaina, who goes by Mau From Nowhere, is a Kenyan-British multidisciplinary creative. He is an effervescent self-produced singer-rapper with an alternative hip hop sound that translates honesty into sonics and subject matter.
1. What's the idea behind the name Mau From Nowhere ? Where do you actually feel you are from, especially in the whole straddling two worlds thing?
The name originally began as a joke between me and my girlfriend at the time. We both have quite third culture backgrounds, and at the time I was trying to find a way to distinguish my artist name so I was easier to find on streaming platforms/the internet in general.
The name “from nowhere” came up as a way of removing the importance of fitting into a specific culture - I like focusing more on where I am and where I’m going. In terms of coming back to Kenya it was originally out of my hands.
I was planning on staying in the US after studying there, but in the end, the combination of Covid-19 and struggling to find a job made it so. My only option was coming home, and it’s the best thing that’s happened to me.
2. Are you excited about 2022 that feels like it's been your year in music? We're seeing more from you, a single is coming out, perhaps an album...tell us what they're about.
The single Fireflies just dropped and the next one is coming at the end of this month, with the album coming out a month after.
I am really excited , I think I have a lot less fear, or at least it’s outweighed by my want to release this music as well as the support I’m getting from people now. Like most of my previous work the new music is about processing big changes.
A lot of the music was written at various high intensity points in the last two years - break ups, falling in love, career failings, depression, and anxiety. All these different moments kind of cracked me open and allowed me to see parts of myself that were previously hidden.
3. How do you balance your real life and social media life? It can be hard to be yourself online but also keep a distance between your online persona that you have to do to engage fans, and your private life.
Honestly, this is one of my biggest challenges right now. I always knew part of being a musician was having an audience but I didn’t foresee how challenging it could be to try and engage consistently while still doing my day job as well as just being a person.
I definitely have my extroverted moments but fundamentally, I am quite a shy and anxious person and so getting a lot of energy and engagement from people can feel as overwhelming as it can be encouraging and nice.
4. What are the highlights of your career?
I think my first headline performance in New York was a big moment, but recently I did my first standalone gig with a band and it really felt like a turning point.
I’ve always tried to do most things myself out of fear so performing with a team and feeling like that shared energy and belief in what I’m doing really shifted something in an amazing way.
They’re also such brilliant artists in their own right, so it was humbling to have them bring my songs to life in such a magic way. The crowd really really loved it.
5. What would you tell yourself at the beginning of the pandemic that you wish you had known then?
There’s a lot I could say, but I think I also needed to learn a lot from experience. Music-wise, I would say trust yourself and your time. There will always be pressure to move faster than your body allows, but feeling things is a key part of the process.
I wish I knew that I am enough, that artistic milestones are not an absolute measurement of self-worth and that it’s okay to focus on myself and live my life as it comes - it’s necessary. Once I had finally let go and started making stuff for myself, and those who I care about everything became a bit lighter.
If there’s one thing that makes music easier is that it’s not all consuming in my life, it’s just a part of me - and sometimes other parts need to take priority and that’s okay; I plan on living a long life.
