It's Women's History Month, so we're showing some serious love from home to our favorite female artists. Pass the time at your casa, and share it with your cat, your plant and your friends on FaceTime.
[Originally published in office magazine Issue 20, Fall-Winter 2023. Order your copy here]
What is your ideal office?
A house in the suburbs with a cozy basement and a backyard.
When you think of New York City, what neighborhood comes to mind?
Herald Square, right when you get off at Penn Station.
What is one thing you can’t live without?
Love.
How often do you check your phone?
Depends how much I hate myself that day … JK! But I’m checking that shit a lot. It’s my job or whatever. No clocking out.
What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever done in public?
Girl…. I take one step out of the house and some embarrassing shit happens. Too many to count! I truly can’t even recall. I eat shit on a daily. But I keep it moving.
Lyrics to live by?
Crazy girl, believe that!
If you found the fountain of youth, what age would you stay forever?
I would probably throw a coin in the fountain and make a wish that I have a long and healthy life into my 90s. Aging is cool. I don’t want to be young forever.
Describe the party of your dreams.
I don’t dream about parties … I throw them!
What's your favorite word in the English language?
Unfortunately “yes,” because I have a hard time saying no.
How might you like to be reincarnated?
Sometimes I feel like this is my second or third reincarnation…. So if anything I think it’s time for God to throw in the towel.
Is there anything you’re trying to let go of?
5 pounds. By this weekend.
How was the crowd in Barcelona and London?
Dom Dolla— I think it's really exciting. The shows are selling out really fast. I feel like this tour has been a real tipping point. The energy's crazy. We're doing really big rooms and venues and yeah, it feels amazing. Arriving in Europe — coming off the energy of the big American shows — it was a big contrast. Now, not so much. It's almost like the preparation and energy that I put into every single one of my shows is being rewarded across the board and rewarding for me personally. It’s fun because I get to play a slightly different style in Europe than I would in the United States.
How does your style shift when you're playing European shows?
I think stylistically, there's more of a heritage based around house and techno here, so I know people often come to my shows to hear the records that I've written, but I think you get to be a bit more adventurous and people are open to a bit more sort of — I don't know, there are a lot of like crate diggers in the crowd similar to me as a DJ. You see people like shazaming stuff and not to say that doesn't happen in America. It’s really exciting. As well, like the drums in UK and European shows have to be more constant, you can’t really have big breaks. They don’t translate as well. I like to keep people constantly moving, whereas in the US, there’s a lot more space for big euphoric breakdowns… people singing their hearts out, maybe that’s something to do with language barriers as well.
What keeps you energized?
For me, it's all about contrast, so if I've been playing a bunch of shows that are in one style for a couple of weeks, I'm like, Oh, I can't wait to do something a little different. So, you know, darting from America to perform in a different environment in Europe is really refreshing.That keeps it exciting for me as a performer and keeps the narrative exciting for people following online through social media. If you’re doing the same thing and playing the same shows in the same cities all the time, people will find it boring.
You've also had a great year with singles. How are you feeling after dropping “Saving Up”?
I'm very excited. I think for me, it's a bit different to what I’ve normally been writing recently. I can get bored in the studio quite easily and for this record, I drew from more of a Euro disco influence. It’s got this Euro offbeat baseline, the sort of heritage of old school disco sound, which I've never done before. So I'm just over the moon that everyone's still connecting to it on the same level to my other tracks.
I feel like it still sounds like me — my hooks and melodies always kind of shine through — but I was honestly quite nervous. I finished the record probably 12 months ago, and my record label was like, “Why aren't you playing it in your sets?” And I'm like, “Oh, it's hard to work in because I don't know whether it's something that people are necessarily expecting from me.” So, I'm just honestly feeling part elation and part relief.
Did you end up popping it into your set out in London?
I did, I did and the best thing was that the audience sang along to every word. It was amazing.
That’s great. You wrote it in the UK last year, right?
I did, yeah. I wrote it down in Brighton. I went there with some friends and the studio was in front of where Fat Boy Slim threw that Brighton Beach rave 20 odd years ago. I've watched that video of him throwing that rave 100 times. I walked out of the studio, looked at the beach and was like, “Oh my God, I've got to write something with an influence that I feel has that UK heritage to it.” I love writing records on my own, but I recorded “Saving Up” with Clementine Douglas, Caitlin Stubbs, and Toby Scott. We were honestly just sitting in the studio drinking coffees, then that became beers and I started singing them ad libs then we all started spitballing ideas. It was a lot of fun. I don’t normally collaborate in that way for club music. It was a fun way to do it.
Do you ever see yourself releasing a bigger project?
Yeah, well I’ve never done an album. I’ve only ever really done singles and if I have done anything bigger than a single, it's just been like a remix pack. I'd love to work on an album but I'm really enjoying doing it single by single. I feel like it allows the opportunity for people to focus on the records that you want them to focus on because in this day and age, it's very easy for people to expect more very quickly and then at that point you’re competing with all of Spotify.
I’d rather be like, Here, I want you guys to listen to this one. If it bombs then all right, cool, Here’s another one.
Do you feel like you have more freedom to experiment when you’re not trying to fit 15 songs into one project?
Definitely. I'm not so concerned about everything being cohesive. I feel like my favorite albums are ones that you can set and forget that you put them on, almost like an aesthetic or mood. Whereas, with a dance album, I’d want that sonic cohesion; something like an LP that you could put on a record player, press play and be like, Yep, this is the move.
Is there something in particular you’d attribute your success to this year?
I would say I've worked pretty hard. I think I've really found my stride in the studio, in terms of what the Dom Dolla sound stands for stylistically. I feel like that sound also sort of crossed into the zeitgeist of American dance music culture. The whole EDM / Big Room movement has kind of ended and the house techno stuff has risen to the eyeline of the general population.
I've also upped the frequency in which I release music, touring a lot, getting out in front of a lot of audiences. It's such a competitive space these days. You know, I think we live in an attention economy where people can be looking at a million different realities at any given moment and if you want to get people's attention, you've really gotta be making a lot of noise.
Has relevance impacted your career in some way, do you feel more of a pressure to up the ante?
I think it's about consistency. It’s almost like the way people can consume media now, everything’s a TV show. So if they can flick on your TV show on Spotify, on Facebook, on Instagram or whatever, and they know that there's going to be consistent stuff coming their way and you're going to be able to provide value for them consistently, they're more likely to pay attention. I don't think it necessarily has to be loud or it has to be particularly outrageous. People just have to connect with what you’re saying in a way they understand.
I was reading this study about the idea of modern and old school celebrity in the context of the attention economy. It said that back in like the ‘50s and ‘60s up until the ‘00s, everyone knew who you were talking about in the context of, let's say movie stars — like Brad Pitt or George Clooney — because there were new phones so everyone was watching the same movies. Same with music, everyone was listening to the same bands.
Now there’s so much, there are often bands on festival lineups that I’ve never heard of and I go and chase them down and I’m like, Oh my God, this is amazing. And many have such big fan bases. There’s just so much out there and you can pay attention to whatever you choose now. Being consistent with an audience is probably the most important part.
Yeah, that’s a great point. How do you keep your sound unique as more and more people move into and explore making house music?
As being a producer becomes more accessible and easier because of all the tools that exist out there, whether it's Splice or whatever else, I feel like that comes with a sense of, It’s fine, I’ll put it out there and see what happens. Whereas I’m a bit more like, It’s not ready yet. I remain pretty hard on myself, and will keep at it until I feel really good about it.
That makes sense. You’re playing Spilt Milk and Lost Paradise later this year. Is there anything special to you about playing these homebound shows?
I think I can relate the most to the audience — being an Australian having grown up there. I understand my home country the most, you know, and I feel like they relate to me most. Spending the whole year overseas, really flying the Australian flag and being quite proud to represent Australian dance music culture, makes it special. I just did my essential mix for BBC radio last week and tried to fit in as many Australian artists as I possibly could.
When I come home, it's such an amazing reaction, especially in my hometown of Melbourne. I've got some hometown shows coming up in December and I'm so excited for them. It's gonna be quite an emotional event I feel, especially how big the shows are, how quickly they sold and how many friends and relatives that plan on coming out. We'll see how they turn out.
Nice, man. I hope it turns out well. Your next is on the 13th in Scotland right?
Yeah coming up this weekend. My heritage is actually Scottish, my grandparents and such, but I've never been to Scotland before.
Are you prepping anything special?
Honestly. The first time I go to a country it's more about consumption for me and figuring out what makes them tick. In terms of a DJ set, I’m just going to keep an open mind and be ready to switch things up at any given moment so I'll probably prepare a few directions I can take the set just in case things go belly up.
How long does it take before you have a good read on a crowd?
I've been a DJ since I was like 13 or 14 and I’ve learned that you've gotta be ready for anything in the space of like 30 seconds. It’s kind of different now, like when I was just a DJ and didn’t have any of my own music, my job was literally to keep people on the dance floor and if too many people wandered off to grab a drink at the same time, it was like I lost the whole thing.
I'm lucky enough now that a large portion of the audience are there to listen to and enjoy my music. But, the trick is to always have one of the CDJs ready to go at any time. A secret weapon, something that you know is going to translate really well if you start to lose them, but I'm keeping an open mind. You never know they could fucking hate me [laughs].
MARIAH wears FULL LOOK by DOLCE & GABBANA
Mariah the Scientist’s journey into the music business was atypical; when her first songs went viral, she was a junior pre-med student studying Biology at Saint John’s University in New York City on a scholarship. Just a year or two into her rise, the pandemic disrupted the industry, making the kind of artist development traditionally done through a progression of live performances impossible. When live concerts returned, the learning curve was steep — but Mariah has never been afraid to roll her sleeves up and get to work. Now 25, with some more stage and studio experience and life experience alike, she’s ready to share her best work with her fans.
A week or two before her album release, office spoke with Mariah the Scientist about her motivation, opening up to collaboration, and going “full force.”
Hi Mariah!
Hello!
Thank you for taking the time. First things first — I want to ask about your name, the Scientist. I know you studied to become a pediatric anesthesiologist in school before deciding to drop out to pursue music. I was wondering, what connection do you see between science and music, having done both?
I think that in my beat selection, or my lyricism, there would be more of a testament on how I see the world scientifically or why I gravitate to those sounds specifically. But I think having gone to school for something, the one thing that probably correlates the most is just the work ethic — maintaining a similar work ethic for both career paths.
I'm still in school right now myself, so I feel you. I know the infamous story about how your first songs were recorded to be a gift for someone for Valentine's Day on an iPod. I was wondering, what was your relationship to music before that? Did you ever think that you might want to become a singer?
I always liked music but I didn't think that it would be something that I could choose as a career path. It was more like a passive thought for me, and then once I got into it a little more I found I really liked the expressive aspect of it. Once that was a pertinent objective, to express myself, I felt like I could utilize it for the greater good. And so that's what I've done with it.
MARIAH wears JACKET by LUU DAN
What artists influenced you growing up or influence you now?
At this very moment, I think about Michael Jackson a lot. I think about Prince. I think about Whitney Houston. They were just so cool. From the overall performance aspect to the hardcore superstar value in them. They had an agenda and they were very intentional with everything they were doing.
I love that. You write almost all of your own songs, and writing requires a different skillset from science. Did you consider yourself a writer before you were a songwriter?
I guess I’ve always had a way with words. Before I was writing songs, I was writing poems or just random excerpts from my day or how I was feeling. When I was in college, I thought I was gonna write a book of self-reflections and life lessons. Didn't finish it though. I wish I could find that computer and just open it up and see what actually was said. I would like to see what I was thinking back then.
You’ve spoken pretty candidly about how your earliest public performances ever were on these huge stages, and people judged you without realizing you just didn’t have the experience yet. You’ve grown a lot since then — did it help that you wanted to prove people wrong, or was it completely internal?
It’s never really been a validation-seeking thing. It’s more for the people that come to see me. I want them to enjoy it, you know, I don't want it to be like, I just got up there and half assed a performance for them. I want them to experience it in the best possible way. So I think that has been the big factor in me trying to do better at something that I'm actually sharing with people. Honestly, doing it poorly is not enjoyable for me either. You know, it's uncomfortable.
It was like that in the beginning because I had a lack of experience, I was more insecure about performing which then it made me nervous about it. Now I'm a little more comfortable with it. I definitely think my shows are way better now. And they're more enjoyable, I'm having more fun.
Is there anyone that you look up to as far as performance or anything in specific that you did to help yourself grow and develop as a performer?
I think it just came with doing more shows. The other day I mentioned that Rolling Loud was my second show ever. My first show was a concert that I put on in Atlanta and it was sold out with around 1000 people or something. So I was just brand new to it.
It was a lack of experience that was nerve wracking. This isn’t like a regular job where you get the job and then you sit at a desk and no one knows if you're doing it wrong because you have the opportunity to correct yourself before your peers see it. When you make music, when you release music, when you perform music, it's already on display in whatever form you have released it in.
How does this album roll out feel compared to the others that you've done?
I definitely think I feel more prepared because in between my last two projects and this project I was independent, and I did release some music on my own. If you do anything on your own when you're independent, you're a little more equipped with particular knowledge that you would never know if somebody was handling everything for you, like when you are with a label. By the time I got a new label, it gave me more clarity on what exactly I wanted my roll out to look like, and what exactly I wanted out of it. It's also really collaborative, it's more like a partnership.
Absolutely. You've mentioned in the past that songwriting and recording is usually a very private practice for you. You just mentioned collaboration with this new label - are you more open to collaboration within your process of making songs now or are you still very private?
Yes, I have been collaborating more. And I like it, I do. I think that it is interesting to see what other people come up with, it's interesting to see what I come up with. I think when you are in the midst of collaborating, there's a balance of inspiration, it's like feeding off of each other. So, like when you think about duos, like, I don't know, like Future and Thug or like 21 Savage and Metro Boomin. Those are collaborative efforts where each of those people inspire the other person, you know?
Last year, I remember you told Billboard that you felt like your only option now was to go full force. So I wanted to ask, do you feel like you're at full force right now?
I think that I have been preparing to go full force. I have been on tour for like the last two years, two years almost. And so I've had lots of experience with more shows. I have put my album together, I've scrapped it, I've put it back together, I’ve been to the studio really often. It's like flexing a muscle, just seeing what you can do and just trusting in that intent.
And I definitely feel like I'm prepared to reveal my improvement. Not that I've been hiding it — it's just that I think that with my project will come new exposure and I think, and I'm hoping that that new exposure gives me a chance to share my improvement.
MARIAH wears TOP by DION LEE
My last question is about the title of the album, TO BE EATEN ALIVE. Where did that title come from? And do you feel like people have been trying to eat you?
I’m a Scorpio. Because scorpions are relatively meek animals or quieter animals — they don't really make noise,they're not super large, or some super standout color — you wouldn't know what they were capable of until you got close to them, and saw how intricately detailed they were or just how controlled and intentional they can be. They are predators, not prey. And I do think some people have regarded me as prey. They have regarded me as less. Some people, not everyone. Some people are catching on to it. Other people are not, other people may never catch on to it. But maybe those are people that just don't come in contact with me.
A lot of people feel they can chew you up and spit you out, but if you chew a scorpion up, you know, you fucked up. That’ll kill you.
Predator, not prey – I love it.
