Q & A: Don Mai

The sweeping and striking folk soul of Don Mai has certainly struck a chord with us, which is why we had to speak to the artist about his new song, Sing A Song.

You sing so openly about failure and using that to push on. Do you hope to inspire others who feel down?

Yes, I do. I really needed an outlet for my failures because I was at a point where I felt like I wasn’t good enough as a singer. It definitely didn’t feel great and I was sure that there are many other times when people have doubted their skills or just themselves in general. This idea inspired me to write a song where I can get my feelings out to encourage myself and others.

Do you see failure as a way to learn and better yourself?

Definitely. I’ve now learned that the best experience come from failure. The best way to improve is to put yourself out there and accept your failures and learn from it. If you don’t put yourself out there, you’ll just never know what could have been. It’s better to try and fail than to not try at all.

Was your dream to always become a musician?

Not always. When I was younger I wanted to play sports. But I was constantly switching sports and was playing it more casually than competitively. Both my parents are musicians so I guess it was in my blood, although it did take me a while to get to the point where I decided to become a musician and enjoy it for myself.

What are bucket list items you want to achieve as a musician?

I’ve got so many bucket list to achieve as I am still in the early stages of my career. I would really love to sell out a venue even if it’s a small one. I would love to have my first tour. Have my song reach the charts. I could go on and on, there’s just too many!

You mentioned you didn’t much like playing piano, though are classically trained. Would you incorporate it into your music one day?

I absolutely would. It was only when I was younger that I didn’t enjoy playing piano because I was being classically trained and didn’t enjoy playing that genre of music. But now that I’m no longer playing classical songs, I’m enjoying piano a lot more and am able to appreciate it now that I’m older

Other than writing and performing music, what are some of your other creative outlets?

I like to occasionally do some photography although I have no experience whatsoever. It’s just nice to be able to take photos of what I like and appreciate it.