MANILA, Philippines - It’s been a tough few years for Maroon 5. After the twin successes of their “Songs About Jane” and “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long” albums, their latest, “Hands All Over” was met with some audience hesitation, perhaps as a result of a music industry in decline, or maybe the proliferation of the Biebers and Gagas. Either way, Supreme talks to the boys about their May 23 Manila stop and the still funky music that won Maroon 5 worldwide acclaim.
SUPREME: Sometime before the release of Hands All Over, Adam said something about how he believes that the band is reaching its peak and its one album away from disbanding. That’s a pretty curious way of promoting an album. Is this the consensus?
MAROON 5: There is no validity behind the rumor we’ll be disbanding. We enjoy and have fun playing together; we’re such a close group of friends and as musicians have developed such great skills playing with one another; disbanding would only hurt our individual talents.
The legendary Mutt Lange produced the album. I read that he was the one who sought the band out. Was it a natural fit? He’s known for his rock classics and you guys are known for a more soulful kind of pop-rock.
We came in with our own sound that we had been developing on a few of the songs before we arrived, then he listened and encouraged us to try some things differently. It was a great collaboration between our sound and his influence.
Your first album was a bit reminiscent of Stevie Wonder, while the second recalled The Police in some parts. This album isn’t as easy to categorize. It kind of feels like an amalgam of both albums—perhaps, creating a unique style. Was this something you guys set out to do? Legacy-building time?
We wanted to expand things even further with this album, and that’s something that Mutt Lange helped us to achieve. He pushed us to try things that we hadn’t thought of before or that we had maybe been reluctant to do previously. We also had two images of Marvin Gaye and Tupac in the studio that were guiding and inspirational at times.
James told Billboard that you guys were a bit frustrated that the album isn’t selling as well as the previous two—a brave, commendable thing to do, I think. Are you guys really putting out a follow-up sooner rather than later?
Yes, we’ve actually already begun writing new songs and will continue to do so during the tour. We are looking forward to getting back into the studio soon after this tour is finished.
The music industry as a whole is going through changes—dip in sales, Bieber, etc etc. How are you guys navigating the new landscape?
We’re continuing to tour heavily as well as reaching out to our fans in new ways through the internet, via viral videos, Twitter and Facebook.
Is touring one of the ways you’re combating the changes?
Yes.
This is the second time Maroon 5 is playing Manila. What about that first gig is leading you back to Philippine shores?
We had such a great experience with the first show that we knew we had to come back and rock out with our great fans there again.
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Maroon 5 returns for a show at the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Grounds on May 23. Maroon 5 is brought to Manila by Betamaximum Inc. and Music Management International. For ticket inquiries, log on to ticketworld.com.ph or call Ticketworld at 891-9999 and Betamaximum Inc. at 633-4034.