MANE: House of Horror

Scott Wallace
27th Jul 2016

The artist known as MANE is Adelaide artist Paige Renee Court. Her songs are eerie, often foreboding, tied together by her voluminous and commanding vocals and an atmospheric sonic playfulness. She has been touring on the back of her fittingly titled debut EP House of Horror, with the final show of the tour taking place in Sydney this Friday. We had a quick chat to Paige about where her MANE persona came from, her influences and her love of a good twist. 

How did you choose the moniker “MANE”?

MANE use to be a nick name when I was younger and It was a name I was sitting on for a while to start releasing music under. The music I was making prior to this EP was quite different so it just felt fitting to release House Of Horror under the MANE banner given the change in direction. 

Your songs mix some pretty disparate influences. Is there any sort of tension between different styles when you’re making music?

I listen to a lot of different genres that all influence me and I guess it sometimes bleeds into my music. I wouldn’t say there is any sort of tension but I’ve definitely found there is a couple different styles I like to tap in on in my writing. 

What were the influences on your sultry singing style?

I use to listen to a lot of Melody Gardot, particularly her The Absence album and I think that she has a really interesting sultry style with definite jazz and blues influences - so she is probably a big one.

How do you think access to technology has impacted the ways in which indie artists are seen and heard?

I think that it’s great how easily accessible music is now particularly for discovering new up and coming acts. Social media is a great help for indie artist and a great way to promote your work. It’s a lot easier to reach an audience now, particularly with all the streaming services and being able to be added to playlist and so on. There are obvious down sides to it, but I think for the most part it is a positive thing in terms of getting your music to reach people and be heard.

If your music could score any film, which film would you choose?

Oh, I think I’m gonna have to go with Pulp Fiction or any of M. Night Shayamalan films, I love a good plot twist.

You can catch MANE this Friday July 29th at The Newsagency in Marrickville. The House of Horror EP is out now.