Tāmaki Makaurau-Polynesian pop-rock act Mayjun are In Denial, or at least that’s the name of their new single, the follow-up to their debut track Jealous. Kat Parsons chatted with vocalist Jeremiah Fale (Hales) about the new track which denies genre barriers to encourage representation and collaboration. Made with support from NZ On Air Music.

“I think we set out to do something that isn’t normally done by people that look like us,” says Jeremiah Fale. “When you think of Polynesians you think of reggae and island jams, but I think seeing the response from our first single, and just in general, we’ve come to realise that it’s more than just about music. It’s a cultural thing. We’re trying to shift something and show others that we can do it too, and do it at a high standard.”

The Tāmaki Makaurau trio are still new to the scene yet featured at a Ones To Watch showcase earlier this year, headlined a show at Big Fan with Luca George at the end of June, and have performed for the NZ Herald’s Locals Only. They’re also amassing quite a positive following on TikTok.

Alongside Fale are guitarist Elijah McPherson and drummer/vocalist Tivoli Levi. The three met in 2023 whilst playing at a Sam V show in Invercargill and immediately realised a mutual appreciation for a similar sound. Given they’re aged just 21 and 22, the genre inspiration they pull from is unexpected, the Mayjun sound gives a nostalgic nod to the punk rock 00s, while drawing from R&B, hip hop and soul, all with their contemporary twist.

“So I have my separate artist project called Hales, and they play for my Hales band,” Fale explains. “I do a lot of sessions, and I make a lot of different kinds of music, so I thought it’d be another cool outlet to get all that stuff out. I think with the boys, we’ve made stuff that’s real different from my Hales project.

“Our sound is real reminiscent of old school rock. We’re trying to make it more modern while still trying to tap into that 2000s’ pop-rock sound.”

Fale explains his older brother (also a musician) introduced him to Simple Plan and similar bands.

“And at that time there was no one that looked like us who made that kind of music. I think it’s time we have something like that,” he states with a broad smile. “Which is what we’re trying to achieve with the band.”

All freshly single, the inspiration behind In Denial came from a natural place for the trio.

“I think In Denial is kind of about not wanting to rush into something new, but how sometimes you just can’t help it,” laughs the singer. “Sometimes you meet certain people and they just sweep you off your feet. Yeah, that’s what it’s about – being in denial that you’re falling in love again when you’re actually head over heels!”

The song’s writing and recording process came parallel, as the band collaborated with multi-talented producer and visual creator Christian Tjandrawinata.

“We tend to write with Christian in the room,” explains Fale. “Christian will give Elijah a guitar, he’ll start something, and we’ll just build from there. If a certain chord inspires the melody, we’ll roll with that. Yeah, it’s real collaborative. We’ll open up a Word doc and be like, ‘What do you want to talk about?’ ‘Well, this happened during the week…’

“We all contribute in our own way, and each person inspires the next person. Eventually, it just sounds like us.”

Asked what’s his favourite part of the latest single Fale pauses for a second then laughs.

“So there’s this phone call that happens in the bridge section. It sounds scripted and is the exact length it needs to be for the chorus to come back in, and people ask how long did it take?

“I want it on the record that that was the first take,” he chuckles. “I want people to know that I did that!”

Alongside the track, Mayjun are also releasing a music video, another collaboration with Tjandrawinata, the projects coming together swiftly and organically.

“I’d say the video was done in the span of 36 hours,” reveals Fale. “Like shot and edited – Christian’s really fast. I asked when he reckoned he’d have it by. He said, ‘I’ll have it tomorrow.’ I thought he was joking but he had it the next morning!

“The video shoot was pretty fun,” he continues. “We had like a lazy susan, spinning thingy, that we put the drum kit on. There are videos of us falling off. I don’t think I’ve had that much fun on a music video before.”

The trio already have several exciting projects in the works.

“We’ve got a couple more singles, and we have an EP planned. I think we’re continuing with the phone call thing because we’ve done it on Jealous and the next single, and it’ll be like Voicemails I Hope You Never Hear – that’s the running title!

With plenty to look forward to Fale reflects on one of his stand-out moments of the past year as a part of Mayjun.

“I think our Tuning Fork show was probably the biggest highlight,” he says. “I always tell people this, but what I want to do is play shows with my friends, and I think that was the perfect moment that embodied everything I wanted to do with music.

“I remember looking around the stage, seeing the boys smiling. That’s what we want to do. We just want to have fun, make music and play shows with each other.”