- 9 minutes ago
MAU P sits down with Billboard’s Katie Bain for the Superstar Q&A at SXSW 2026 to chat about his unique sound in dance music, making his debut album, and how he navigates being both underground and mainstream.
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00:00Thank you for being here. I'm Katie Bain. I'm the Senior Music Correspondent of Billboard, and this is, of course,
00:06the talented, globetrotting phenomenon, Mow P.
00:10Me?
00:10You!
00:11Yeah!
00:13He ain't.
00:16Okay, we have a lot to talk about, but I think where to start is just, I feel like talking
00:21upstairs, the last 48 hours of your life has been so, like, classic DJ weekend.
00:26Just tell these people where you've been and what you've done since Friday.
00:30Um, so, I was in San Francisco, and then I played a show, I got four hours of sleep, then
00:41I flew to Vegas, then I slept because I was really tired, then I woke up, I had dinner, I
00:47played a show, got really drunk, then I got three hours of sleep, and then, um, I gotta be honest,
00:57I was supposed to fly around Southwest,
00:59but, uh, I didn't, and we, we managed, with God's help, to get a jet last minute, so, my life
01:07got pretty comfortable coming here, and I'm very blessed, and, um, I'm very happy to be here,
01:13and, uh, now we're having a little Bloody Mary to, like, get into the situation here.
01:19As it goes, when you're a world-famous DJ, you can kind of pull the jet out of thin air
01:24to get where you need to be.
01:25You can't, but, like, it was just gonna be a brutal Southwest flight at 7 a.m.
01:29No, that's, no, that's not acceptable.
01:31Well, give him a round of applause for doing all that in the end of the day, to turn.
01:34It really wasn't that hard.
01:37There's no applause.
01:38I want to give you a lot of credit for all that.
01:41Okay, so, um, let's start with the music, because I feel like, you know, the last time we spoke, we
01:46talked about how you really found this pocket where you make dance music that's very uniquely you.
01:52I feel like when I hear one of your tracks, it's just, I can tell.
01:55Um, and so, what would you say are your signatures?
01:59What are you doing in these productions that make them yours?
02:03Um, I think it's because my goal is to, um, not just create a song to have a song, but
02:12create something that will, like, leave a dance in, uh, in whatever's here already.
02:17Like, in, in, in the dance music world, in the music world in general, like, what can I do that
02:23hasn't been done before?
02:24So, I think that stands out on its own, and also, I just try to embody what, uh, you know,
02:32sort of my favorite music was growing up, and what my favorite music is now, and everything that I put
02:37into my brain when I listen to music, or when I absorb music, so to say.
02:42Um, and, uh, yeah, I guess that what's, what sort of generates your own sound or style.
02:48Sure, it's kind of like an amalgamation of all of your...
02:51I don't know that word, but probably.
02:54Pulling together.
02:55Amalgamation.
02:56Amalgamation.
02:57Yeah.
02:57What does that mean?
02:58Uh, amalgamation is, like, when you take a bunch of different things and you put them together.
03:03All right.
03:04Yeah.
03:04So, you're amalgamating.
03:05Yes.
03:05We're learning new words.
03:06We have vocabulary lessons.
03:08That's here.
03:08It's a whole thing.
03:09Um, but, okay, tell me about the music that you listened to when you were young that you are now
03:13amalgamating.
03:15Um, I listened to a lot of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell, and my dad would always play, like, jazz in
03:25the car, um, that I had no interest in at the time, but it always stuck in my head.
03:32And so, now I'm sort of, uh, still listening to that because I, it's, it's nostalgic, but not in a
03:38way that, like, I chose for it to be nostalgic, you know?
03:42So, um, it's a, it's a little bit of everything here.
03:45And you come from a musical family.
03:48Like, your dad is obviously, you know, he was a very accomplished musician.
03:52Your mom was a singer, right?
03:53Like, tell me about growing up with parents that just did music.
03:58Um, it really was, uh, normal to me, I have to be honest.
04:02Like, it's, uh, uh, it was always around, and the whole, uh, lower floor of our house where I grew
04:08up was a recording studio, so I could always just go downstairs and play whatever instrument, uh, was available.
04:16So, to me, that was just, like, oh, whenever I don't know what to do later in life, I can
04:21always fall back on whatever my parents were doing, you know?
04:23And so it was a traditional sense.
04:25I, I feel like that must have put you at an advantage because it didn't make music seem like this
04:30far away crazy dream.
04:32Like, you lived in a house with a studio.
04:33Like, how well did that set you up for just growing into what you did?
04:37No, perfect.
04:37It was almost like the last resort if I didn't think of anything else to do that was not music.
04:43Yeah.
04:43Did, did you think, did you consider other career paths?
04:46I think I wanted to be, uh, a designer, and I had this weird obsession of being a cameraman, but,
04:55like, not, not like a cameraman with just, like, the, the handheld camera in cool situations.
05:01Yeah.
05:01I wanted to be, like, the cameraman that had the big, the thing at the TV show just, like, sitting
05:07in the seat.
05:08Why?
05:08Turning around, filming.
05:10What, what, why?
05:11Were you, I don't know, like, a thing.
05:13That thing looked big and intriguing, so I was, let me operate that.
05:18Sure.
05:18But, okay.
05:21So, I, what.
05:23Where did your mind just go?
05:26Pause.
05:27Okay, next question.
05:28Great.
05:29No comment.
05:30Uh, so, at what point in your growing up were you like, okay, I'm actually good at this.
05:36Like, there's something here for me to focus on.
05:38Um, I think.
05:41Wait, let me answer first.
05:42Um, I think I started making music in GarageBand.
05:48Yeah.
05:49On, like, Apple computers.
05:50And it was made very easy to, like, make something that sounded good because it had, like, all the loops
05:56and stuff and it was in the right key and you could just put it together.
06:00Um, but I also started singing over the loops and I started making, like, EPs and uploading them to YouTube.
06:08And I was, like, 14 or something.
06:10Yeah.
06:11But then at some point I started showing my friends my music a little bit later on in high school.
06:17They got super hyped about it.
06:19So, I mean, I guess they were super enthusiastic.
06:22So, it got me, like, oh, I guess I'm doing something right.
06:25Or it makes them feel something, at least, the music that I'm making.
06:28Were you playing out at all during that?
06:30Like, were you playing parties and, like, high school parties and local stuff?
06:34Yeah.
06:34Okay.
06:34Okay.
06:35And weddings.
06:36Okay.
06:38I know you have a wedding coming up.
06:39We've talked a few times and I did not know you were a wedding DJ.
06:42So, whose wedding are you playing coming up?
06:45Yours.
06:47I mean, if we can get that as a contract right now, I'm probably going to hold you to that.
06:52Why not?
06:53Thank you very much.
06:54Where is it at?
06:55That's settled.
06:58It's going to be in L.A. or Yosemite.
07:00Okay.
07:00Yeah, thanks.
07:01Yeah.
07:03I did not see that one coming.
07:04Thank you so much.
07:07Okay.
07:08My fiance will be doing it.
07:09And everyone's invited.
07:12You're all coming to my wedding.
07:14The headliners.
07:16So, you, I think that this is a really interesting thing because you were obviously making music
07:21as Maurice West.
07:22Yeah.
07:22Before you were Mau P.
07:24Yeah.
07:24And it was EDM.
07:25It was a different style of dance music.
07:27So, you kind of had like one foot in that, not one foot in, you were doing that, but then
07:31you kind of became Mau P and you're in this different, I would say sound, but also different
07:36era of dance music.
07:38Like things kind of like changed and you changed with it.
07:41So, tell me about the differences sonically and then just kind of the differences in the
07:45scene itself between these two aspects of what you've done.
07:48I think music always goes in waves and sort of the stuff that I was doing back then seemed
07:56really far away from what I'm doing now.
07:59But when I transitioned into Mau P, it sort of felt like my whole background of doing
08:08Maurice West was being put to use for just a different kind of direction.
08:13So, I had this knowledge of really big sounds that were made for really big stages and just
08:20the only goal was to get everybody jumping up and down.
08:22So, my thought was how do I package that into a sound that is sexier and like also approachable
08:34for the clubs and just not just for the big stage and the big speakers, like also just
08:40for your earbuds and stuff, you know.
08:44So, and I think the sounds also not because of me, well, I hope partially also because of
08:51me, but like it grew closer together.
08:53So, there was a point in time, I think last year or two years ago where I thought, okay,
08:58now everything's just, what was the word again?
09:01Amalgamated.
09:02Yes.
09:02Yeah.
09:04Amalgamated.
09:05And the whole scene was that.
09:07It was like David Guetta was playing something that was considered underground and like an underground
09:13DJ was playing something that I thought.
09:16Like, but they probably don't know who that guy is.
09:19So, they just listen to the song and they're like, that's a good song and it probably works.
09:23So, I'll play it, you know.
09:24So, everything was just sort of all being put into this like ball of energy, I feel like.
09:32Yeah.
09:32And now it's exploding.
09:34Yeah.
09:34And everyone's like sort of picking a side again.
09:38How do you mean picking a side?
09:40I mean, not consciously, but I think definitely that there are DJs now that are being considered
09:46more like bigger, almost pop acts.
09:50Yes.
09:51And I play this game where it's a very thin line between me being able to play Circo Loco,
09:57but also me being able to like play an hour at Coachella at a headline slot and like still
10:04make it entertaining for, you know, people and not just in a way that's like fireworks
10:09and flames and this and that.
10:12It's just like I was mixing for a very long time.
10:14Like those transitions weren't like rushed.
10:17So, I still wanted to show people like I'm actually just taking my time DJing and doing
10:21this craft.
10:22I think that's one of the most fascinating pieces of what you do because you are able to
10:27walk this line that not a lot of artists can where you're considered underground, you exist
10:32in the underground, but I was at your Coachella set.
10:34There must have been 40 or 50,000 people there.
10:37Like that's not underground.
10:39And so like how are you doing it?
10:41That's the funny thing.
10:42So it's like at the end of the day, the consumer doesn't really know what they want.
10:47They just consume, you know?
10:49So if I'm now in a position that I can just show them what's up.
10:54Yeah.
10:55And I think like it's cooler to show them cooler stuff instead of like choosing the stuff
11:00that'll make me the most funny.
11:01Yeah, you're not giving them something that's going to be automatically pleasing to them
11:05and you're going to press a button and they'll jump.
11:07Yeah.
11:07Because that was my whole thing when I was Maurice West.
11:10I was just trying to be what other people already showed me that was successful.
11:14Yeah.
11:14And then when I started doing Mal P, or even before I changed my name to Mal P, I was
11:18just
11:18making stuff to make stuff that I liked and that I thought wasn't there yet.
11:23And then when I started releasing music, it was like, okay, now everything clicks.
11:28Yeah.
11:28And works.
11:29Yeah.
11:29And I mean, we've talked about this before as well, but not just on the music level,
11:33but, you know, aesthetically too.
11:36Like you talked about how you thought before you needed to have some really high price creative
11:40director and like the best photographers.
11:42And you realize that you can just kind of do it yourself and have the people around you
11:47that you trust do it for you.
11:49Like, tell me about how that's kind of made your world, you know, just like working with
11:55these people that you know.
12:01Um, can you rephrase that?
12:03Yeah, I can.
12:04I made that confusing.
12:05So, um, why is it okay now to work with, you know, just a friend of yours as a photographer
12:11versus, you know.
12:12I mean, it's not, but they're really good.
12:14Yeah.
12:14So, and we, I figured out that it's not just, um, that everyone's just figuring it out.
12:22Like even the guys that I thought like, wow, they're really big and they must have a crazy
12:26team.
12:27So at the end of the day, everyone's in their own sort of like bubble.
12:30And they're all like, every DJ thinks that they're the biggest, but they're all just
12:35like stressing out and figuring out like how to do this thing.
12:38And like, everyone's like debating about what artwork to use or like messes something up
12:44uploading to DSPs or like happens to us too, you know.
12:49So, um, but to the outside world, it'll probably when you look at my profiles or whatever, it
12:56looks like, wow, they kind of figured out.
12:57But yes, like we are sometimes that one SpongeBob scene with all the pulling out all the archives
13:04and everything's all fire.
13:06And, you know, like, yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:08Did that, uh, create for you any sort of relief knowing that everyone else is just kind of
13:13on fire behind the scenes?
13:14Yeah, it's perfect.
13:15Okay.
13:16Okay.
13:17Um, but so as you're saying, like what you put out does look really slick and it, I think
13:22it has like a very particular aesthetic that is all yours.
13:25It's like, in terms of world building, what kind of adjectives would you put on what you're
13:31doing?
13:32I guess I don't really know, but it's like, it just formed itself very, uh, authentically.
13:41So, as I said before, like, I was doing Mars West for six, seven years, maybe, maybe eight
13:50years.
13:50And, um, like I was just trying to be something and I wasn't really looking inside.
13:59Like my arrows were like outside, like looking like, what can I take and what can I make
14:03mine, but it's more like, what can I take for myself and put out there that people don't
14:09know yet?
14:10But they'll probably like put it because it's like personal, you know, like everything I
14:15do is really personal because all my Instagram posts, that's me figuring it out.
14:19And like, well, and you can tell that it's coming from a human.
14:23It's not, it's, it's, it's, it's cohesive, but it's not overly slick where you feel like
14:29there's someone claying the strings that isn't you.
14:31Exactly.
14:32Yeah.
14:33It's not too slick.
14:34Yeah.
14:34Yeah.
14:35Cool.
14:35And so you said I'm slick.
14:38A little bit.
14:38It's very slick.
14:39All right.
14:39Yes.
14:40Forward facing.
14:40Absolutely.
14:41Um, and so in January you posted that you're making an album this year.
14:47Yes.
14:48How is it coming along?
14:50Great.
14:51But it's also really stressful.
14:54Tell us more.
14:55Um, so I decided to put that a line just so people can all be accountable for, you know,
15:03making an album this year and all the other stuff that I said.
15:06So I didn't really tell anyone that like I was posting that.
15:09But even before that, I had just always dreamed of like doing an album because it just feels
15:14like something so special to do when you're an artist.
15:17Um, and then when like my agent and my manager sort of got word of that, they were like, let's
15:24do it.
15:24Awesome.
15:25And then I was already sort of in it without even deciding to be in it.
15:28Sure.
15:28And then, I mean, I committed to it and now there's like tours being booked around the
15:35album that's not finished yet.
15:37Oh, you've got to make this album.
15:38Yeah.
15:38So it's like, it's a lot of pressure, but, and then like the promoters are asking like,
15:42but is the album really going to be finished by this date?
15:45And I'm like, I have five songs, you know, so I really don't like halfway there.
15:50Yeah.
15:50Okay.
15:51But, um, so it's, it's, it's fun.
15:54It's a process, but it's one of those things that I've never done before.
15:56And that's why it's also exciting and fun and scary, but like challenging.
16:01Yeah.
16:01Um, but I feel like it's going to be fresh.
16:04So how is it sounding?
16:07Um, it's sounding like me.
16:13Okay.
16:13I guess.
16:14Yeah.
16:14Okay.
16:15And it's truest form.
16:16Um, well, the last time we spoke, you said you wanted to make something timeless.
16:21Obviously dance music comes and goes really quickly.
16:24Exactly.
16:24And so is there something that you're paying extra attention to, to make songs that will
16:30stick around?
16:31Yes.
16:32Um, I guess I'm not trying to follow what's like popping right now.
16:37And I'm just trying to take it back to the core where it's like, this is a song that you
16:42can play on a piano and you can sing it and it still holds up.
16:46Nice.
16:47You know?
16:47So it's not going to be dependent on, Ooh, I mixed those drums really well.
16:52And, um, that has the fattest bass ever.
16:56Like, you know me, it will have the fattest bass ever, but still it's like, it has to be
17:02timeless.
17:03It's foundationally a song.
17:04Yeah, exactly.
17:05Yeah.
17:06Cool.
17:06So you're making time for this, um, obviously amid playing shows.
17:11And I know you played a lot of shows last year.
17:14We talked about how you kind of said yes to everything.
17:17Um, and it's not everything, but like, not, but you said yes to a lot of things.
17:22You were in a lot of lineups last year.
17:25Um, what did that do for you this year in terms of being, you know, more judicious in
17:29what you're playing and like, what kind of shows are you focusing on this year?
17:34Um, I guess both the shows that I think are really fun and also like shows that are one
17:44step up from what I've done last year.
17:47Cause everything like comes with a strategy, you know, for an agent and, uh, they will book
17:52shows thinking like two years ahead, like, where do we want to be in two years?
17:55And what do we have to sell out in order to be, uh, at that goal that we have, you
18:01know,
18:01like for example, what we did Red Rocks, we were already planning that two years ago.
18:04Like what venue do we have to do in Denver in order to be able to go into a bigger
18:10venue?
18:10And then from the bigger venue, prove that you can sell tickets to do Red Rocks.
18:14Yeah.
18:15Yeah.
18:16Um, and I mean, what is a bigger event?
18:18Can you give us a hint of like, are we talking about stadiums?
18:20Are we talking about arenas?
18:21I mean, I'm having a hard time with the whole stadium discussion because I feel like it's
18:25so focused on one person DJing.
18:29And I always think like a DJ is not that entertaining to watch.
18:34It's not be, let's be honest.
18:35Yeah.
18:36Yeah.
18:36Like going, like I'm, I'm standing on a stage.
18:39I'm like at one position and I'm mixing.
18:41Like I can, I can take two steps to my left, two steps to my right.
18:44Yeah.
18:45I'm not going to do a back flip off the booth.
18:48I will say like three words on the mic and that's it.
18:50You know, so like my craft is really, you know, mixing for a very long time, but I
18:57have the most fun doing that when I have people around me.
19:00Well, that's the thing about your music.
19:02I think is like, it's, it's party music.
19:04Like it's, it's fun music to be in like a really great social situation.
19:08So like, I imagine you're looking for venues where you can have that party atmosphere.
19:12I mean, we've been, I've been in LA and I've been looking at stadiums and there's
19:16some stadiums that will lend itself to having people around me.
19:19And I'm more approaching it in a way that's like, how can I turn this stadium into the
19:25biggest rave ever?
19:27Yeah.
19:27Like, I don't want to do a concert.
19:29So, so you want it to be a full on.
19:32Yes.
19:32Yeah.
19:33Cool.
19:33And like, they say that it's possible and we updated the contracts that whenever they'll
19:39make me play a show when it's just me on stage, I'm just not doing it because I don't feel
19:44like Armin Van Buren or Martin Garrix.
19:46Sure.
19:47Who are amazing.
19:48Of course.
19:48But like, it's a whole, it's just a different kind of vibe, you know.
19:51So I guess that maybe it makes it, it's helpful for you to know what to say yes to and
19:56what
19:56to say no to when you, that's the goal.
19:58And it's also just having people away from you at a barricade and it's like, well, you
20:05guys do feet and inches, but like 10 meters.
20:07Yeah.
20:08Like away from me, that's like very low vibrational or something.
20:12Cause it's like, at that point, I'm just looking at the crowd as one big object or wave of people
20:19instead of me being able to tell like, oh, that guy's having fun.
20:23Right.
20:23Right in front of me.
20:24Sure.
20:25You need the energy of the people around you as much as they need you.
20:27Yeah.
20:27Yeah.
20:28That makes sense.
20:28I think at least it's, it's different for everyone, but like, for me, it's like
20:33DJing is always a discussion and it's either between me and someone else that I'm DJing
20:37with, or it's between me and the crowds.
20:41And it's like, I'll just, I'll just play some stuff and see what works.
20:45And if like the people like it, I'll play some more stuff that I think will work.
20:49Yeah.
20:49Then I'll throw in one thing that might be tricky, but like, at least we're talking.
20:55Yeah.
20:55That's a nice way to say it.
20:57If you're talking, um, we mentioned Coachella as those were massive shows for you last year.
21:02You said they were the biggest thing in half of you, 2025.
21:052025, what does a set like that do for you in terms of career?
21:10Like, what did that make possible?
21:13Um, I feel like that was just a big thing for me in, uh, what was it?
21:182025?
21:19Yeah.
21:20Yeah.
21:20Yeah.
21:21So, um, I guess I always thought that it was still like Tomorrowland that was going to put
21:29DJs on the map, but I didn't know like Coachella was going to be that big.
21:33And to be honest, I was like looking through, I was on the stage when they were like setting
21:41up the production and everything.
21:42And there was this little crack and like this wooden thing on the sides that sort of looks
21:48to your right, like opposite from the hill at Sahara 10th.
21:52And I was just, I was just checking if anyone would show up to be honest.
21:56And I just, I saw like a flood of people like coming in.
21:59So it all just sort of, I don't know.
22:02I didn't really think about it at the time.
22:04Like this was going to be a huge thing.
22:06I mean, we prepared, of course, and we made visuals and we made a stage and we sort of
22:10put the show together because it was like going to be less than one hour.
22:12It was like 55 minutes.
22:15And, um, but I didn't know about Coachella, like people on the couch watching from home.
22:22Yes.
22:23And, um, so there is apparently millions of people watching Coachella from the couch, which
22:32made it like an even bigger moment.
22:34So it's not just like 50,000 people in front of you.
22:36It's like the whole world was watching.
22:39Yeah.
22:40Oh, so that sort of hit me when I started posting stuff from the sets and like, imagine
22:47me the next day after like doing that dance on the stage and everything is like, I thought
22:54it was funny, but I didn't know it was going to like pop off like that, you know?
22:58So like, we just, we just like made that video, posted it.
23:01And everyone was like at the Airbnb, just like seeing what would happen on social media.
23:05And we were just like, what is going on right now?
23:08Yeah.
23:08Yeah.
23:08Yeah.
23:09It, it must be, I don't know.
23:11How does it feel to have a viral moment like that?
23:13It's cool.
23:13Cause you got like a second weekend that you can like do even crazier.
23:17Right.
23:17Right.
23:18That's the beauty of Coachella.
23:19Yeah.
23:19So then I started grinding the, the floor.
23:24He's like, I have to one up myself.
23:26And you did.
23:27Yeah.
23:28Um, I know that you work with some people that you've known since you, India, Julius, your
23:33manager, since you guys were 15, right?
23:34Yeah.
23:34What does that do for you in terms of like trust when you are with kind of your day and
23:40ones?
23:40Uh, it's perfect.
23:43It's very comfortable.
23:44And, um, it's like one assets or like one, one part of the work that I don't have to stress
23:54out about, like, I know I'm not getting f***ed over by anyone.
23:57So yeah.
23:58Sure.
23:58Which like usually managers can have a sort of tricky intention to them.
24:06Like when I released drugs from Amsterdam, I was already with Julius for years and still
24:09other managers would hit me up and be like, Hey, can we talk?
24:13And I was just like, no, but, um, imagine if I would have like all these guys that just
24:20saw me as a money-making machine or something or a cash cow.
24:23Yeah.
24:23Like if you don't know, you'll just get, you'll, you'll get eaten alive.
24:30And then at one point you're going to get to a point, which is like the most dangerous
24:33point about being a touring artist, um, where like now I have guys doing my production and,
24:41and video and, and photography and lights and there's managers and there's PR companies
24:47and there's everything, like there's more and more people that get added like every
24:51month to the team.
24:53They all got families to feed.
24:55Yes.
24:55You know?
24:56And like, if I'm not on the road, like where's the money coming from?
24:59Yes.
25:00But at least I know I have a manager that like puts my health in the first place.
25:04That was what really stuck with me from our last conversation is you just seem to be doing
25:08really well in all of this.
25:09You know, you said the train isn't moving faster than I am.
25:12And I was just so like happy to hear that for you.
25:14Yeah.
25:14I guess.
25:16No, no, but no, but you're right.
25:17But like, I'm, I'm on the, the, like the, I'm driving the train.
25:22Yeah.
25:22Sort of.
25:23Yeah.
25:23Like I'm not on the train.
25:24I'm just like, I'm in this.
25:26I'm like the conductor.
25:28And that is the perfect spot to end.
25:31We're out of time.
25:32Oh, we're done.
25:33We're done.
25:33Yeah.
25:33Anything else you want to say?
25:35No.
25:35Okay.
25:36Thank you so much.
25:38Yes.
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