mau from nowhere doesn’t just drop an EP—he kicks down the door and saunters in with, Soft Steps, a seven-track plunge into a boundary-breaking soundscape that’s as gentle as it is fierce. This release marks a pivot for mau, a cultural chameleon who uses every shade of his multifaceted identity to colour in his music. Raised in the UK, born in Nairobi, and carrying Dutch roots, mau seems to have found the formula for making those borders blur and his sound soar.
The lead track ‘Fly’ featuring HiHi, is a standout. It’s the EP’s soft-spoken siren call: hypnotic and grounded in airy, textured R&B. Mau’s lyrics brush over self-discovery while the beat pulses insistently, gently insisting on forward motion. This isn’t your average groove; it’s a meditation in musical form. The bass hums low and warm, the lyrics drift in like a confidante’s whispered truth, and before you know it, you’re floating along, tethered only by the song’s quiet, self-assured weight.
The EP’s commitment to experimentation is clear as it moves from alternative Afro-fusion to tender R&B to forms you can’t quite pin down. Mau’s background gives him access to a sound palette as wide as his roots, pulling you into the streets of London, Nairobi’s buzzing rhythms, and something indefinably eclectic. His influences read like a recipe for sonic alchemy: Outkast’s boundary-pushing audacity, Bloc Party’s electricity, and a dash of hip-hop’s introspective edge.
What makes, Soft Steps, an experience is its intimate sense of exploration, like a journal read aloud but set to inventive beats. It’s an album you don’t just hear; you feel it through its meandering basslines, soulful vocals, and moments of pause that seem to echo mau’s journey. Vulnerability, growth, and authenticity run through every beat, showing us not just where mau is but where he’s headed—and he’s invited us all along for the ride.
If, Soft Steps, is any indication, mau from nowhere is moving exactly where he needs to be, and he’s bringing a fresh, thoughtful vibe to alternative R&B.
