Exclusive Interview: Madison Mars discusses latest release ‘Like Fire’

Starting off his career with releases such as ‘Theme O‘, ‘Milky Way’ and ‘Ready or Not’ on Don Diablo‘s label; Hexagon, Madison Mars has now become one of the most prominent artists in the industry. The debut year of 2016 ended up with over 50 million streams of his original tracks and remixes for such top artists as Galantis, Jess Glynn, Jonas Blue and Melanie Martinez.

With hit singles such as ‘Stardust’ with Lucas & Steve and ‘Atom‘ reaching #1 and #7 on the Beatport Future House chart respectively, Madison Mars is a proven hit-maker. Mars has also garnered support from the likes of Tiësto, Sam Feldt, Leandro Da Silva, R3hab and many more.

With his new single ‘Like Fire’ out now on Spinnin’ Records, Madison Mars spoke to We Rave You about the track and his future aspirations.

Your newest single; ‘Like Fire’ is finally out! Tell us about the process of turning the idea into a full-length song!

“So excited this one’s out! I’ve been working on it for a while actually and it all started when Nevve sent me a vocal demo, which I immediately liked. As I received just an acapella demo I had so much fun building the music around it, coming up with the chords and all the melodies. The result is a stunning summer track which also works well on the dancefloor.”

Compared to previous tracks such as ‘Rock Right Now’ with Firebeatz and ‘Back The Funk’, your latest release takes a more mellow approach. What was your inspiration behind this?

“I found Nevve’s vocals so inspirational. If you listen to the track I even made the drop mostly using her vocals blended with fat future house chords. Indeed, it’s different from my other releases this year, but as a producer I find it very important to make different stuff, mix different styles together and be innovative. And I think summer has been a big inspiration here as well.”

The relationship between the pianos and vocals play an important part in the track’s ascension in the breakdowns. Was this a major focus point in the studio?

“Most definitely that relationship is key when harmonizing and mixing! A big part of the focused time spent in the studio went on the pianos + chords and how to blend them perfectly with the vocals. It’s a delicate process when the vocals have already been recorded, but nowadays it’s easy to change the keys of the vocals too, if needed. I really like the result, melodic anthem with that summer vibe!”

‘Milky Way’ is still one of your most notable songs to date. What does that track mean to you?

“It’s definitely one of my biggest track to date, with only Spotify streams reaching 24 million. It means a lot to me when people hum it along at my gigs, it reminds me where it all started for me  – this was my second release ever as Madison Mars on Don Diablo’s label Hexagon. Makes me proud that future house has a big following and I will always try to keep the influences of it in my productions.”

You’ve already worked with industry elites such as Lucas & Steve, Firebeatz. Who else in on your future collaboration list?

“I have only released 2 collabs in my career so far, because I’m not really a big fan of collaborations. I think it has to be a very special blend between the 2 styles and I just rather work on solo original material. I know there are people out there who mostly only release collabs, which I assume has something to do with their studio skills… Not the case here haha. There are numerous vocalists I’m currently working with and have worked, but speaking of other acts, I have second Lucas & Steve collaboration in the works. There’s also something very big coming with a big inspiration for me over the years, but I can’t say anything else about it at the moment. I guess time will reveal this track.”

What are you hoping to achieve in the remainder of 2018?

“In the remaining half of 2018 I definitely want to release as much music as possible, there are several releases already planned and so much music in the works. Not to mention travel around the world and meet my fans. I’m here for all of YOU.”

Be sure to listen to Madison Mars’ ‘Like Fire’ below and grab a copy here.