Kiro Hakane [ˈkiːɾo haˈkaːne]

I am a singer-songwriter, guitarist, and flutist of The Mayflower Aspect. For me, music has long been more than just a hobby or a creative outlet. It is a way for me to express things for which normal words are often not enough, my thoughts, memories, inner images, longing, pain, hope, or simply those very specific moods that sometimes do not let go.

Many of my songs arise from a feeling, but sometimes also from our world history. Often, it is historical themes that occupy and inspire me, as they are still relevant today. What especially appeals to me is this connection between something personal and something timeless, especially when something from the past suddenly feels alive again, or when music takes you to a place that perhaps never really existed and yet still feels familiar.

With The Mayflower Aspect, I try to make exactly that audible. I want to create music that has atmosphere, that forms images in the mind, and that does not simply wash over you, but touches you deeply inside. I am not interested in songs that simply “work”, they must carry something within them, and I want to create something in which its own world emerges.

Musically, I move somewhere between dark melancholy, narrative depth, and a certain cinematic grandeur. Guitars, flutes, vocals, and many moods flow together, often existing between fragility and pathos, calm and intensity, past and present.

What also shapes me, however, are the people with whom I share this music. The others in the band bring their own thoughts, feelings, perspectives, and also their own sound into it, and that influences me more than one might sometimes see from the outside. Some ideas only arise through conversations, through working together, through what others hear or feel in a song. In this way, the music does not remain something rigid or purely personal for me, but something alive that grows when several souls contribute to it.

In the end, it is above all about creating something real.
Something that is not polished or smooth, but honest.
Something in which one can lose oneself.

Lupus Maybeat /ˈluːpʊs meɪbiːt/

I am the drummer and percussionist of The Mayflower Aspect. Music has accompanied me since 1981, and in a way it all started very early. One of my first defining memories is the “1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert” by Benny Goodman on vinyl. Gene Krupa’s solo in “Sing Sing Sing” especially caught me immediately as a child. Later, Jimi Hendrix came into my life, and with “All Along The Watchtower” there was this moment when I realized that music is more than just something you listen to. It felt as if someone was expressing something that I had always carried within me but could never truly grasp.

For me, music means a great deal. It can make you reflect, entertain, create images, or connect people. It does not only work in the mind, but also physically. You want to move, dance, or simply go along with it. At the same time, it also has its darker sides, but that tension is part of it.

What touches me the most is the atmosphere. It arises through dynamics, harmony, expression, and the interplay of all elements. Music needs a certain tension for me, something of its own, something that does not feel arbitrary or worn out. A good groove, interesting harmonies, maybe a slightly darker tone, all of this plays a role for me.

On the drums, what matters most to me is the feeling. The dynamics between subtle support and powerful build-up are among the most beautiful aspects of the instrument for me. I work more intuitively, usually searching for the basic beat in new songs first and developing the structure from there. Reduction plays a major role. A song should be able to speak for itself without being overloaded.

In The Mayflower Aspect, I feel exactly in the right place. The melancholic foundation suits me, and the collaboration is pleasant and continues to grow over time. What matters most to me is that it is not just about everyone fulfilling their role, but that much comes from listening, reacting, and developing things together. I am not just the “rhythm guy”, but part of a whole.

Sometimes, when I play, I feel like I represent a kind of connection to the earth, a foundation on which everything else is built. At the same time, I remain more of an inward-looking person who can express exactly that outwardly through the drums.

Playing live is the real reward for me. On stage, it is about carrying the musical flow while also taking the audience along. The moment when the spark jumps over and people begin to truly move is what it is all about in the end.

And maybe that is the most beautiful thing about it, being part of something that is created together, that evolves, and that is more than the sum of its parts.

CTaiger [ˈsiː ˈtaɪɡə]

I am more or less what you would call a “jack of all trades”, and honestly, that fits quite well. I am there where I am needed and often take care of the things that others may not currently see. I hold many things together, internally as well as externally, and try to keep an overview of things that are sometimes not easy to grasp.

I am someone who likes to help, who steps in, who organizes, motivates, constantly cooks, sets things up, thinks ahead, and simply makes sure that things run. Much of this is not visible, and that is completely fine for me. It is simply part of it.

Music is something very special to me. It is energy, emotion, something real that goes beyond what you can touch or explain. For me, it is both escape and arrival, something that carries me and a safe place that we create together. Everyone brings something with them, everyone has their place, and that interaction is what makes it special.

I somehow slipped into all of this, but that is exactly what feels right. I am part of something that is bigger than myself, and I contribute my part, even if it may seem smaller than that of others. The music comes from them, but I help to tell the story and bring it closer to the people.

On stage, I love that exact moment when what we have created reaches the audience. I am excited, but at the same time fully immersed and simply happy. I play roles, such as the king, but I also want to try more, show more, and be more part of it. The stage is not just a place for me, but a state.

I want people to feel something. That it is not just a performance, but something that stays with them. Presence makes the difference.

The visual side is also very important to me. Music videos, images, and the entire outward appearance are just as much a part of it for me as the music itself. I like to give the music a visual form, to make it more tangible, to make emotions and stories visible. Dark, historical, emotional is exactly my thing.

An online presence is necessary today. If we want to bring our music into the world, people need to see us. What matters to me is that we remain ourselves and do not present something that we are not. It should feel real and spark interest.

I am someone who is rather chaotic, but who also functions within that. A kind of organized chaos, or perhaps simply someone who finds their way in it. Creative, spontaneous, sometimes without a plan and then again exactly right in the moment.

It is important to me that a band does not only work musically, but also on a human level. That people understand each other, that they grow together, and that there is life between them. That is what makes the difference for me.

In the end, I am simply myself.
The one who helps, who goes along, who is there.
Everything good and bad is part of it.

Jack of all trades, master of none but better than a master of one.