{"id":2052266,"date":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2052266"},"modified":"2026-07-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-279","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2052266","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
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\n\t\t\tPORCHES FINDS FULFILMENT IN IMPERFECTION<\/span>
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New York musician Aaron Maine details the exhilarating spark behind the recording process for \u201cMASK\u201d, his latest mixtape that ditches the autotune and soars for a sound that is raw and unrefined.<\/h3>\n
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\"Porches<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The combination of accessibility and convenience shapes the music-making and listening experience in the digital age. Streaming platforms give listeners an unlimited catalogue of music at their finger tips, while technology advancements equip artists with the ability to fabricate the bulk of a song\u2019s existence and tweak every recording\u2019s flaws. Yet beneath this creative malaise, this lack of limitation has prompted those most artistically articulate to seek out beauty in imperfection.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t Aaron Maine\u2019s intention to join that battle or create an anti-technology release with \u201cMASK\u201d, his latest under the musical alias Porches. But the May 2026 mixtape, recorded on his four-track tape recorder, settled itself into that narrative as its creation took form \u2013 embracing mistakes and showcasing the humanity behind each recording.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMASK\u201d came to fruition after Maine\u2019s head-banging 2024 album, Shirt<\/em>. As some of his heaviest work to date, Shirt<\/em> tampered heavily with computer-based production to reach its 90s grunge-inspired sound. Shifting from that piece of experimentation with glitchy guitars and his signature auto-tune, he rediscovered a four-track tape recorder hidden in his closet and decided to bring it to the studio to \u201cmaybe mess around with it,\u201d he remembers. The sound of the first song recorded off \u201cMASK\u201d was immediately alluring to Maine, reminding him of how \u201cextremely inspiring [it was] to make music not on a computer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following a brief aside, in which he boasts admiration for Toronto\u2019s street hot dogs, Maine dives into the lessons exercised and inspiration bestowed upon him through making <\/em>\u201cMASK\u201d in an exclusive conversation with Wonderland<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Listen to \u201cMASK\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n

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Read the interview\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

You spoke of a special spirit that inhabited these recordings. How did that spirit present or manifest itself in you during this creative process? What feelings did it elicit for you as you were working on it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It felt really freeing. I don\u2019t know what your experience recording music is, but with the four-track, you have to record each part all the way through, rewind it, and record the second part all the way through. You have to have some idea of what the song is gonna be before you sit down, which already makes you make different decisions.<\/p>\n

It was a really good exercise in accepting mistakes for the sake of the whole song or track. It\u2019s so easy to over-edit things on the computer because you could change every word to a different take; you could do it 5,000 times and edit together a \u201cperfect, in-tune take.\u201d I feel like it sucks so much of the humanity out of the recording when it\u2019s too perfect.<\/p>\n

I had a lot of fun and no plans of making an album. I didn\u2019t know if I was gonna put it out \u2013 I just got super hooked on it. I would go [to the studio] and make a song-ish a day \u2013 but I was not setting out to do that. Once I had an idea, I would scratch it out on the tape, and then I would bounce it to my computer.<\/p>\n

I had probably made 20-25 tracks in that month or so. Then I put the four-track away and started working on some other stuff. I sat on it, and I knew in the back of my mind that I would want to put it out at some point. I think the spirit was that I felt really free, loose, and inspired by how the tape sounded.<\/p>\n

I personally have no experience with recording music or making music; but having you walk me through the four-track recording process, it\u2019s impressive to hear that you were able to experience all of that while bringing a sense of intention into every track.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was so valuable to have that intention. Lyrically too. I love how fun, playful, dark, and weird the lyrics are. I was writing so much. I feel like it\u2019s good when you have to force yourself to get the whole idea out. My brain was firing at a higher level because I wanted to get a recording of the song on the day that I made it or while I was super excited about it. Even with demos, you\u2019re always trying to chase whatever the hell was going on the day you made it \u2013 that just feels so potent and powerful. Going back, I was like, \u201cMaybe I\u2019ll re-record some of these songs.\u201d [But then] I was like, \u201cNo, they have to be exactly how they were that day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Porches<\/figure>\n
\"Porches<\/figure>\n
\"Porches<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

Were there any technological flaws or obstacles while recording on the four-track that ended up making the song work better or to an advantage that was unexpected for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the end, most of them are some of my favourite parts of the whole thing. Even in \u201cHABIT,\u201d the drums being so bad in the beginning because I never played that beat before, I just had the idea of it. It makes me laugh and gives me different emotions and feelings than it would if it was perfectly locked in. And when the vocals are crackly or maybe a little out of tune, I think all of that stuff is, at least to me, very charming. It\u2019s hard to realise it at the moment, but if you let it sit and listen to a perfect take or a more human take, you would probably gravitate towards the one that you can connect with.<\/p>\n

That seems like why the mixtape was received so well; hearing that human element behind the music when everything is so polished nowadays. W<\/strong>hat do you believe imperfection communicates that perfection can\u2019t?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s more relatable as a listener or a viewer. I guess it\u2019s kind of corny, but no one is perfect, and everyone tries really hard to look or sound like they are. It\u2019s a nice way to connect with a piece of art where you can feel the sort of hand, ideas, and physicality behind it. I thought it would be interesting to show that side of myself making music and share something a little more vulnerable and raw.<\/p>\n

Rawness is inspiring and harder to come by these days, where you could squeeze anything through any number of technologies and shave all the edge and energy off of it for a dull finished product. I wanted to give a closer look at the process. I thought it sounded swagged out, weird, and different. It\u2019s been really fun to put it out. Maybe there are a handful of people that might be like, \u201cWhat is this pile of shit?\u201d but I was surprised at the response because I think a lot of people really resonated with it and got what I was going for.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s awesome to see that too, especially with how it contrasts the way you made your last album. I was reading through comments on the Indieheads Reddit thread about \u201cMASK\u201d; someone said they\u2019re happy to see the way you\u2019re still stretching yourself with your music. How do you approach finding new avenues to experiment after releasing music for over a decade \u2013 where you still find excitement in the process?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I wish I knew what makes me tick like that. I just love making music so much. It\u2019s so precious and important, and it guides my life. I\u2019m so thankful to have this fire inside of me that gets me out of bed in the morning to do it in a new way. I\u2019m just trying to keep it fun and exciting for myself; that\u2019s always been my mindset. I\u2019ve been lucky enough that, at the label I was with for ten years, no one has ever gotten too much of a say in what I make and has been okay with me experimenting, changing gears, or trying new stuff out. I try to keep it exciting for me because I don\u2019t really see the point in continuing to spend 10 hours a day in the studio making something that isn\u2019t fun.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m always chasing what feels inspiring, which 90% of the time, I have no idea what that\u2019s gonna be until I stumble upon it. I\u2019ll be like, \u201cOh, that feels really cool. I guess I should try and do more of that.\u201d It\u2019s a lot of experimenting and making a lot of bad stuff or stuff that I don\u2019t think is good. I just still feel really inspired by writing music and recording it.<\/p>\n

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\"Porches<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Would you consider <\/strong>this mixtape to be an attempt to move backwards with making music or a response to the present, where accessibility and convenience are often taking more precedence?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I do think what was really refreshing about it was moving back to basics. I feel like that\u2019s a classically inspiring thing. If you feel distracted or overwhelmed or confused, it\u2019s like, \u201cOkay, well, I know how to make a song, I\u2019ve recorded on a four-track before, and I\u2019m sort of sick of the computer.\u201d It just felt like a positive exercise for me to go back to basics, and that was my only intention.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t set out to make an anti-technology, anti-AI album or whatever. It just felt good, so I did it. It was a snap thing about a month before it came out where I was like, \u201cThis has got to come out now.\u201d I listened through it for the first time in a long time and felt like it was perfect. Keeping in line with not overthinking was a huge part of it. With the release, I didn\u2019t want to do a deal; I was ready to do it on DistroKid, pick a date and upload it.<\/p>\n

I think I understand why some people have mentioned or talked about it in relation to technology today and stuff, but it felt good personally to explore making music like that again. Every decision I made, even with the music video; if it didn\u2019t feel fun, easy, and cool \u2013 I was barking up the wrong tree or doing something wrong. It feels really rewarding to follow that intuition, which is pretty easy to follow if you can cut through second-guessing yourself or a lot of the other noise around making and releasing stuff.<\/p>\n

What were you able to discover about your process and yourself from intentionally giving up the accessibility to technically control the imperfections on the recordings for \u201cMASK\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was huge. I learned so much and remembered so much about recording music, specifically, and also the other parts that go along with releasing and making stuff around it. I can\u2019t even fucking imagine being 20 and trying to become a musician now. It sounds like the darkest thing ever to try and get a reel to blow up, you know? It seems like anti-making music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I learned a lot about trusting the musicianship and embracing mistakes \u2013 or not even mistakes but how the imperfections are obviously the most powerful things. What makes art exciting is the imperfections in it. Even with all the stuff I\u2019ve been working on since the tape, I\u2019ve taken what I\u2019ve learned or relearned from that and fully applied it in every way that I can; recording takes all the way through. There is this magic that happens if you just stick with it. Eventually it\u2019ll click, and it\u2019s so much more exciting than a loop or chopping anything up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I got really into the performance aspect of recording. That can be such a small part of it. You record for 10 per cent of the day and then the other 90 is clicking buttons on a screen. It\u2019s not that exciting or that\u2019s not, for me at least, spending my time wisely. That part is so much more enjoyable when the raw material is powerful on its own. I\u2019ve been making a ton of new stuff with no auto-tune and full takes. It was pretty awakening. I was super inspired when I was making the tape. I wouldn\u2019t shut up about it to anyone that would talk about music with me. I was like, \u201cYou gotta try this.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the best when you\u2019re super inspired by something and want to share it with everyone. My last question for you, what do you hope translates to listeners from the story behind the process and how you felt making \u201cMASK\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve probably said it in different ways, but if you\u2019re not having fun making it, you might be doing something wrong. Figure out a way to make it feel fun. Another thing I learned was that if you make something that you truly fuck with, no one can touch that or take that away from you. That\u2019s a really empowering feeling as an artist. Everyone has felt self-conscious or scared about sharing stuff and what people say. People are so mean these days, but if you trust your gut, feel inspired, and make something you truly fuck with, then you\u2019ve succeeded.<\/p>\n

I had this armour around me before I even put it out, where I felt like I had already won, which is probably really helpful. Especially if you\u2019re younger and feeling bad about your reel getting two views or something, it doesn\u2019t even matter. People respond to seeing someone believe in themselves.<\/p>\n

Words<\/strong> \u2013 Izzy Petraglia<\/a><\/p>\n

Photography<\/strong> \u2013 Gautam Balasundar<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t20 July 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Feature Interview<\/a><\/div>\n
Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tMoshpits, Manners and Mania: A Trip to Bear Stone<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland PORCHES FINDS FULFILMENT IN IMPERFECTION New York musician Aaron Maine details the exhilarating spark behind the recording process for \u201cMASK\u201d, his latest mixtape that ditches the autotune and soars for a sound that is raw and unrefined. The combination of accessibility and convenience shapes the music-making and listening experience in the digital age. Streaming […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-2052266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2052266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2052266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2052266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2052266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}