Songs you know, songs you don’t know, songs you didn’t know could sound like this. MaroMaro does wonders with his stylophone. Come for the stylophone covers, stay for the original work!
Read our interview with the youtuber below!
Describe your sound in three words please!
WTF
How did you start making Youtube videos with stylophone covers?
The first video titled “16 Classic Hits On Stylophone” was made as a joke. I just bought the Stylophone and wanted to use it in an abstract way by playing it similar to a lead guitar with a full band backing track. This video got very big after some time so I made another one “15 Heavy Riffs On Stylophone” . After 3-4 months this one got big as well so I thought that it’s a good idea to make more videos like this. Then the pandemic hit and I had more time to make Stylophone covers.
How do you choose the songs you will recreate? Do you aim for the most popular and recognisable ones or do you have a few of your favourite ones in the mix? Do you receive suggestions from the audience too?
It’s a mix of everything. My only rule is that I don’t cover songs that I don’t like. I did this once and I had a really bad time while doing it. Besides, some songs just sound good on the Stylophone, like the metal ones. It gives them an arcade-ish vibe.
In one of your videos (Musician VS YouTube Algorithm), you imply that the algorithm can make viral ‘some random weird shit’. Without any intention to play the Devil’s advocate we have to ask: Does YouTube direct the audience to this or is the audience itself that rewards this type of content?
Yeah, YouTube can be a dick sometimes. The subscription count is mostly just “for show”. I can even make a life changing masterpiece, work on it for 2 years, almost starve to death and if the algorithm sees it as “meh” then it will end up having a laughably low view count. Of course my most engaged subscribers will probably like it, but it won’t show to anyone outside of my channel. I can’t predict if a video gets viral. Most of the time the songs I like have the worst stats. The prime example here is a video I made in 2015 – I rearranged the whole Castlevania soundtrack to Symphonic Heavy Metal and played the lead on my guitar. See for yourself.
How much effort is required to master the stylophone. Is it easy?
It depends on how much you want to make your roommates angry. Playing one is not that hard, you just move the stylus over the right notes – the end. Then you can try learning to switch modes while playing… Then try playing two at the same time… Then two at the same time while switching modes…The longer you play, the more possibilities start showing up. When you start playing two at the same time then the number doubles.
You have released a few albums too! Could you introduce us to those projects and tell us about the concept a bit?
Yeah, I used to do lots of music projects/bands when I was younger. My solo project “MaroMaro” is just my journey through music. The three albums are more like a musical experience than a typical album with singles and songs. To get the best results you have to listen to them from start to finish on one go – like a movie. I gave the project a little rest after the “Lost Tapes From Chernobyl” album because I had other things going on and living on the streets wasn’t one of them.
Your music with MaroMaro is mostly instrumental. Do you think the absence of vocals make it more difficult when it comes to promotion?
Well the only promotion I had was posting them on YouTube and hoping that some people will come and listen to them/buy them after they listen. I sent them to some Facebook pages, music oriented websites, guitar magazines, you name it… Nobody gives a shit. The instrumental nature of these albums only made it harder, lol.
You have a famous cat, Ozzy! We need to learn more about this furry colleague of yours and how they handle all this stardom!
He’s the best cat I know and I’m not saying it because he’s my pet. I always lived with cats and most of them were very shy. Ozzy is more like a dog, that’s why we also call him “Psiaczek” (doggy in polish). His only “cat feature” is that he poops in the litter box.
Thanks MaroMaro!
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