Reflecting upon feelings of loneliness, confusion and alienation, and peppered with the delights and aches of love, Perfect Weather plays as a charming and delicate ode to a turbulent year as a self-described “surviving international student”. Opening with the thematically titled intro track, ‘Conflicting Advice, Wrong Person To Address’, Maseta immediately suspends us between a sense of comfort and familiarity with his folky finger-plucked nylon strings, and a sense of enigmatical openness with his reverb-rich vocal layers. ‘And I Ignore’ follows, contemplative and alluring in its candid, simple delivery of the songwriter’s introspective pensiveness.

Earlier this year, Maseta enchanted us with his lead single ‘QLU’ (‘Quick Little Update’), the third track on Perfect Weather. A melancholic piece about saying goodbye to a love that was never his, the track’s mellow harmonic structure and gentle vocal layers blend fluidly to create an ambiance of tranquillity. Archie Beattie’s silky saxophone solo completes this mesmerising aura, with the honey-like notes finding their voice conversationally and complimentarily between Maseta’s lyrics.

‘Cool Change’s bossa nova inspired rhythm brings a little playfulness into the EP, creating a serene, breezy tone suitable for musings about the elation of falling in love. Finally, the title track and closing song ‘Perfect Weather’ concludes the EP on a bittersweet note, building with a gently-evolving intro that creates a warm and affectionate tone with nostalgic pads, reverb-soaked vocals and resonant guitar, as the songwriter reflects upon the ways his work hours rob him of precious time with loved ones.

It’s a charmingly intricate and harmonious EP, showcasing compelling songwriting and production skills in the finest and most delicate detail. We had Maseta reveal the DNA and motivation behind each track below.

Conflicting Advice, Wrong Person to Address

In the first EP, I involved some Indonesian 'keroncong' and 'gamelan" in the track ‘Mas Ade’. Loving how ‘Mas Ade’ turned out, I think to myself that I want to have this kind of sound in my next releases so ‘CAWPTA’ is that track. It has the traditional percussion and the staccato, harmonising nylon guitars from left and right. The song is about me being lost about my future in Year 12. There was an uncertainty about my stay in Australia. I was dealing with a number of people who gave me conflicting advice. I am also keeping the tradition to have a really long title for the opening track because I think it's cool.

And I Ignore

‘And I Ignore’ is a track that exposes my weaknesses, vulnerability and insecurities as a teenager. In this track, I talked about things about myself that I don't like. To me, this is one of the most honest songs that I've written and it was written during my loneliest times, away from family and close friends. 

For a while, the version that I recorded only had the acoustic guitars, but then when the idea of releasing an EP came about, I thought some piano would be nice to add colours to this track. I got my friends Litani and Fia to sing in this song and I always love to have a smooth, high-pitched voice singing an octave above my voice to give the song an extra texture.

QLU

‘QLU’, for me, is technically the strongest song on this EP, if we're talking about the production. Recording from my bedroom, I don't have all the equipment to make my audio quality comparable to the industry standard, but when I hear ‘QLU’ I think it is up there. I wouldn't be able to recognize that it was recorded on my laptop in my bedroom. Archie Beattie's saxophone solo really adds a lot to this song. It is a solo that people can sing along to and for me that is a requirement of a good solo. 

‘QLU’ (Quick Little Update) is about a separation with a person that I really admired but couldn't be together with.

Cool Change

‘Cool Change’ is probably the only happy song in the EP. I really rarely write a happy song, but I'm happy with this one. The drum machine beat is bossa nova inspired, accompanied with the chorus-y guitars from left and right. It would've been nice to have some electric keyboard to act as a glue in this piece, but my piano prodigy friend was always busy when I invited him for a session so I decided I couldn't wait forever. I added lots of backing vocals to replace the piano. My friend Litani once again sang an octave higher to keep me company. Archie Beattie makes another appearance in our right ear, picking through the electric guitar.

Perfect Weather

‘Perfect Weather’ has the arrangement that I'm most proud of between the five songs that were released. I like the slow build up in the intro, starting with the percussion until the lead guitar melodies are introduced. Although I'm very fond of the arrangement, I still think that this song would sound much better with someone else's voice in it. I just think that the vocal melodies are not made for me. Aside from that, the autotuned backing vocals that constantly appear on the left ear are inspired from Bon Iver, and I think I did an alright job at applying them to my own work.

The lyrics are about me being tired of working too much during the summer, which made me miss so many days with 'perfect weather'. I felt like I was always stuck indoors doing mundane things, when there are so many wonderful things to do with loved ones outside.