Exclusive Interview & New Release By American Singer-Songwriter Mads

Mads Jacobsen, a singer-songwriter from Seattle but currently under Corona-quarantine in Sicily, sent a video to his record label Global Rockstar, including his new song “The Corona Virus Blues”. Everybody was hyped and wanted to send him to a recording station immediately. But due to the quarantine, this was clearly impossible. And so Mads recorded the guitar, voice and harmonica for the “Corona Virus Blues” in his hotel room on his laptop and tube microphone.

Listen to “The Corona Virus Blues” (Astronaut Remix) on Spotify!

Together with the hit-producer-team around Johannes Römer and The Astronaut and further with “The Corona Virus Blues (The Astronaut Remix)” an artistic snapshot of the worlds situation right now was created: A stranded US-streetmusician, who got under quarantine in the south of Europe, cries out the despair about the worlds situation with a Blues and his howling harmonica. Together with a Drop with cool minimalbeats it got an irresistible catchy tune.

Tell us about that first track that put you on the map in the music scene and the journey since. How did you get started?

My song Coronavirus Blues might be the first song to “put me on the map”. So far it has gotten the most views on youtube and facebook that a single song of mine has ever gotten. And it’s my first song to be on major television and radio stations. I have a feeling it’s going to be my most popular song to date soon. But two other songs that come to mind are “The Masters Are Thieves” that I wrote around 16 years old. I played it for an audition for a show called “More Music At The Moore” and I was accepted and got to play it in one of Seattle’s oldest theaters for a sold out audience. I continued playing in many of Seattle’s biggest venues because of this opportunity and I remember this song making a name for itself in Seattle…Another song that comes to mind is Make Up Your Mind which got over 30,000 streams on Spotify within its first few weeks and it seems to be one of my most popular songs!

Tell us about your latest release Corona Virus Blues?

I wrote Corona Virus Blues under quarantined lockdown in Sicily, Italy. I started singing the song on the street as a joke for a crowd that was listening to make them laugh and I made up the lyrics on the spot. They loved it. I then sang it again in a bar while performing making up new lyrics and people really liked it again… I realized I had a song. I went home soon after and wrote the song out. I didn’t think anything of it and just thought it was funny. I sent the video to a few people. My Mom, the record label that signed the song Global Rockstar, and a few others. My Mom texted me back telling me she sent the song to the news stations and Kiro7 News, the biggest news station back in my home Seattle wanted to interview me on live video and put me and my song on TV! Global Rockstar quickly wrote me back as well saying they wanted to do something big with song as soon as possible! Along with other industry people that wanted to work with it! In a matter of several days the song has been on Austria’s biggest radio station Hitradio Ö3, Seattle’s News Station, plus countless other radio stations, blogs, websites, stories, and keeps stacking up thousands of more views and plays across the internet.

What single night out has been the most memorable for you as a performer?

One night out performing that has always stuck out in my memory was from several years ago in upstate New York when I got a gig playing on top of a ski slope in the Summer for people running a 70 mile marathon…I was there to inspire them and keep them motivated as they neared the end of their harrowing run! I had the company of a few friends and we stayed up all night under the stars in the beautiful forest singing for the runners. It was incredibly inspiring for me to see people pushing themselves to such degrees up and down mountains and to see them visibly smile and change when they heard me play! It gave me a new perspective on the role of my music and life…

Tell us something we wouldn’t normally find out about you.

I really like Justin Bieber hahaha.

Give us the name of one track that never gets old for you no matter how many times you listen to it?

Tamborine Man – Bob Dylan

Mads 5 | Ufo Network

Dream collaboration and why?

Bob Dylan. Because. Bob Dylan

If you could play any festival, which would it be?

Because it’s the famous festival I know of in my hometown Seattle where all the biggest names play!

How do you get a track started? Tell us a bit about your production process. How long does it take you to complete a track on average and do you ever get writer’s block?

When I write a song it comes from necessity. I don’t do it out of boredom, or fun, or for other goals. The goal is to get out what I need to get out in the moment. I try to capture that feeling as raw as possible and give it to the world in a beautiful, powerful way for the intended purpose of the song. The song has a life of its own and my job is to nurture that and bring it out. I find my best and most memorable songs I’ve written fairly fast. Generally under one hour. And then maybe I play with it for several weeks or even months until the song naturally works itself out. My style of creating is to be as natural as possible and let the music flow like a river…

Latest project? What are you working on currently? Tell us more!

I’ve been working on a lot of new projects recently. Especially with all this free time in quarantine. Musically, Ive began writing new songs. One, a more serious dark song about the coronavirus and the state of the world…it is like an old folk blues gospel song you might hear from the south a hundred years ago in the USA. I talk about my fear of the future, in these dark times and our need for spirituality and compassion for all…my other song I just began writing I’m imagining a punk rock band behind it…about who’s really there for you when shit hits the fan? In the end? Who was really your true friend and family? And who were you there for? And what really matters? I’m a very serious and deep thinker sometimes haha. I’m also writing several raps with similar vibes and also a vlog called “quarantine diaries” and some writings…Also recording and hoping to put out a new folk and rap album soon!

  • The relationship between the audience and the performer is crucial, and yet it seems to be a fragile one – how do you see the balance between giving the crowd what they want and treating them to something new?

I don’t see a different between giving the crowd what they want and giving them something new. Maybe because I’m not your typical touring musician who’s playing hits my fans all know yet! I am playing bars and streets where most people still don’t know who I am so they actually tend to enjoy my original new music the most because its from my heart and they can feel it! People want to be inspired and excited! And you need to be that in order to generate that feeling in them! They want to see someone who is overcoming the hardships in life and following their dreams!


Follow Mads on Social Media!

Facebook / Instagram / YouTube

Mads 4 | Ufo Network

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