Hello everyone, it’s your host Tehillah from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Martin Maudal, the creative force behind Baldy Crawlers, an Americana and contemporary folk project from Wrightwood, United States. We are here to discuss “Hatred?”, the first single from the upcoming EPFais Toi Plaisir, released on August 1, 2026.
Before we begin our conversation with Martin Maudal, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About Baldy Crawlers
Baldy Crawlers is a musical project built around storytelling, craftsmanship, and a deep exploration of human experience. Created by Martin Maudal, a Berklee College of Music graduate, luthier, producer, and songwriter, the project began from a desire to showcase handmade resonator guitars before growing into something much larger: a collective of musicians united by a shared passion for emotional storytelling and musical discovery.
Based in the foothills of Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel mountains, Baldy Crawlers brings together a diverse group of musicians including Elizabeth Hangan on vocals, Norrell Thompson on vocals, Marc Weller on guitars by Maudal Musical Machines and pedal steel guitar, Carl Byron on keyboards and accordion, Ross Schodek on basses, José Perez on drums and percussion, and Martin Maudal on guitars, vocals, and drums.
Drawing from Americana, folk, Latin, jazz, and alternative influences, the project reflects the many musical paths that have shaped Maudal’s creative journey. His background as both a musician and instrument builder has created a unique relationship between sound and storytelling, where the physical character of an instrument becomes part of the emotional expression behind each song.
“Hatred?” marks the first single from the upcoming EP Fais Toi Plaisir and presents one of Baldy Crawlers’ most emotionally reflective compositions. The song was inspired by a powerful photograph showing soldiers standing over a prisoner, but what stayed with Maudal was not the violence itself. Instead, it was the shared suffering visible in every face, the recognition that both captor and captive carried the same human pain.
From that moment came a contemporary folk song centered on empathy, conflict, and the difficult question of what happens when people are asked to hate one another. Rather than approaching the subject with anger, “Hatred?” explores humanity through vulnerability, encouraging listeners to look beyond divisions and recognize the person behind the conflict.
Built around acoustic guitar, cello, and aching three-part harmonies, the song embraces simplicity and emotional honesty. Its restrained arrangement creates space for reflection, allowing the weight of the lyrics and the humanity behind the story to remain at the forefront.
The wider world of Baldy Crawlers continues to expand through Fais Toi Plaisir, an upcoming EP that explores different chapters of human connection through a blend of musical traditions. From intimate folk storytelling to borderlands influences and Latin jazz textures, the project reflects Maudal’s belief that every song carries its own story while contributing to a larger journey.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and longtime fans are excited to hear directly from Martin about the inspiration, creative process, and deeper meaning behind “Hatred?”. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
Baldy Crawlers — Hatred?
INTERVIEW SESSION
Tehillah:
Martin, your creative journey has moved through several worlds, from being a Berklee-trained luthier building handmade resonator guitars to becoming the driving force behind Baldy Crawlers. Before we explore the music, could you take us back to the experiences and moments that shaped your relationship with craftsmanship, storytelling, and sound?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Hey Tehillah! I’ve often felt that I haven’t lived just one life. It’s been a series of them with some continuity of memory 😄 I took a year off from high school to be a young wastrel before going to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I studied jazz, drums, theory and particularly arranging. I then spent a number of years as a professional drummer in many bands, bouncing back and forth between Santa Barbara and New York. I played a lot with Bobby Radcliff in New York — he’s one of the top 5 blues guitarists in the world in the Magic Sam school. You never knew what might happen playing with him. Sometimes he’d just start and you might not stop for the whole night. Get on that dragon and just ride!
In the last year of my New York period the road started taking a turn. I’d been writing songs again, and started doing open mics. 100s of them! There was a sound I wanted to get, and realized it was that National guitar sound. Or dobro… the resonator sound. I couldn’t afford anything on the market at the time. I had time on my hands, so I thought why not build one? I mean how hard can it be 😂😂😂 I buttonholed every guitar builder I could find. Turns out there are a lot of them in New York! And they all love to talk about guitars. Well, it started as a pencil drawing, then some pieces of wood. Then a mixed media sculpture… then 9 months later… when I strung it up for the first time something magical happened. I played the first notes on it and it became something else! It transformed into a musical instrument. And it came out better than I had any right to expect. I didn’t know any better so I just did it. It was a life changing moment for me. Hard on the heels of that came the thought that if I did this right, some unborn musician could pick this up in 200 years and make music that I can’t even imagine! That’s why I built the 2nd guitar. And the 3rd… and every one after.
Tehillah:
The origin of Baldy Crawlers began with an idea to showcase your handmade guitars, but it eventually transformed into a much larger musical collective with its own identity and emotional purpose. What was the moment when you realized this project had become something beyond the instruments themselves?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think it has to be the first time I heard a really great singer, Elizabeth Hangan in this case, sing one of my songs. I mean I love singing, and I can do the job, but I’m not a singer. Hearing her sing one of mine just reached in and grabbed my heart and squeezed!
Tehillah:
Your time in New York, your connection to the creative environment around Mount Baldy, and your collaborations with musicians from different backgrounds have all contributed to your artistic perspective. How have those different places and communities shaped the way you approach music and human connection?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
We’re all products of the experiences and environments of our time aren’t we? There’s family too. My Mom was a folk singer in the vibrant Folk scene of the Pomona valley in the 60s. My Dad was an aerospace engineer, and my Grandpa was a master woodworker. Kind of seems obvious how I came about. Music; engineering and design; woodworking. But the story telling, that was all my Mom and decades of never being without a book in my hand.
Tehillah:
Baldy Crawlers brings together musicians with diverse backgrounds, including Latin jazz influences, folk traditions, Americana, and social commentary. How do you approach creating a musical identity that feels unified while allowing each member’s unique voice and experience to remain present?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That’s a really good question. A great thing about songwriting is that no one song has to tell the whole story. And identity isn’t some static picture. It’s dynamic, and changes with every story we tell. I’ve developed a habit of asking musicians to play outside their normal wheelhouse. It’s fun! And when you have great musicians like these they can’t help but bring who they are into it.
I have a musicologist friend who can tell you the entire history of how music traveled the world, blended and split apart becoming all the flavors we know. Do you know how intertwined polka and mariachi music are? That the horns so beloved in our borderlands music came from Germany? So… a song is a chapter. And we’re telling a story with many chapters over the next year and beyond.
Tehillah:
Throughout your career, you have worked not only as a musician but also as a builder of instruments. How has physically creating guitars influenced the way you understand tone, emotion, and the relationship between an instrument and the person playing it?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Another great question! How long have you got? 😄 I don’t know if this answers it, but the difference between lutherie and music is attention span and how we experience time. A guitar is a physical object whether or not it’s being played. It can hang on a wall as art for a year without making a sound and still be what it is. Music on the other hand can only be experienced in the moment. Whether you’re playing an instrument, or listening on any form of playback… only in the moment. Is a vinyl album music? A CD? Digital 1s and 0s? “When you’re in the room”. For some of us, we’re always in the room. And my head is the room. There’s music going on in my head nearly 24/7.
Tehillah:
“Hatred?” begins with a deeply powerful image of soldiers standing over a prisoner, but what stayed with you most was not the violence itself, but the shared misery visible on every face. What was it about that moment that compelled you to turn that image into a song?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think every really good actor can tell you. And it’s one word — empathy. Empathy is a muscle. It needs to be worked. And if you open yourself to it, it can hurt… a lot. That’s the price; to be an emotional fireman running into the fire.
Tehillah:
The title “Hatred?” carries a question mark that feels important because the song does not simply condemn or accuse, but instead asks listeners to reflect on the human cost of hostility. How did you approach writing a song about such a heavy subject while maintaining empathy and emotional complexity?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That’s exactly right. I’m asking the listener to ask that question themselves… of themselves. That’s the trick of lyrics. If I wrote well enough, they’ll come into the story I’m telling.
Tehillah:
The lyric “Words came flying from his mouth, sounded like a brother to my ears” captures the heartbreaking realization that the person considered an enemy can still feel familiar and human. What personal reflections or beliefs influenced the way you explored this idea of finding humanity across conflict?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think you don’t need to understand the words to hear the human. Every sense is hyper-tuned in extremis. Sometimes an answer can kill the emotional power of a lyric. But I’ll say that I’m trying to establish the human contact in that line. They were connected.
Tehillah:
Unlike songs that approach war and conflict through anger or direct confrontation, “Hatred?” feels more like a quiet reflection on what happens when people are pushed into seeing each other as enemies. What made you choose restraint and vulnerability as the emotional language of this song?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
It’s where I live. I practice a meditation called Vipassana. One of many things I’ve learned through it is that it is impossible to harm another without harming oneself first. That’s actually the true meaning of karma.
Tehillah:
The arrangement of “Hatred?” is built around acoustic guitar, cello, and three-part harmony, creating a sound that feels intimate and almost unfinished in its emotional tension. How did you decide on this stripped-back approach, and what did those musical choices allow you to express that a larger production might not have?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Hatred is intimate isn’t it? And the struggle to not hate… even more intimate. More often than not a song simply tells me how it needs to be.
Tehillah:
As someone who creates handmade instruments, production must be closely connected to the physical character of sound. How did the qualities of the guitars, the cello, and the vocal harmonies influence the atmosphere and emotional weight of “Hatred?”
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
How did it feel to you?
Tehillah:
Baldy Crawlers’ music exists in a space where Folk, Americana, Latin, Jazz, and storytelling meet. When building the sound of the upcoming EP “Fais Toi Plaisir,” how do you balance honoring these traditions while creating something that feels modern and personal?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Fais toi plaisir can mean anything from have a nice day, to go for it!, to purely defiant do it anyway even though everything sux. So to tell a chaptered story that goes from choosing not to hate in extreme conditions to a love affair with the earth (Waterfall Laughter) to a cautionary romantic folk tale (Orbelín and the Black Widow), that musically travels from pure soft lips/hard teeth folk to borderlands to Latin jazz feels as natural as changing clothes 3 times on a Spring day up here in the San Gabriel mountains 🌦️
Tehillah:
“Hatred?” is described as a song that began with one war but belongs to all wars. How did you approach creating a piece that speaks about a specific human moment while allowing listeners from different backgrounds and experiences to find their own meaning within it?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Empathy is in one sense universal, and in another completely individual. People will feel it in the way that they feel it without any approach from me. If I helped them to feel it at all, then I did good.
Tehillah:
Your work with Baldy Crawlers combines musical craftsmanship with social reflection, creating songs that are not only meant to be heard but also considered. What role do you believe music can play in helping people examine difficult emotions, beliefs, and experiences?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Music has done that throughout human history. It has outlasted cultures, societies, nations and political systems. I’m a futurist. Humanity hasn’t yet had our best thought. Music will be doing what it does long after even that.
Tehillah:
The project has received attention from platforms such as EARMILK and Obscure Sound, while continuing to develop its own unique identity. Looking back at the growth of Baldy Crawlers, what moments have made you feel that this artistic vision is reaching people in the way you hoped?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
There’s a guy at a Texas radio station who has listened to ‘Hatred?’ 15 times in 3 days. There’s a woman in Madisonville, Tennessee who has poked around our Spotify page 5 times looking for more songs after listening to ‘Hatred?’.
Tehillah:
Creating music that deals with humanity, conflict, and emotional complexity requires a strong sense of honesty from the artist. What have you discovered about yourself through creating songs that explore these deeper aspects of human experience?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That I have a long way to go.
Tehillah:
With “Hatred?” serving as the first single from “Fais Toi Plaisir,” listeners are being introduced to a larger musical world that explores borderlands between cultures and genres. What can audiences expect from the next chapters of Baldy Crawlers, and how do you hope this project continues to evolve?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
We love stories. We’re going to tell them some. Another thing I learned in meditation is that everything changes. Everything evolves. We’ll evolve too 🙂 Thanks, Tehillah. This was fun!
“Hatred?” is a reminder that some of the most powerful songs do not come from answers, but from the courage to ask difficult questions. Through fragile harmonies, human storytelling, and a deep sense of empathy, Baldy Crawlers transform a single moment of conflict into a reflection on connection, compassion, and the shared emotions that exist beyond borders.” ~ Tehillah (DULAXI Team)
MY EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
“Hatred?” stands as a thoughtful exploration of humanity through simplicity and restraint. Built around acoustic textures, cello, and layered vocal harmonies, the song allows its emotional message to remain at the center without unnecessary distraction. Martin Maudal’s approach to songwriting reveals a strong belief in storytelling, using music as a space where difficult subjects can be examined with compassion rather than judgment. The result is a deeply reflective piece that invites listeners to consider empathy as both a personal experience and a universal connection.
~ Tehillah (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
Our conversation with Martin Maudal offered a fascinating insight into the creative world behind Baldy Crawlers and the many experiences that have shaped the project’s unique identity. From handmade instruments and musical craftsmanship to stories centered around humanity, empathy, and connection, Martin shared the deeper thoughts and inspirations behind “Hatred?” and the wider journey of Fais Toi Plaisir.
This was truly a very fun and exciting interview, and I want to thank Martin for taking the time to share his experiences, creative philosophy, and the story behind this meaningful release with DULAXI. His passion for storytelling and his thoughtful approach to music made this conversation a memorable experience.
We encourage readers to experience “Hatred?” and discover the emotional world created by Baldy Crawlers, while continuing to follow the project as it explores new stories, sounds, and musical landscapes.
Thank you for spending time with DULAXI. We look forward to bringing you more conversations with inspiring artists from around the world.
Until the next interview, keep discovering new music and supporting the artists who continue to create, explore, and share their stories.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BALDY CRAWLERS, CLICK ON THE ICONS BELOW
Baldy Crawlers — Hatred? (Interview)
Hello everyone, it’s your host Tehillah from DULAXI, and today I’m delighted to be joined by Martin Maudal, the creative force behind Baldy Crawlers, an Americana and contemporary folk project from Wrightwood, United States. We are here to discuss “Hatred?”, the first single from the upcoming EP Fais Toi Plaisir, released on August 1, 2026.
Before we begin our conversation with Martin Maudal, here’s what you need to know about today’s featured project.
About Baldy Crawlers
Baldy Crawlers is a musical project built around storytelling, craftsmanship, and a deep exploration of human experience. Created by Martin Maudal, a Berklee College of Music graduate, luthier, producer, and songwriter, the project began from a desire to showcase handmade resonator guitars before growing into something much larger: a collective of musicians united by a shared passion for emotional storytelling and musical discovery.
Based in the foothills of Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel mountains, Baldy Crawlers brings together a diverse group of musicians including Elizabeth Hangan on vocals, Norrell Thompson on vocals, Marc Weller on guitars by Maudal Musical Machines and pedal steel guitar, Carl Byron on keyboards and accordion, Ross Schodek on basses, José Perez on drums and percussion, and Martin Maudal on guitars, vocals, and drums.
Drawing from Americana, folk, Latin, jazz, and alternative influences, the project reflects the many musical paths that have shaped Maudal’s creative journey. His background as both a musician and instrument builder has created a unique relationship between sound and storytelling, where the physical character of an instrument becomes part of the emotional expression behind each song.
“Hatred?” marks the first single from the upcoming EP Fais Toi Plaisir and presents one of Baldy Crawlers’ most emotionally reflective compositions. The song was inspired by a powerful photograph showing soldiers standing over a prisoner, but what stayed with Maudal was not the violence itself. Instead, it was the shared suffering visible in every face, the recognition that both captor and captive carried the same human pain.
From that moment came a contemporary folk song centered on empathy, conflict, and the difficult question of what happens when people are asked to hate one another. Rather than approaching the subject with anger, “Hatred?” explores humanity through vulnerability, encouraging listeners to look beyond divisions and recognize the person behind the conflict.
Built around acoustic guitar, cello, and aching three-part harmonies, the song embraces simplicity and emotional honesty. Its restrained arrangement creates space for reflection, allowing the weight of the lyrics and the humanity behind the story to remain at the forefront.
The wider world of Baldy Crawlers continues to expand through Fais Toi Plaisir, an upcoming EP that explores different chapters of human connection through a blend of musical traditions. From intimate folk storytelling to borderlands influences and Latin jazz textures, the project reflects Maudal’s belief that every song carries its own story while contributing to a larger journey.
Having this brief introduction to today’s featured project, I’m sure both new listeners and longtime fans are excited to hear directly from Martin about the inspiration, creative process, and deeper meaning behind “Hatred?”. So, without further ado, let’s begin today’s interview.
INTERVIEW SESSION
Tehillah:
Martin, your creative journey has moved through several worlds, from being a Berklee-trained luthier building handmade resonator guitars to becoming the driving force behind Baldy Crawlers. Before we explore the music, could you take us back to the experiences and moments that shaped your relationship with craftsmanship, storytelling, and sound?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Hey Tehillah! I’ve often felt that I haven’t lived just one life. It’s been a series of them with some continuity of memory 😄 I took a year off from high school to be a young wastrel before going to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where I studied jazz, drums, theory and particularly arranging. I then spent a number of years as a professional drummer in many bands, bouncing back and forth between Santa Barbara and New York. I played a lot with Bobby Radcliff in New York — he’s one of the top 5 blues guitarists in the world in the Magic Sam school. You never knew what might happen playing with him. Sometimes he’d just start and you might not stop for the whole night. Get on that dragon and just ride!
In the last year of my New York period the road started taking a turn. I’d been writing songs again, and started doing open mics. 100s of them! There was a sound I wanted to get, and realized it was that National guitar sound. Or dobro… the resonator sound. I couldn’t afford anything on the market at the time. I had time on my hands, so I thought why not build one? I mean how hard can it be 😂😂😂 I buttonholed every guitar builder I could find. Turns out there are a lot of them in New York! And they all love to talk about guitars. Well, it started as a pencil drawing, then some pieces of wood. Then a mixed media sculpture… then 9 months later… when I strung it up for the first time something magical happened. I played the first notes on it and it became something else! It transformed into a musical instrument. And it came out better than I had any right to expect. I didn’t know any better so I just did it. It was a life changing moment for me. Hard on the heels of that came the thought that if I did this right, some unborn musician could pick this up in 200 years and make music that I can’t even imagine! That’s why I built the 2nd guitar. And the 3rd… and every one after.
Tehillah:
The origin of Baldy Crawlers began with an idea to showcase your handmade guitars, but it eventually transformed into a much larger musical collective with its own identity and emotional purpose. What was the moment when you realized this project had become something beyond the instruments themselves?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think it has to be the first time I heard a really great singer, Elizabeth Hangan in this case, sing one of my songs. I mean I love singing, and I can do the job, but I’m not a singer. Hearing her sing one of mine just reached in and grabbed my heart and squeezed!
Tehillah:
Your time in New York, your connection to the creative environment around Mount Baldy, and your collaborations with musicians from different backgrounds have all contributed to your artistic perspective. How have those different places and communities shaped the way you approach music and human connection?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
We’re all products of the experiences and environments of our time aren’t we? There’s family too. My Mom was a folk singer in the vibrant Folk scene of the Pomona valley in the 60s. My Dad was an aerospace engineer, and my Grandpa was a master woodworker. Kind of seems obvious how I came about. Music; engineering and design; woodworking. But the story telling, that was all my Mom and decades of never being without a book in my hand.
Tehillah:
Baldy Crawlers brings together musicians with diverse backgrounds, including Latin jazz influences, folk traditions, Americana, and social commentary. How do you approach creating a musical identity that feels unified while allowing each member’s unique voice and experience to remain present?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That’s a really good question. A great thing about songwriting is that no one song has to tell the whole story. And identity isn’t some static picture. It’s dynamic, and changes with every story we tell. I’ve developed a habit of asking musicians to play outside their normal wheelhouse. It’s fun! And when you have great musicians like these they can’t help but bring who they are into it.
I have a musicologist friend who can tell you the entire history of how music traveled the world, blended and split apart becoming all the flavors we know. Do you know how intertwined polka and mariachi music are? That the horns so beloved in our borderlands music came from Germany? So… a song is a chapter. And we’re telling a story with many chapters over the next year and beyond.
Tehillah:
Throughout your career, you have worked not only as a musician but also as a builder of instruments. How has physically creating guitars influenced the way you understand tone, emotion, and the relationship between an instrument and the person playing it?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Another great question! How long have you got? 😄 I don’t know if this answers it, but the difference between lutherie and music is attention span and how we experience time. A guitar is a physical object whether or not it’s being played. It can hang on a wall as art for a year without making a sound and still be what it is. Music on the other hand can only be experienced in the moment. Whether you’re playing an instrument, or listening on any form of playback… only in the moment. Is a vinyl album music? A CD? Digital 1s and 0s? “When you’re in the room”. For some of us, we’re always in the room. And my head is the room. There’s music going on in my head nearly 24/7.
Tehillah:
“Hatred?” begins with a deeply powerful image of soldiers standing over a prisoner, but what stayed with you most was not the violence itself, but the shared misery visible on every face. What was it about that moment that compelled you to turn that image into a song?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think every really good actor can tell you. And it’s one word — empathy. Empathy is a muscle. It needs to be worked. And if you open yourself to it, it can hurt… a lot. That’s the price; to be an emotional fireman running into the fire.
Tehillah:
The title “Hatred?” carries a question mark that feels important because the song does not simply condemn or accuse, but instead asks listeners to reflect on the human cost of hostility. How did you approach writing a song about such a heavy subject while maintaining empathy and emotional complexity?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That’s exactly right. I’m asking the listener to ask that question themselves… of themselves. That’s the trick of lyrics. If I wrote well enough, they’ll come into the story I’m telling.
Tehillah:
The lyric “Words came flying from his mouth, sounded like a brother to my ears” captures the heartbreaking realization that the person considered an enemy can still feel familiar and human. What personal reflections or beliefs influenced the way you explored this idea of finding humanity across conflict?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
I think you don’t need to understand the words to hear the human. Every sense is hyper-tuned in extremis. Sometimes an answer can kill the emotional power of a lyric. But I’ll say that I’m trying to establish the human contact in that line. They were connected.
Tehillah:
Unlike songs that approach war and conflict through anger or direct confrontation, “Hatred?” feels more like a quiet reflection on what happens when people are pushed into seeing each other as enemies. What made you choose restraint and vulnerability as the emotional language of this song?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
It’s where I live. I practice a meditation called Vipassana. One of many things I’ve learned through it is that it is impossible to harm another without harming oneself first. That’s actually the true meaning of karma.
Tehillah:
The arrangement of “Hatred?” is built around acoustic guitar, cello, and three-part harmony, creating a sound that feels intimate and almost unfinished in its emotional tension. How did you decide on this stripped-back approach, and what did those musical choices allow you to express that a larger production might not have?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Hatred is intimate isn’t it? And the struggle to not hate… even more intimate. More often than not a song simply tells me how it needs to be.
Tehillah:
As someone who creates handmade instruments, production must be closely connected to the physical character of sound. How did the qualities of the guitars, the cello, and the vocal harmonies influence the atmosphere and emotional weight of “Hatred?”
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
How did it feel to you?
Tehillah:
Baldy Crawlers’ music exists in a space where Folk, Americana, Latin, Jazz, and storytelling meet. When building the sound of the upcoming EP “Fais Toi Plaisir,” how do you balance honoring these traditions while creating something that feels modern and personal?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Fais toi plaisir can mean anything from have a nice day, to go for it!, to purely defiant do it anyway even though everything sux. So to tell a chaptered story that goes from choosing not to hate in extreme conditions to a love affair with the earth (Waterfall Laughter) to a cautionary romantic folk tale (Orbelín and the Black Widow), that musically travels from pure soft lips/hard teeth folk to borderlands to Latin jazz feels as natural as changing clothes 3 times on a Spring day up here in the San Gabriel mountains 🌦️
Tehillah:
“Hatred?” is described as a song that began with one war but belongs to all wars. How did you approach creating a piece that speaks about a specific human moment while allowing listeners from different backgrounds and experiences to find their own meaning within it?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Empathy is in one sense universal, and in another completely individual. People will feel it in the way that they feel it without any approach from me. If I helped them to feel it at all, then I did good.
Tehillah:
Your work with Baldy Crawlers combines musical craftsmanship with social reflection, creating songs that are not only meant to be heard but also considered. What role do you believe music can play in helping people examine difficult emotions, beliefs, and experiences?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
Music has done that throughout human history. It has outlasted cultures, societies, nations and political systems. I’m a futurist. Humanity hasn’t yet had our best thought. Music will be doing what it does long after even that.
Tehillah:
The project has received attention from platforms such as EARMILK and Obscure Sound, while continuing to develop its own unique identity. Looking back at the growth of Baldy Crawlers, what moments have made you feel that this artistic vision is reaching people in the way you hoped?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
There’s a guy at a Texas radio station who has listened to ‘Hatred?’ 15 times in 3 days. There’s a woman in Madisonville, Tennessee who has poked around our Spotify page 5 times looking for more songs after listening to ‘Hatred?’.
Tehillah:
Creating music that deals with humanity, conflict, and emotional complexity requires a strong sense of honesty from the artist. What have you discovered about yourself through creating songs that explore these deeper aspects of human experience?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
That I have a long way to go.
Tehillah:
With “Hatred?” serving as the first single from “Fais Toi Plaisir,” listeners are being introduced to a larger musical world that explores borderlands between cultures and genres. What can audiences expect from the next chapters of Baldy Crawlers, and how do you hope this project continues to evolve?
Martin Maudal / Baldy Crawlers:
We love stories. We’re going to tell them some. Another thing I learned in meditation is that everything changes. Everything evolves. We’ll evolve too 🙂 Thanks, Tehillah. This was fun!
MY EDITORIAL PERSPECTIVE
“Hatred?” stands as a thoughtful exploration of humanity through simplicity and restraint. Built around acoustic textures, cello, and layered vocal harmonies, the song allows its emotional message to remain at the center without unnecessary distraction. Martin Maudal’s approach to songwriting reveals a strong belief in storytelling, using music as a space where difficult subjects can be examined with compassion rather than judgment. The result is a deeply reflective piece that invites listeners to consider empathy as both a personal experience and a universal connection.
~ Tehillah (DULAXI Team)
CLOSING
Our conversation with Martin Maudal offered a fascinating insight into the creative world behind Baldy Crawlers and the many experiences that have shaped the project’s unique identity. From handmade instruments and musical craftsmanship to stories centered around humanity, empathy, and connection, Martin shared the deeper thoughts and inspirations behind “Hatred?” and the wider journey of Fais Toi Plaisir.
This was truly a very fun and exciting interview, and I want to thank Martin for taking the time to share his experiences, creative philosophy, and the story behind this meaningful release with DULAXI. His passion for storytelling and his thoughtful approach to music made this conversation a memorable experience.
We encourage readers to experience “Hatred?” and discover the emotional world created by Baldy Crawlers, while continuing to follow the project as it explores new stories, sounds, and musical landscapes.
Thank you for spending time with DULAXI. We look forward to bringing you more conversations with inspiring artists from around the world.
Until the next interview, keep discovering new music and supporting the artists who continue to create, explore, and share their stories.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BALDY CRAWLERS, CLICK ON THE ICONS BELOW