Stephanie Mabey would make a great zombie. As she promised us in her breakthrough song “The Zombie Song” she would “never eat our brain.” But as any self-respecting zombie, the singer-songwriter likes to take her time. That’s why we’re only just getting a follow-up to her 2012’s debut record. The new EP is called I Still Taste Fire, which is an appropriate title for the wildfire this visionary performer is about to set.

Hometown / homebase? Grew up in Vacaville, CA. Currently based in SLC, UT. 

What's your story?

I started writing when I was 14, but I never really considered myself an artist. I always thought I’d be a songwriter for other people. Right when it looked like I’d be getting signed to a publisher, I had a meeting with one of the higher-ups who was making the final call. I only brought songs I had written for other people to sing, mostly pop stuff. He listened to my demos straight through, looked up at me and said “So, this is what you do?” clearly not into it on any level. The meeting was over in 20 minutes. I left and cried in a parking garage for way longer than that, not because I wasn’t getting signed, but because I knew I had lied about what I did by playing him those songs. The songs I loved writing were the ones I thought no one would get. Songs about bearded ladies, zombies and self-destructing robots.

I went home resolved to do only that, even if it meant getting nowhere career-wise. That led to my album Wake Up Dreaming in 2012. When I released it I had no idea it would be used in TV shows or that the video I made myself for “The Zombie Song” would end up getting millions of views. I just wanted to be able to play my music for people and know I was telling the truth. 

What should know about your new record?

The title track was inspired by a fire safety fail. I accidentally fell asleep with a candle burning really low. I woke up and thought the room looked hazy, rubbed my face and saw a streak of soot on the back of my hand. I had been inhaling it all night because the candle never went out. I was obsessed with the idea of reinvention at the time so my first thought was ‘What would it be like to spontaneously combust in the middle of the night and wake up as a new version of yourself?’

What were you up to in-between your last album and the new one?

I was starting my life over from scratch and writing songs over beats in a tiny house where my kid and I slept in bunk beds. I got divorced at the same time as the release of Wake Up Dreaming. In a lot of ways it was best-case scenario because my ex and I focus on healthy co-parenting. I got married when I was 18 and I didn’t know who I was at all. I had first gotten a taste of authenticity through music, but I wanted to have it as a person. This meant a lot of time alone, examining/fixing patterns that led to where I was. I knew it wasn’t the time to push my music because there was this whole other layer I hadn’t reached yet as a person. I didn’t pick up an instrument for two and half years but I wrote a lot of “adventure-electro-pop” in a project called GUSTO with my brilliant friend Taylor Hartley. 

How many times did you sneeze on set of "I Still Taste Fire" video?

Zero! Haha!

Celebrity holograms: good or bad?

Yes to all holograms!

What was your favorite song when you were 13? 

“What’ll I Do” by Irving Berlin.

Favorite song now?

“Somebody New” by Joywave. 

What's the weirdest place you've ever wrote a song at?

In a bathtub.

What's been the best moment of your career so far?

Having a song featured in the closing credits of HBO’s The Leftovers last fall. 

If you indeed were a zombie, what kind of zombie would you be?

A runner. 

The worst thing you've ever done on social media?

Becoming a social media hermit until very recently. 

What would you do on a perfect Friday night?

Dance my little heart out at a Joywave show. Or a Diplo show. It’s a toss. 

5 fast fun facts about you. Go!

I play the omnichord.

I wake up at 5:30 almost every day.

I’m the oldest of seven kids.

I want to write/record in Sweden soon.

I fully believe in our ability to cause positive chain reactions.