Interview: Mason Ramsey talks about the journey to debut album “I’ll See You In My Dreams”

Mason Ramsey was catapulted into the spotlight in 2018 when a video of him yodelling Hank Williams' ‘Lovesick Blues' went viral.

In the years since, Ramsey has built on that fame with a number of EP releases but now, at the age 17, he's preparing to release his debut album “I'll See You In My Dreams“. Inspired by the likes of Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley, the album is a timeless collection of songs that marks the start of a new chapter for the talented young artist.

I spoke with Mason recently to talk about his journey to releasing his debut album, find out how he grew to love the music of classic stars, and to discuss his approach to songwriting….

Your debut album, “I'll See You In My Dreams” arrives on Friday. How do you feel about reaching that milestone?

First off, I'm very excited (about) my first album. I've done a lot of things leading up to this moment, and we're super excited to put it out. I have written about my life experiences and that's what this album is about.

You've been in the spotlight for years since your viral success when you were younger. This album feels like the first time that fans are getting to really hear the authentic you. How did you find your sound?

I had just gone with a new producer, this was back in January, and we were still trying to figure out what my sound was. I was trying different things out and trying to see what really fit me. We connected with my producer, Dan Fernandez and he wanted to know my musical influences. I told him artists such Ricky Nelson, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison…. sounds from the 50s and 60s and 70s. With that he helped me shape my sound, by me taking lyrics into the studio and him helping put the music with it. We have written many songs, and actually all of the songs that we've written are going to be put out.

I can definitely hear the inspirations you mentioned in your music, especially Elvis and Roy Orbison. How did you discover those artists?

I started out listening to old music because I was raised by my grandparents. I really started digging into the 50s and 60s style music when I was probably 13. When I was raised with my grandparents, they didn't have Internet at the time and this was before my career got started, so I had no way to look up anything. We bought CDs to listen to music, we didn't stream music. When we did get Internet, I was going through and trying to find some more Hank (Williams) songs and I came across ‘That's Alright, Mama' by Elvis and it went from there. I've just been expanding my music range and search since then.

What I love about this record is you can see those inspirations but this still sounds uniquely you. You've still managed to carve a unique sound. That must have been quite difficult. How did you and your producer do that?

It was kind of easy actually. A lot of it is mainly inspired by timing; you have three quarters time, you have six eight timing, you have four on the floor. You have different sorts of patterns of timing and different beats, and that's really where the music and sound plays into. (My producer) was just trying something out in six eight time and that's how we got that sound; the Roy Orbison style.

The album sounds so timeless and I can imagine listening to it in 20 years time and it still sounding that way. Is that something you consciously chose to create in the studio?

I feel like it's something that happened in the process by accident. But not by accident, because I had written a few songs before like ‘Blue Over You', back in January. It all really just worked out.

Your natural talent shines through and you can hear the gravitas in your voice. After going through adolescence, and being so well-known for the success you had years ago as a child, did you have to find your voice again?

I did. I had to find, first off, where my lower end and my higher end parts of my voice connected. I had to find that bridge, and I had to be able to jump from one island to the other island, is the metaphor terms that I use. It took me a good little bit. It took two or three years to get back to where where I was. It took some getting used to and it was not easy getting the yodel back. But now that I've gotten it back, I don't really use it all that much. I just sing but every now and then you'll hear me do a yodel or two.

Did it worry you when you were going through that process or did you just work hard and push through it?

I really just pushed through it. I remember before I got my yodel back, I was scheduled to do a show two years ago and I had 10 days (to prepare) and I still didn't have my yodel. I needed it. It was a big coming back moment and for some reason, and somehow, I got it back within the 10 days. I just had to practice with it and use it. I did so and everything worked out. It was a stress moment for me because I had to try to get this back, it was very important for me. During the time that I was going through changes, I really just pushed through it. Everything just worked out perfectly.

You rose to fame as a viral sensation and now you're putting out your first full body of work, that show's a much more mature side to you. How have you managed to stay so grounded?

What helps me is whenever I go back home for a little bit and remember where I came from. I'll spend time with my grandparents and I will just be a kid and work on my truck or whatever it is that I may do while I'm home, but I feel like it's a good grounding moment to remember to stay humble. It pulls me out of the fame. When you go back home, you've got to remember there's not a lot that goes on around there. You just fit back in to your old self and remember what it was like at the time. I feel like it's a great moment for me to step back, go back home for a few days, take a break and breathe.

Just from talking to you I can tell that you have your feet on the ground and you've got a good head on your shoulders. That's a real credit to your grandparents for the way they raised you…

Thank you. I appreciate that.

On your album, you've co-written every single track. What was that process like?

It came in bits and pieces. Some days I would have time to go in and feel like I had plenty of time and really sinked in and relaxed, but also focused. Then some days when I was on tour, we had only a couple of days and there were many deadlines for the album to get it put out at a certain time. I would only have a few days here and there, and we would have to write so many in the in the couple of days. In four days we wrote eight songs. That's two songs a day, which is over half the album. Before I did that, I had some songs already written, but that was the finishing touch right there. A week or so later, whenever I was not on tour, I recorded my vocal for each and every one of the songs, and everything worked out. I really don't stress under pressure, I just work through it. I don't really consider any of that pressure or anything, by no means, but it was definitely process.

My favourite song on the record is ‘The Woman From Havana'. Do you have a favourite song on there?

I've got a lot of favourites. If you want me to be honest? The whole album. If I had to pick… that's a tough choice… ‘Blue Over You' and ‘I'll See You In My Dreams', probably. (Those) are the ones that really resonate with me, if I had to pick. ‘I'll See You In My Dreams', I wrote the song about a girl that I was hanging out with during the day, but at night, I would always dream of her. ‘Blue Over You' is about a girl that I had feelings for but in the end, she didn't feel the same as I felt. I went in to the studio and I had some lyrics written down, and that was where we figured out my sound, that song right there. There's many stories for every song on the album. It's amazing that I get the opportunity to write, or be a writer on this album, and not only that, but be a co-writer on every single song. It's very special to me and it's definitely an achievement that I feel, that I've accomplished.

I hear Lana Del Rey is a fan of yours and I saw a video of the two of you performing. What was that like?

It was an experience. It was a really, really cool experience. You'd have had to have been there to get the full feeling but it was awesome. I was slightly nervous because it's been a minute since I played a stadium like that. It was really incredible for me, another big milestone. It just gave me chills, just to be there.

You've also been part of the soundtrack to the summer blockbuster ‘Twisters', with your song ‘Shake Shake (All Night Long)'. How did you get to be a part of that project?

(It was) pretty cool. I never expected any of my songs to land on a soundtrack like ‘Twisters'. I remember writing the song and the process of it. My manager reached out to me while I was writing my own album, and I was in with my producer, and he's like, ‘dude, Atlantic Records wants you to write a song to be put on this soundtrack'. We were like, ‘my goodness, this is pretty crazy!'. We stopped what we were doing on our album and we wrote the song ‘Shake Shake' in about 45 minutes to an hour. I felt the need for a fun, upbeat type song because we'd been writing slow songs that day, if I recall. Just for change, we thought we'd just speed it up and wrote ‘Shake Shake'. I sent it to (my manager) Pete and he loved it. It got sent to my record label, and from there, it got put on the soundtrack and the rest is history.

What an incredible thing to be part of something like that…

Thank you. I got to do the premiere in Los Angeles. That was really cool. I got to meet Laney Wilson!

Lainey has been on quite the journey. I saw her when she first played the UK to about 100 people and now she's playing stadiums. It's crazy!

Yes, yes, it is. One of my goals is to play with her or be part of a tour of some sort. That's one of my dreams. Who knows? Maybe it'll happen someday. I'll manifest it. I'll just keep saying it till it happens.

Do you have any plans to come back to the UK for some shows?

I plan to try and be back there in 2025. I was there during the winter of this year, so probably around the same time.

Mason Ramsey's debut album “I'll See You In My Dreams” will be released on Friday 20th September 2024. Watch the video for ‘Come Pick Me Up' below: