Madilyn Mei invites us into his kaleidoscopic world of whimsy, queerness, and catharsis with ‘A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1,’ a confessional indie folk opus where metaphors, musicals, and mental health collide.

Stream: ‘A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1’ – Madilyn Mei

There’s a reason fans show up to Madilyn Mei’s concerts in full clown makeup, cowboy hats, or handcrafted puppet costumes.

His world is immersive, chaotic, and beautifully strange – a place where metaphors crack open your chest and circus motifs feel like truth.

A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1 - Madilyn Mei — A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1 – Madilyn Mei

On Mei’s recently-released sophomore album A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1 (out now via Mercury Records), the genderqueer indie folk artist unspools anxiety, identity, and grief across a collection of glitter-drenched gut punches that veer from Kate Bush-inspired lullabies to ragtime space operas. Theatrical, confessional, and tenderly deranged, it’s the kind of album that invites you to laugh-cry in a velvet tent while someone onstage sings your spiral.

Atwood Magazine sat down with Madilyn Mei fresh off his theatrical One Man Circus headline tour – after opening for AJR and navigating a year of personal and professional extremes – to talk about gender, genre, honesty, mental health, and the song that needed a horse whinny. This is one of those interviews you’ll want to underline.

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:: stream/purchase A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1 here ::

:: connect with Madilyn Mei here ::

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“What’s Going On?!” – Madilyn Mei

Madilyn Mei 'A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1' © Emily Minerowicz — Madilyn Mei ‘A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1’ © Emily Minerowicz

A CONVERSATION WITH MADILYN MEI

Atwood Magazine: A Thousand Songs About It All: Act 1 feels like both a confession and a cosmic circus. What were the earliest seeds of this project – and did you always imagine it as a two-act experience?

Madilyn Mei: I started writing A Thousand Songs a few years ago, the oldest songs are “Comfort Food” which I wrote in late 2021, and “Quarters” which I wrote in the summer of 2023. Most of the songs were written after the album was conceptualized in late 2023. Since the very beginning stages of building the album, the track list changed quite a few times as the songs evolved and some were replaced by new ones altogether.

Eventually I settled on this tracklist, mostly because I had to put the album out at some point, otherwise it would’ve probably continued to evolve forever. My mom suggested I make a part one and part two since I kept writing more and more songs. That’s also how the album title came to be. A big theme in the album itself is how I can’t stop writing about my problems, so much so that I could write a thousand songs about it all.

You’ve said the album reflects the contrast between career highs and personal lows. How did that emotional dissonance shape the songwriting?

Madilyn Mei: I enjoyed conveying this dissonance specifically in “One Man Circus,” with parts of the song being upbeat, snappy, theatrical and lyrically portraying unmatched confidence. I go from refusing help and hyping myself up to suddenly drawing back the curtain to reveal a slower, more vulnerable moment musically and lyrically. In those quieter moments I reveal the truth about how I feel as the person behind the persona I put out on stage, and how refusing help is actually at my own detriment. “My Only Sense of Purpose” is similar in that I talk about how “I’m lonelier than ever” but immediately after I say “but I guess that’s for the better.” I’m in a constant push and pull with myself to try to convince myself that it’s okay that I haven’t been okay because my career’s been doing well and I should just treat my problems as writing prompts.

From vaudevillian whimsy to existential gut-punches, your sound is impossible to pin down. How do you approach genre when creating – is it a playground or a pressure?

Madilyn Mei: It’s definitely a playground. My producer Scrawny and I had a lot of fun when coming up with the soundscape for the album. Since I’m a self taught musician (and I only play ukulele) I don’t usually know the technical lingo to communicate with my producer, but we both prefer I paint a picture to describe the vibe I’m going for anyway. I always say Scrawny’s the true one man circus, he’s a multi-instrumentalist who knows how to juggle haha. For my single “A Can Of Worms” I told Scrawny I wanted it to feel like ‘Army Dreamers” by Kate Bush meets a music box meets a merry go round at a carnival. For “At Least I’d be a Cowboy” I said I wanted it to sound like the most cowboy-themed song possible and Scrawny recorded the twangiest guitar, hoof clopping percussion, and added a horse whinny at the end of the first chorus. For “What’s Going On?!” I sent Scrawny the most chaotic Will Wood songs I knew and told him I wanted it to sound like ragtime alien music. He played the piano, the theremin, a slide whistle, and the spaciest synths he could find, and I layered my vocals to sound as chaotic and, at times, outer spacey as possible.

The album is full of vivid, sometimes surreal imagery – crumbs in your bed, Velcro shoes, rocket ships made of bone and skin. Do you write visually? What role do metaphors play in your storytelling?

Madilyn Mei: I’ve always had a love for metaphors, and I had fun finding a balance of whimsical metaphor and more meta/fourth wall-breaking lyrics. I always want my music to have a nostalgic and otherworldly feel, kinda like Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared, Jack Stauber, and Alice in Wonderland. I like the dissonance created when mixing comforting imagery and unsettling imagery, like comfort food and the sun exploding, a rag doll and getting numbingly high, baby teeth and roadkill, velcro shoes and taxes.

You explore identity, queerness, and mental health throughout the album. Was there a song that felt especially vulnerable to release?

Madilyn Mei: I was terrified to release “Speak of the Devil” and “My Name,” as at the time of writing both of them I wasn’t out to my full family (and most of the family I was out to weren’t exactly okay with it). I wrote “Speak of the Devil” when I was very angry and sad. “My Name” was originally a song called “Elio” that I chickened out of releasing and rewrote to be a bit more digestible out of fear I was being too honest. I eventually decided (after the mostly positive reception to “My Name”) to include the original song “Elio” on Act 2 of the album in 2026. I was also afraid other queer people wouldn’t like the songs, that maybe my experiences weren’t valid enough to even write about.

I recognize that’s just pure OCD and anxiety talking though, both of which I struggle with immensely. Mental health struggles can make it difficult to trust my decisions sometimes and it definitely made the lead up to this album release a breeding ground for overthinking and spiraling. I was also afraid of releasing “Playing Dead,” which is about my struggle with weed usage as a means to cope with mental health and hard times. I was also afraid to be honest about how lonely I am in songs like “My Only Sense of Purpose” and “What’s Going On?!” However, despite all the anxiety and fear, I feel very proud of this album and myself for feeling brave enough to share these feelings.

“My Name” feels like a quiet but powerful thesis statement. How did your understanding of identity evolve during the making of this record?

Madilyn Mei: The song is reflective of how I’ve felt inside for a long time and continue to feel to this day. Between now and releasing the song I’ve decided to finally start going by he/they and I’ve been more open about who I am and how I feel inside. I’m not sure if I identify more with being gender queer or trans masc, but I’m somewhere in that realm. People have definitely made assumptions about what the pronoun change means and have labeled me as things I’ve never said I am, but I stand by that I don’t think I need to fit in any kind of box or label to make the changes that feel right to me like a name and pronoun change.

How do you take care of your mental health while touring and creating such emotionally intense work?

Madilyn Mei: While 2025 has been my most incredible year yet, I’ve also had a pretty rough year, my lowest point being hospitalized for mental health just a few days before leaving to open for AJR on tour (the band I’ve dreamed of opening for since I was a young teen). However, I’ve been really working on taking care of myself and have been finding my footing as my first year of living away from my family comes to an end. I’ve learned a lot of lessons and have been getting better at advocating for myself and trying to keep a healthy relationship with my career and art.

Touring is always fun and surreal, though I admit it can become quite difficult sometimes with my mental and physical health. I’m lucky I have a wonderful partner and a sweet cat always waiting for me at home, and I’m getting better at finding ways to relax when I’m burnt out or stressed like going for walks, cooking, playing video games and crafting. I bought myself a scooter for the One Man Circus tour, I ride it any time I get a chance outside of venues and in hotel parking lots, it helps me clear my head, haha. It also helps that I have a great time with my touring crew every day, talking or giving each other riddles in the tour van on long drives. It really feels like a safe space.

Your fans are known for showing up in full fantasy gear at shows. How does that sense of shared imagination fuel your performances?

Madilyn Mei: I try to make my shows a full experience, from intricate set pieces and details, to full makeup and costumes for me and my bandmate Scrawny. I made two clown costumes and Utah designer Keanna Frodente brought a third costume I designed to life for me. The audience dressing up is the cherry on top of their experience. I want them to feel like they’re a part of the circus, like dressing up to attend ren faire or Disneyland. I always give suggestions of themes they can dress up as, and I’m always blown away by how many people show up in full handmade costumes and makeup on theme. It makes for very immersive shows for both me and my audience. It’s like the outside world doesn’t exist for a couple hours.

You just came off tour with AJR and are heading out on your own headline run. How does the One Man Circus experience differ from your previous tours?

Madilyn Mei: I was lucky enough that I got to have the coolest stage set pieces commissioned for this tour. I’ve made all my own set pieces and props before this tour. I sketched out the idea which was basically to just bring my album cover art to life with giant puppet hands and puppet strings controlling me atop a vibrant circus podium. Almost everyone in the audience has been dressed as circus performers, puppet clowns, rodeo clowns and cowboys, all on theme with my album. This is definitely my most theatrical and immersive tour yet and I’m so happy I get to bring such a fun experience to club shows.

What moment from your live shows makes you feel the most connected to your audience?

Madilyn Mei: My audience tends to know all the lyrics to my songs and they scream along to them. I have some call and response moments throughout the songs too and they never miss a beat. Every audience is unique – for example the audience in Maine started basically moshing to my acoustic ukulele performance of Apple Juice which was just really funny and had me cracking up mid-song. I like getting to know each audience and having a unique experience every night despite playing the same set night after night. They also bring me lots of notes and handmade gifts and I try to read and keep as many as possible.

You directed and edited the “Velcro” video yourself – and you’ve always been a visual storyteller. How do you know when a song needs a visual counterpart?

Madilyn Mei: When a song of mine paints a very vibrant picture like “Velcro” does, I feel it would just be really fun to explore visuals for it. I had a lot of ideas for a Velcro music video since I wrote the song and it was fun to bring it to life exactly how I imagined for so long.

Which song on Act 1 surprised you the most as it came together – sonically, emotionally, or narratively?

Madilyn Mei: Definitely “What’s Going On?!” I told Scrawny I wanted it to be chaotic and circusy and spacey but I couldn’t have predicted it to turn out as fun and unique as it did. Scrawny’s a really good producer. His boundary pushing production also created the perfect opportunity for me to go as crazy with my vocals and harmonies as I wanted to. I spent so much time on those vocals. I don’t think I’ve ever layered so many vocals and harmonies before but it was so fun. I want to write more songs like “What’s Going On?!” and there’s definitely some on Act 2 with similar energy.

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In a world that asks queer artists to package themselves neatly, Madilyn Mei refuses to be categorized.

A Thousand Songs About It All isn’t just a record – it’s a soft place to land, a papier-mâché rocket ship, a circus tent full of mirrors.

From crafting clown costumes to directing his own music videos, from speaking candidly about mental health to redefining what it means to take up space as a genderqueer artist – Madilyn doesn’t just make music. He builds worlds. And in those worlds, discomfort is welcome, metaphors matter, and healing often looks a little like glitter‑stained chaos.

With Act 2 on the horizon and his storytelling evolving in real time, one thing is certain: Madilyn Mei has a thousand songs left to sing – and every single one of them matters.

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