Lewis LIKES it.

A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

Maya Angelou

I met Audra Mae about five and a half years ago. A recent LA transplant from Oklahoma, she was working at a Hollywood tea store I loved. Audra made an instant impression with her warmth and lively personality and it turned out she was here to pursue a singing and songwriting career. But when, as I was leaving, she handed me a demo CD, I took it with polite dread. I’d been in this situation before, and started imagining how awful it might be and how awkward that would make future tea buying visits.

I played the track, Ruby Shoes when I got home. As soon as I heard the first note out of her mouth, I stopped in my tracks – there was a depth and soulfulness to her voice and lyrics that utterly belied her then 21 years of age. The song is a riff on The Wizard of Oz, and the difficulties of being so far from home and the ones you love (needless to say it tends to strike a chord with LA audiences). When the song finished, I just stood there, spellbound, and then I turned and saw my assistant’s face was covered in tears.

Fast forward five years and Audra Mae has just signed a record deal with SideOne Dummy records. “They’ve given me the kind of creative freedom that you just don’t get from most labels these days. The experience so far has been very, very supportive,” she says. “After years of meeting with labels who told me exactly how much I had to change my sound in order to be successful, it’s a relief to be able to be myself and have someone genuinely appreciate that.”

The five tracks on her new EP Haunt live up to the title. Most of the songs are haunting ballads with a strong narrative drive. The EP includes a cover of One Silver Dollar, a Marilyn Monroe song from the film River of No Return. “When people talk about Marilyn, I feel they don’t give her the respect she was due as a performer.” Audra says. “This was someone who really knew how to interpret a song.” My personal favorite on the EP is The Fable, a silky love song with a hypnotic chorus of wolf like howls, calling from one lover to another.

Starting October 24 in Cleveland, Audra is embarking on a 28 city acoustic tour called The Revival. Click here for dates and more info. And in a Lewis Likes It exclusive, we filmed an acoustic set with Audra Mae at a loft in the Hollywood Hills. I’m presenting three songs on here today – Snake Bite, The Fable and The Moon.

The HAUNT EP is available now on iTunes.

Click the “Keep Reading” button below to continue to our exclusive Audra Mae acoustic set videos!

Audra Mae – Loft Sessions – Snake Bite

Audra Mae – Loft Sessions – The Fable

Audra Mae – Loft Sessions – The Moon