Mike Astley-Brown, editor-in-chief of Guitar World magazine, has launched a parallel music career as the creative driving force behind instrumental alt-rock ensemble Maebe. The band's latest release, Brain Paint, is a lyrics-free work that synthesises influences from post-rock pioneers Mogwai, progressive metal act Oceansize, and math-rock innovators And So I Watch You From Afar into freshly imagined sonic arrangements. Astley-Brown frames the project as an effort to restore appeal and vitality to instrumental rock as a genre.

Raised in the Cotswolds with minimal local music infrastructure, Astley-Brown began classical guitar instruction at age seven, an experience he initially found frustrating. His transition from music journalist and interviewer to performing musician represents considerable personal growth, particularly given his struggles with social anxiety—a disposition that previously made the detached role of observer-interviewer feel more comfortable than the vulnerability of public performance and direct attention.