Mark Ambor Interview - Belong Together, Rockwood, Who Knows

In the past year, Mark Ambor has emerged as a talented singer/songwriter to watch. Combining pop, rock & folk music, Ambor has had a Billboard Hot 100 chart hit with his song “Belong Together,” released his debut album Rockwood, and signed a label deal with Capitol Records.

Ambor is already building a strong following thanks to his appealing, upbeat musical style, his expressive lead vocals, and his thoughtful songwriting. He has headlined his own shows in the U.S. and Europe, as well as playing at many top festivals. And impressively, Ambor writes most of his songs by himself, including his hit “Belong Together” and all the songs on his Rockwood album.

In early May, Ambor signed as an artist with Capitol Records, and he recently released his new single, “Who Knows.” This song is uptempo, melodic and hooky, and has a big chorus. It also has a unique lyric theme about wanting to start a new relationship with a fresh and positive approach, even though there may be uncertainties.

The new single “Who Knows,” when combined with the 12 songs on his Rockwood album, shows that Ambor is building a solid body of work. On his Rockwood album, besides his hit “Belong Together,” it contains such highlights as “Good to Be,” “Second Best,” “My Love!’ and “I Hope It All Works Out.”

Ambor, who is 27, grew up in the small town of Pleasantville, which is about 45 minutes north of New York City. He learned to play piano and guitar, and he eventually began to write and record his songs, and post them online. Then in 2022, he released his debut EP called Hello World, which was followed in 2024 by the release of his single “Belong Together” and album, Rockwood.

Currently, Ambor is promoting his single “Who Knows,” and he plans to release more songs in the coming months. In addition, he will be going on tour this summer, playing several top festivals including Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and The Governors Ball.

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Mark Ambor. He talks about his single “Who Knows,” his hit “Belong Together,” his Rockwood album, and how he got started in the music business.

DK: I read that you’re from Pleasantville, New York. How did you get started with music and writing songs?

Here’s the video of Mark Ambor’s hit, “Belong Together.”

Mark Ambor: Pleasantville is a little town that’s about 45 minutes north of the city. Growing up, my mom had me take piano lessons, but I was learning songs that I wasn’t that excited about. It was all classical stuff, and after five years I ended up quitting, because I wasn’t happy with what I was learning and what I was doing.

What happened was I ended up missing playing the piano, so I went back to it on my own, and I started teaching myself how to play songs that I was hearing on the radio. And that was the beginning of me starting to write my own stuff. Early on, I just wrote songs on my own, and didn’t sing for anyone.

Then one day in the summer before going into college, I thought about how I loved Pleasantville and I didn’t want to leave. My best friends are still my friends from there. And for whatever reason, my parents weren’t home. I sat down at the piano and wrote a song about all those feelings I had about not wanting to leave, and that me and my girlfriend had broken up. Then I recorded it on my phone, and I was proud of it, and I went to work that night and texted it to my parents.

A few hours later, my mom responded and said, “Hey, dad and I really like this song. Who’s the artist?” I said, “It’s me,” and that was the beginning of it. Since then, I’ve been trying to get better at writing, and I started teaching myself how to produce. I started using Garageband and I upgraded to Logic, and I bean playing acoustic guitar. And I’ve been working and it and getting better at all the aspects.

DK: In 2022 you released your first EP, Hello World. Can you talk about making that EP?

Ambor: That was the first time I had anyone that I was working with. Up to that point, I was doing it all on my own with occasionally one friend who would help me produce some stuff. But then for Hello World, I had a manager at that point and we signed to a little independent label. And it was cool having access to things I had never had access to before in terms of working with other people. In Pleasantville, there wasn’t many people that pursued music, and so I think collaborating with people for the first time was really cool.

Here’s the video of Mark Ambor’s new single, “Who Knows.”

DK: You had a breakthrough hit with your song, “Belong Together.” How did you write that song and how did it blow up?

Ambor: It was the end of summer in 2023, and I took a break from music. I had found myself writing for what felt like the algorithm, if that makes sense. I realized I was falling into a hole of just trying to post things, as opposed to making things that feel good to you, or important to you. So I took a break for a couple months to refresh my brain. And when I came back, I was really inspired by all this stuff I was writing about. “Belong Together” was part of that batch of music which became my debut album, Rockwood. Honestly, I was inspired at that time by Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” which was massive, and Zach Bryan had some big things going on. I was listening to their music and I was reminded of the folk music that I first fell in love with. So I started writing songs about things that were important to me, and my home.

DK: On your album, Rockwood, there’s a good number of positive, upbeat songs, like “Belong Together,” “Good to Be,” and “I Hope It All Works Out.” Do you like to write songs that convey a positive message?

Ambor: Yeah I’m definitely an optimist, so I think that bleeds into the music. I feel that’s who I am…to try to find the good in things. I think my mom taught me that when I was growing up. And I remember there was a class I was in that I hated, and she was like, “Find one thing you like and focus on that to get through it,” and that’s how I I’ve looked at most things ever since.

DK: On your Rockwood album, besides “Belong Together,” what are your favorite songs on the album?

Ambor: One of my favorites is “Good to Be,” because it’s about my dad. It’s one of the first songs I wrote for Rockwood, and when I wrote that, I felt there was a lot more that I could write about that felt like in that same world. It was what inspired the album, to be honest. I also wrote a song called “My Love!” I made it with my friends, and that was a really fun experience making that, and it’s also fun playing it on tour. So I’d say those two songs are up there. And then for a slower one, I really like “Second Best.”

Here’s the lyric video of Mark Ambor’s song, “Good to Be.”

DK: I looked at your writing credits for your Rockwood album, and it says you wrote the songs by yourself. Is that correct, and do you like writing songs on your own?

Ambor: Yes I do. I feel like I’m able to be the most authentic version of myself when I’m alone. I’ve tried to write with other people and it’s fun, but sometimes it’s hard to tap into my truest self, for lack of a better term. Like when you’re opening up to someone, it’s hard for me to not close myself off a little. So I like writing on my own, and nothing against songwriters, but I prefer being on my own.

DK: You recently released your new song, “Who Knows.” Can you talk about writing that song?

Ambor: I had a few months in between the first half of the Rockwood tour and the European leg we just came back from. I was writing a bunch during that period, and when I write a song that I really like, that I think is important to me, I get this feeling. And every time I write a song, I record it on my phone. If I find myself going back and listening to it as a demo, I realize there’s probably something special there. And “Who Knows” is one that stood out to me. I resonated with this idea of embracing the uncertainty of things and of life. And that’s what “Who Knows” is about to me. I think a lot of times it’s easy to be scared of uncertainty, but I always try to embrace it because it keeps life spontaneous and fun and exciting. It keeps me feeling alive.

DK: Now that you’ve put out “Who Knows,” will you be releasing other songs soon, or perhaps an EP or album?

Ambor: Yes I think it’s going to be a bunch of singles released over the next few months, and I’m building towards the next album. I’m also busy doing about 12 music festivals this summer. So I think my plan is to keep writing, build an album, and in the meantime release singles.

Here’s the video of Mark Ambor’s song, “My Love!”

DK: You mentioned that you’ll be playing a bunch of festivals. Can you tell me about your live show and band, and how you like to connect with people onstage?

Ambor: I’ve always enjoyed band concerts more than like individual artists. So it was important to me to get a real band vibe going for my live shows. When we went on our first tour early last year, I had one friend that grew up playing jazz piano. So he was connected with a bunch of musicians, and we basically found these two guys—a drummer and electric guitar player—and they became like family really quickly. And it’s definitely a very band feel and dynamic on stage. They’ve become very close friends, so it’s a very like family-feeling crew.