When Mayer Hawthorne left his native Ann Arbor for Los Angeles in 2005 to pursue his dream of a career in music, making a soul album wasn’t exactly the first thing on his mind. In fact, it wasn’t even on his radar.

But he is now touring on the strength of a newly-released soul album, “A Strange Arrangement,” that has created some buzz on the Los Angeles R&B scene — a buzz that prompted his show at the famous Roxy club in L.A. being sold out. And that buzz got a lot hotter when John Mayer heard the record and Twittered his fans that it was “the best album I’ve heard this year.”

“Yeah, that definitely got a lot of attention,” says Hawthorne. “Mayer has millions of fans following him on Twitter.”

But, let’s back up a bit. By the time he set out for the coast four years ago, Hawthorne — who grew up here as Andrew Cohen and graduated from Huron High School and the University of Michigan — had already steeped himself in the Metro Detroit hip-hop/DJ scene. And that style of music was his main focus.

“I’d DJ’d in Detroit a lot. I’ve done more of that than I have anything else,” says Hawthorne, who returns to his hometown on Saturday for a show at the Blind Pig. “I was definitely a hip-hop DJ, and that’s what I had my sights on.”

But he’d also played in bands in high school, and remembers growing up with the sounds of Motown and ‘70s soul filling his head. “My parents bought a lot of those records, and I remember riding around with my dad, and listening to those songs, and asking him questions about all those records.”

So, when, as a lark, he laid down a couple of soul-music tracks as an experiment last year, he was perhaps unconsciously tapping into those childhood memories. A friend heard them, liked them, and urged Hawthorne to send them to “Peanut Butter” Wolf, the head of Stones Throw Records — and who Hawthorne had previously met at a L.A. music-biz party.

“So I sent ‘em, then forgot about it,” recalls Hawthorne by phone from a tour stop in Fresno. “Then, about six weeks later, I heard from him, but he couldn’t figure out what they were.” Due to the classic-soul sound of the tracks, Wolf initially thought Hawthorne had taken some ‘60s or ‘70s soul tracks and done re-edits.

"The Ills" - Mayer Hawthorne

Wolf “couldn’t believe that they were new songs that I wrote and sang, and played all the instruments on,” says Hawthorne, who took piano and drum lessons as a kid, and learned to play the bass from his dad.

Then, much to Hawthorne’s surprise, Wolf asked him to record an entire album's worth of songs in the style of the two vintage-soul tracks he’d done.

“It never crossed my mind to do that kind of album, but in this business, especially now, you can’t turn down that kind of opportunity, so I had to figure out how to come up with a whole album’s worth of material in that style.”

So, Hawthorne again tapped into his youthful Motown/soul-music memories, this time more consciously, and with greater purpose.

“As I was crafting these songs, I was thinking about the stuff I had listened to as a kid that I liked, like Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, Barry White, the Delfonics…..”

Some of the funkier tracks also recall the Spinners and O’Jays. Were those groups also on his radar?

“Oh, definitely,” says Hawthorne. “I dug those guys, too.”

But given Hawthorne’s hip-hop sensibility, “I also began thinking of the kind of grooves and sounds I would want to sample as a hip-hop DJ. And, some of my soul-music familiarity, especially of the grittier Southern-soul stuff, had come from digging up samples to use on hip-hop tracks.”

On the new disc, Hawthorne didn’t want to be completely retro, however. “I tried not to overthink it, and I also wanted to create a record that gave you the feeling of classic Motown or Philly soul, but which also had modern elements” — especially on the rhythm tracks, some of which do kick with a more contempo-R&B snap.

So, what lies ahead for Hawthorne? Is the soul-music disc a one-off? Does he plan on going back to his DJ/hip-hop instincts after he’s toured in support of “A Strange Arrangement”?

Watch the video for "Just Ain't Gonna Work Out":

“I’m gonna do as many things as I can,” replies Hawthorne — “the DJ and hip-hop stuff, maybe another soul album — in fact, right now, I’m even working on a new-wave album.”

But before the interview ends, Hawthorne has one request: “Can you remind my fans to sign up to follow me on Twitter?”

Kevin Ransom is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at KevinRansom10@aol.com.

Preview Mayer Hawthorne’s “Lonely Hearts Club Tour,” w/ special guests BUFF1 & 14KT. Who: Ann Arbor native and hip-hop-DJ-turned-soul singer. What: Hawthorne’s newly released disc conjures classic ‘70s soul with modern-day R&B sounds. When: Sat., Doors at 9:30. Ages 18 and over. Where: Blind Pig, 208 S. First St. How much: $12. Details: 734-996-8555 or Blind Pig web site.

Mayer Hawthorne photo by Doug Coombe.