Who likes their banjos and dulcimers draped in ghostly, dark folk? I do! So does singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Maiah Wynne. The lead vocalist for the band Envy of None, Maiah’s solo music enters a new chapter with the announcement of her forthcoming album, ‘Into The Waves’. The album arrives on the 25th September, and the watery themes continue with the new single, ‘See The Water ‘, released now.
The album was created alongside an international tour, relocating across the globe, and returning to education. Songs were originally captured on the road in hotel rooms, with Wynne playing over a dozen instruments. Once grounded in a new home, others came on board to collaborate. This includes Rush’s and Envy of None’s Alex Lifeson, playing guest guitar. The 12-track album features previously released ‘Breathe’ and the new single ‘See The Water’. It begins with a mountain dulcimer twang and Maiah’s evocative voice, left to twang. As other instruments, such as drums, cello, violin, and banjo crash in, each new verse gathers momentum and power. Meanwhile, the softer, haunting choruses become more suspenseful. It culminates in a hazy, climactic coda that turns a whispery purr into a roar. It’s cinematic, and the excellent music video helps sell the tension and drama.
Speaking about the track, Maiah Wynne says:
“I wrote “See the Water” in a handful of minutes when I was 16. I had just been gifted a dulcimer and found my hands quickly dancing around a folky melody in D minor. What came out was the manifestation of my inner critic. That voice inside my head that always told me I wasn’t enough, no matter how hard I tried. I decided to create a character out of her to represent the feeling of being hunted and haunted by that voice everywhere I went. The imagery of water and drowning in those feelings kept coming up and in a moment of quick inspiration, the song came out fully formed and has only changed slightly in the years since. It’s nice to finally have a studio version of it out in the world close to how I always pictured it in my head.”
The single is out now, and quite different to the more chamber folk and delicate single ‘Breathe‘. Both are fabulous, though, and offer up very different moods, making me excited for the album. For more information about Maiah Wynne’s solo and band projects, visit Maiah Wynne’s website.
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