"It's not about the party, but instead about the feelings that swirl in the morning after," Maiah Manser says of her new EP, Second Skin. "For me, making this project was an exploration of the continued coming of age into your early 20s and trying to figure out who you are," she continues. "This revolves around sometimes feeling suffocated by self doubt or making life altering decisions in order to find happiness."
Maiah Manser grew up in Oregon and studied in Seattle where she met Mary Lambert, who she would subsequently tour with as a backing vocalist. Now working as a solo artist, Manser is making bold, moody pop music that mixes a widescreen, string-filled approach to pop with a sharp digital edge. Key to this process is Buddy Ross, who worked extensively on Frank Ocean's Blonde and has been his live keyboardist since 2012.
"Buddy Ross was sonically vital in portraying the computerized and still organic culture of my generation; using 1960s samples (a rocket taking off, trees being cut down etc.) mixed with real instruments and digital soundscapes," Manser tells us. "I chose Second Skin as the encompassing name for the EP because each song exemplifies a journey of hiding behind an emotional armor, but transforming into a layer of personal strength," she concludes.
The Second Skin EP is out now. Listen below.
