MAISI * 2001
( One For The Future? You Choose… ) - Monday 12th August 2024
Words by Isaac Solanki. Photography by Phoebe Nightingale.
Introduce yourself and describe your sound…
“Hey, my name is Maisi and I’d say that my sound most likely falls under the genre of electro-pop but I also enjoy intertwining various elements of dance and hyper-pop into my work too, which I’d like to think also adds a bit of a unique flair. Charlie XCX is by far my favourite artist of all time and her sound has definitely had a significant influence on my sonic identity. Then lyrically, I feel like my honest and perhaps somewhat outspoken nature has been directly influenced by the likes of Lily Allen.”
What do you think makes you different to the other young up and coming artists of today?
“I really like to do every single thing and every little element of being an artist by myself. I love making content and I’ve always made my own music videos and even written my own press releases. Personally, I don't really enjoy writing my lyrics with other people so much; I always prefer to handle that aspect on my own. Recently, I've also started to get more into the production side of things as well. It’s kind of in a control-freaky type of way but mainly it’s just because I genuinely enjoy doing every single part of the process, you know.”
What’s your story? How did it all start and what challenges have you faced along the way so far?
“I’ve always loved music, I knew that I wanted to do it as a young teenager but I never really felt confident enough to want to be an actual artist until I went to uni. I was surrounded by a lot of talented musicians and being around so many confident people definitely made me feel strong enough to want to go for it properly by myself. My first year at uni was probably when I started feeling the most inspired to do it but then lockdown hit - I’d just started getting into sessions with other like minded people so it was certainly a challenge being stuck inside on my own trying to keep the momentum going… maybe that’s why I now like being in control of each little part and enjoy working by myself.”
Moving forwards, what are some of your short-term and long-term career goals for the future?
“I wanna play more shows and support someone big on tour soon. I haven't been doing that as much recently because I've been focusing more on the music. I’ve also been getting into Djing a little this past year or so and it’s something I’d like to keep working and improving on for sure; I’d love to start doing some gigs as a DJ within the next year.
Long term, I’m not really a super serious person when it comes to talking about specific career goals and stuff. I'd like to be remembered for fun and weird things - I want to create some kind of community where everyone's nice, having fun and everything’s positive. If I can have any kind of career in music where I can sustain myself and do music related things while living a comfortable life, I'll be happy.”
Talk to me about some of the unsung heroes of your music career to date. Is there anyone that you perhaps wouldn’t be here today without?
“Artist-wise, the ones I’ve already mentioned for sure. I’ve always looked up to both Charlie XCX and Lily Allen of inspiration. I think that if I hadn't have listened to them growing up, I probably wouldn't be doing what I’m doing today. I’d also have to say my managers - I met them both when I was just 18 and they’ve always been so supportive of me. They just get me and really understand my thing of wanting to do so much of it myself - they're the same. It can be quite hard to find people on your wavelength in the music industry so I’m very happy to have them both by my side.”
“Not My Type” by Maisi
“I really like making ambiguous tracks that different people can interpret and relate to in different ways. I wrote it about friends who as you grow older naturally drift away. A big part of growing up is letting go and realising that some of the people you used to be close to perhaps aren’t your type of person anymore.
I made it with moreofthem, who I've been working with for a little while now. All of the tracks on the EP were actually made together - like I said, I like doing things either fully by myself or with a small team of people who really get me. I had just the chorus written to begin with, then we met up to work on it and ended up bringing the whole thing together the same day; it all happened so naturally.
I’ve got some remixes coming out after the EP and one of my favourites is the “Not My Type” one because it’s been done by one of my closest childhood friends. It’s really special to me and its so nice to be able to have these types of collaborations going on in such a crazy industry.”
Favourite lyric from the track…
“I think “I’m high-rise your vertigo, wasn’t green enough so you had to go, get your bag and get your name, take what you want then just fly away” from the first verse really captures what I’m talking about above. That mutual separation with no anger, the idea of just accepting, letting go and drifting different ways.”
