February 24, 2025 | 0 Comments

MAIAH WYNNE – OUT OF THE DARK is at Top 200 Radio Now!!!

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this special album – IMHO it combines the almost ethereal vocal quality of indie darlings like Phoebe Bridgers with the strength and songwriting chops of the pop girlies like Olivia Rodrigo, Billie Eilish etc, and puts it all together in a beautiful and empowering new kinda package. Maiah put everything she had into this record – including fully writing and producing the whole thing herself, playing over 15 different instruments, and working through years of trauma and abuse to make something beautiful on the other side. She’s also got a lot going on, including fronting a whole other band, Envy of None, with Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. She placed second in KEXP‘s “Sound Off!” competition a few years ago, and gained an online following for recording songs written by Lucy Gray in the Hunger Games book, The Ballard of Songbirds and Snakes. She wears butterfly wings onstage when she performs, and she does music and mental health workshops to help people learn to regulate the nervous system via songwriting. Just a super cool person all around!! Anyway, I had a good handful of CDs that I tried to make sure got sent to everybody who I know really needs them, but if your station can handle downloads, that’s probably the way to grab it. Hit me up if you don’t know where to find that!

MAIAH WYNNE

OUT OF THE DARK

Self-Released

Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul, is often depicted wearing butterfly wings representing the trials she’s endured. Like Psyche, Maiah Wynne wears butterfly wings to symbolize hard-won hope and a lingering belief in beauty despite all her trials. “I found a lot of meaning in butterflies that I could connect to. Their ability to grow and transform, their strength, and chaos theory and the idea that a single flap from a butterfly could change the world. When I’m feeling small, I remind myself that I can still make big changes,” says Wynne.

Those changes happen in her music as she tells her own stories, alchemizing her victimhood into agency. “This album touches on themes of hope, failure and triumph, joy and sadness, pain and growth,” Wynne says of her debut solo LP Out of the Dark, which she also self-produced. “It’s an eclectic mix of heartfelt singer-songwriter ballads, alternative rock, and uplifting cinematic folk-pop.” Maiah adds: “This record is the story of my journey over the last 10 years. After I left home at 16, I suffered from abuse that left me with CPTSD, emotional scars, and suicidal ideation. Some of these songs I wrote at 16 and others very recently. Through this record, I have found my voice and the strength to tell my story, song by song, and take control of the narrative. This process has been an integral part of my growth and healing, and I hope that this music can help someone else who may be going through something similar.”

Wynne is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist with a downright fearless curiosity about trying new things. Her live performances offer a taste of this, as she plays various drums with her feet while her hands circulate among guitar, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, or other stringed instruments, all while singing.

It would be tempting to call Wynne’s voice ethereal, but there’s just too much human pathos in it. She sounds more like a trusted confidante than a stranger.

Though this is the Montana-born, Portland, Oregon-based musician’s first solo LP, she’s hardly new. After placing second in the “Sound Off!” competition – KEXP‘s annual battle of the bands for musicians under 21 – she has written and recorded songs for film and TV, as well as charity compilations. Starting in 2020, Wynne gained an online following for recording songs written by Lucy Gray in the Hunger Games book, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She donned costumes and recreated scenery to perform her arrangements of the songs, which went viral. Lionsgate asked her to cease and desist, but a grassroots campaign succeeded and her videos stayed online.

Wynne’s other main project is Envy of None, who released their debut album to critical acclaim in 2022. The group began when Andy Curran told Wynne about music he made with his friend Alfio Anibalini and Wynne offered to contribute. They brought in Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, who reported to Rolling Stone, speaking of Wynne, “I’ve never had that kind of inspiration working with another musician. When we say she’s special, it’s because she’s really fucking special!”

Out of the Dark is a record of Wynne’s growth. “In a lot of ways, this album tells my story and is the culmination of my journey for the last 10 years of my life. I’ve poured my heart into it.”