mxmtoon Shares Video For "ok on your own" ft. Carly Rae Jepsen

RELEASES MUSIC VIDEO FOR “ok on your own” FEATURING CARLY RAE JEPSEN dawn & dusk DOUBLE EP OUT NOW

Photo Credit: Noelle Duquette & Savannah Elisabeth Jankosky (Maia) + Alex Perkins (CRJ) This year, mxmtoon has released two highly praised EP’s - most recently, dusk and earlier in the year, the dawn EP. The dawn & dusk double EP is now available everywhere. Yesterday, mxmtoon released the official music video for “ok on your own,” a gorgeous collaboration with the revered and critically acclaimed Carly Rae Jepsen and a highlight of the project. The video is directed, shot and edited by Maia herself and features animation from TootyMcNooty (aka Lulu).

"ok on your own"

For the dusk EP, Maia purposely chose to work with other bold and talented female artists. In addition to Carly Rae, she enlisted Merrill Garbus from Tune-Yards to produce some of the songs. “ok on your own” has been covered by everyone from The New York Times, Pitchfork, NPR, Rolling Stone and more and is an undeniable song which sits perfectly alongside other key EP tracks like “bon iver.” The dawn & dusk double EP is available everywhere now. The video’s release is another major moment for an artist who continues to go from strength to strength, and not only as a songwriter, producer, musician, actor, designer and gamer. This fall, she also launched her new daily podcast titled 365 days with mxmtoon where each day for an entire year the Oakland-raised, Brooklyn-based artist will take you through the most interesting, weird, and funny events of that day in history. The podcast was released in partnership with Talkhouse and Allbirds and you can subscribe to daily episodes here. 365 days with mxmtoon has received early praise from Drew Barrymore, who recently mentioned it on The Drew Barrymore Show’s Weekender pop culture guide, as well as New York Magazine’s Vulture, who included it on “8 Podcasts We’re Excited To Listen To This Fall.”   In 2017, as a teenager in Northern California, mxmtoon began releasing her self-produced songs and cultivating a rabid fan base for her honest and clever lyrics and pristine voice. Just a short year later, she released her debut EP plum blossom, which has gone on to amass over 100 million streams. 2019 marked the release of her debut album the masquerade. “In barely two years, as her music has ricocheted around platforms, bringing new followers every day, Maia, who overflows with earnestness, has assembled an independent, D.I.Y. mini-empire,” said the New York Times. Already her music has had well over half a billion streams and she has more than 4 million followers across her socials, including 2.3M on TikTok, 788K on YouTube, 1M on Spotify, and 115K on Twitch where she recently went toe to toe against Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a live-streamed game of “Among Us.”   Purchase/stream dawn & dusk here.

365 days with mxmtoon isn’t the first time mxmtoon has dipped her toes in the podcast world. Last year she released the hugely successful 21 days with mxmtoon from Spotify Studios.  Released in partnership with Talkhouse the first episode will be launching September 14th and you can subscribe to daily episodes here.

Photo Credit: Blythe Thomas If dawn from earlier this year drew from the gentle optimism and hope found in a gorgeous sunrise, dusk is a beautiful exploration of the other side of the emotional duality that is the human experience. At once recalling mxmtoon’s earlier work while also expanding her sonic horizons more than ever before, dusk is an exciting new direction suggesting that the sky is truly the limit for Maia’s artistry.   The world’s changed a lot since dawn was released, and so has mxmtoon’s life. She recently turned 20 years old and, along with continuing to work on music, has dove headlong into the digital world by using her voice as an activist through social media platforms like TikTok, Twitch, and Discord.   From political explainer videos to charity stream sessions, Maia has been doing more than her best to, as she puts it, “keep some sort of normalcy amongst the chaos. These platforms are a way to connect and have conversations with people in a world where I don’t get to see them face-to-face for a while. It’s made me closer with my audience as a result.”   “If 2020 has proved anything, it’s that the world can keep throwing things at you even when it’s already crazy and horrible,” Maia continues while discussing her online activism, which has included speaking her mind and educating her fans on Twitter and TikTok. Maia is using her voice to empower the LGTBQ+ community, Black Lives Matter, and has been a vocal opponent against the Trump administration. “Speaking out on issues I believe in has always been incredibly important to me, especially in this time where being proactive is more important than ever. It’s about fighting for the issues that are really important and doing what we can for the world.”   dusk finds Maia continuing to explore who she is within that world around her—zooming in to moments of solitude and down time, documenting the downs that come after the ups. Joining her is an impressive list of collaborators ranging from Carly Rae Jepsen, to Tune-Yards‘ Merrill Garbus, who produced several tracks on dusk. “It was heavily influenced by my own desire to work with strong female producers and artists,” Maia states regarding the creative process behind the EP. “Getting the opportunity to work with so many incredibly talented minds was such a privilege during this project. My hope for any art I make is to lift up and involve the voices of other women, and dusk is no exception.”   “It’s introverted and reflective,” she continues while discussing the EP’s thematic bent. “It’s about sitting with the darkness for a little longer—finding the unknown and not quite wanting to move away from it yet. It’s the way I wish I could make my previous music sound—sad, but beautiful.”

"bon iver" Video Indeed, dusk’s gloriously shaded sound sparkles even at its most darkly shaded moments. The lovely ukulele on first single “bon iver” calls back to that earlier sound with a shimmering richness of production value, while the elegant balladry of “asking for a friend” dissolves into a beautiful breakbeat-filled second half. Then there’s “ok on your own,” a slinky R&B jam featuring Canadian pop queen Carly Rae Jepsen. “I sent it to her and, to my surprise, she really liked it,” Maia enthuses. “To have her involved in the project is incredible.”   At the center of dusk is a message that’s universal and relatable: there’s no happiness without sadness, and learning to live with both can lead to discovering new depths in the pleasure of living. “There’s different emotions that come with being human,” Maia states while discussing the message she wants to deliver, “and that’s something all of us have to work on.” Praise for mxmtoon: "...a Bedroom Pop Empire in the Making” - The New York Times  “Mxmtoon is an 18-year old singer-songwriter from Oakland who's amassed a sizable following on Twitter and YouTube on the strength of her endearingly intimate presence” - NPR  "On the masquerade, which features songs written over the last two years, she's offering the most polished picture of herself yet. And it's one that, like all of her music, succeeds based on her candor and intelligence.” - NYLON \   Follow mxmtoon: Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | Twitter | TikTok | YouTube | SoundCloud