Mxmtoon Bon Iver

California-raised and Brooklyn-based musician mxmtoon, aka maia, shares her new single bon iver via AWAL.  The first new music since the release of her dawn EP this autumn hails a new chapter for the 20-year-old singer songwriter. 

bon iver charms with its graceful and swirling guitars and follows the release earlier this week of the video for almost home, the final song from mxmtoon's recent dawn EP.  The videos signify the closing of a chapter and the start of a new musical era for mxmtoon. 

On the video almost home maia tells us "right now we find ourselves in uncharted waters, unsure of how to navigate to shore. as i've spent my quarantine with my family, i've watched in awe of the resiliency of my younger cousins. a five and eight year old who have maintained their optimism and wonder for a world that seems otherwise terrifying. the almost home music video is meant to encapsulate the spirit of curiosity that i think we could all benefit from as we grow up and come across challenges. the world may be scary and bleak, but finding the voice of your five year old self may be the answer to getting through the hard moments."

For bon iver she continues "when we think of nightfall, we often associate it to the "end" of something. the bon iver music video is meant to counter that notion, and to spark thought over the possibilities that are ahead instead. a day does not just end when the sun goes down, you continue to find wonder and joy despite the dark, and a whole other world awaits you as the moon glides overhead. new beginnings are not limited to a rising sun, your world is what you make it whenever you choose to begin."

mxmtoon has spent the last few months writing and preparing her latest work while keeping busy connecting with fans through her vast online community. Her unique ability to use platforms like Twitch, TikTok, Youtube has enabled her to become a consistent voice for millions of people around the world on issues of social justice and equality, using her platform to not only share her art but important messages of hope and solidarity.

Her first EP, plum blossom, was released in 2018 right around the time when she graduated high school and decided to focus on music full-time. The EP clocked more than 100 million streams on Spotify alone " not bad for songs recorded by herself in her parents' guest room. Since then she's sold out her US tour, is amassing millions of streams per day across DSP's and gained millions of followers and subscribers across YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, making a point of using her ever-growing platform to speak out on issues close to her heart. "As a young bisexual woman of colour from a family of immigrants, a lot of current events directly affect who I am," says maia, who's mixed Chinese-American. "I firmly believe it's my obligation and opportunity to speak on issues that affect us all."

Last year's debut album, the masquerade, received praise from the likes of The New York Times, NPR and The New Yorker who point to "an emotional sophistication that reminded us that there are some things we never outgrow." Sonically it found maia moving forward from the ukulele-led bedroom recordings of her early work towards a fuller and thrilling sheen thanks to studio time with producer Robin Skinner. 

"Each project I've done in the past has been a level up from where I was in the past," maia says while discussing what dawn means to her as an artist"and, potentially, to her listeners. "This is my era of taking the production to another level, but also working with others to help me realise even more about the type of music I could make. I'm always striving to challenge myself to progress more"to have a better understanding of other people's experiences and to write songs that express that. I've made a lot of the music I've been most proud of making."