Maiah Wynne’s Claim2Fame
Illustration by Zoe Wren Arntsen, Illustrator.
Just one cover of Radiohead’s “Creep” and Maiah Wynne was on a plane to LA.
Now, she’s celebrating the release of her sophomore album, “Into the Waves” — but how did a 26-year-old American vocalist get her start with ‘80s Canadian rock legends?
In 2017, Wynne entered a cover song competition, Claim2Fame, winning a prize mentorship with veteran “American Idol” vocal coaches Piesha McPhee and Michael Orland. But what was supposed to be a one-time Zoom with founding bassist of Coney Hatch, Andy Curran, brought together the supergroup Envy of None (EON).
“I kind of stumbled into it accidentally,” Wynne said. “(Curran and I) started working on music together, and he brought Alex (Lifeson) into the mix a few songs into it.”
As Wynne began her mentorship with Curran, he passed along her demos to former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson, and something caught his attention.
Rush’s final tour in 2015 left Lifeson flying solo for several years, when he and Curran began tinkering. Sending music back and forth during the pandemic with music engineer Alfio Annibalini, Envy of None had its guitarist, bassist and keyboardist, but they were missing their voice.
The Rush guitarist told Rolling Stone: “Maiah became my muse…She was able to bring this whole new ethereal thing through her sense of melody on tracks…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!”
Over the course of two albums and singles, Lifeson and Wynne have become close collaborators. Wynne said they are both “often inspired by each other and build off of (their) musical ideas in a way that feels really symbiotic.”
Image courtesy of Kscope Records.
While her previous work with Envy of the None falls into alternative rock, her own sound feels more akin to Suki Waterhouse and Lizzy McAlpine, despite Lifeson’s presence throughout the album. Wynne said that Lifeson “has really reminded (her) that everything is in service to the song” and “taught (her) to be open-minded with (her sonic)approach.” In fact, “the door is wide open to what that might look or sound like.”
“Into the Waves” is meant to act as a continuation of her previous single, “Out of the Dark. “It's sort of a play on words but also a reference to the overwhelm of life,” Wynne said.
Even then, listeners might notice a different sound to her music, beyond the genre switch. Writing and recording from hotel rooms while traveling on tour “really influenced the sound of a lot of the tracks. Many of them are more stripped down or lo-fi sounding,” Wynne said. During this nomadic period, she was limited in her production capacities, but “at the end of the day, I think it really added to the sound instead of taking away from it. It has a lot of character and expression.”
As an emerging voice, Wynne has worn many hats, not only as a dynamic vocalist, but she has also directed and edited the music videos for her songs “See The Water” and “Breathe.” While she shared that being a jack of all trades was out of necessity, she said, “It is just a reflection of the modern music industry. I think another person could do a much better job, but I do still enjoy the process of learning.”
Even though her recent albums as a solo artist have taken on new sonic territory, her ongoing partnership with Envy of None has taught her to “follow wherever the song leads.” Even though her work is morphing sonically from what fans of EON might have expected, Wynne said, “the thing that threads through everything is (my) voice and energy, even when the genres change.”
Her newest release this September is not her first time under the limelight; as EON’s lead vocalist, she has had a longstanding relationship with her collaborator Lifeson and has shared the stage with artists like Brandi Carlile, Indigo Girls and Tanya Tucker.
“Even people on that level still get nervous. And they also criticize themselves the same way,” Wynne said. “I have seen some of the most incredible performances and then stepped backstage to hear that person talking about all the mistakes they made. It has been a good reminder to let go of some of that overly reflective and critical nature and to just appreciate the experience more.”
Through it all, Wynne has preserved her sound and lyricism. And while “Into the Waves” carries deeper metaphors for the tumultuous lows of life through drowning and swimming, her vocals and video production capture what she hopes her audience will understand as authenticity.
Wynne told The Panther, “I really pour myself into my music and art.”