Wax On Water
Drawing from Electronica and Industrial sounds, mixed together with layers of strings, piano and intense guitars, Maya Fire of Wax on Water terms her sound as 'Electro-Grunge.'
Hailing from Camden, London, the lead singer and main songwriter cites her inspirations as a blend of classic songwriters, experimental artists and the visceral sounds of Industrial and Heavy Metal.
"As a child my first experience of music was the songwriting perfection of Motown and the intense delivery of Blues singers like Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday.
"I knew that I wanted to create an equally intense experience with my music and not shy away from subject matter that addressed the difficult and the ugly within.
"From there I delved into Bowie, Floyd and Iggy Pop and the experimental electronica of Kraftwerk, Laurie Anderson and Throbbing Gristle as well as the metal, grunge and industrial bands that I bonded to my soul like My Bloody Valentine, The Cure, Soundgarden, Slayer and Nine Inch Nails."
The debut release ‘An Army’ is the first track to be lifted from the forthcoming ‘Procession’ album. An album written, performed and produced by Maya Fire in her home studio using favoured equipment such as Telecaster and Gibson Les Paul guitars (through a Vintage Fender Tube amp) and a Roland XP-80 synth. A hand-made ‘Weevil’ Oscillator was also used to produce degraded circuit-breaking tones.
"I have a Lo-Fi mentality I knew that I wanted to do this album in my own way, with my own words and sounds so that I could experiment with the layers and textures I thought I could find.
"I needed to hear my real voice - the voice that is underneath and in between the spaces and notes - not something that is polished and produced - because the rawness and vulnerability are an integral part of this record."
‘An Army’ is just that - a raw slice of grunge, infused with a ‘fuck-you’ backbone of bass and beats that draws as much from Dub as it does from Metal.
The video is set to turn heads as it’s been made under the guidance of top Director Richie Burridge and acclaimed Video Producer Phil Tidy (The Prodigy, The Rapture, Lily Allen, Editors and Blood Red Shoes).
"Phil and Rich both understood the need for the video to create a visual reference that extrapolated the track out towards something beautiful and abstract, adding another layer to the concept of disorientation that is inherent in the song." says Maya.
Other tracks from the forthcoming ‘Procession’ album include ‘Sonic’ which Fire says is 'an Ode to the survival of detractors' and ‘Chelsea Fuck’ - a searing commentary about the decline and self-realisation of a Chelsea Boy: The Kings Road home to Punk in the 70s, New Romantics in the 80s and faceless chainstores and people thereafter.
That road is a symbol of the ongoing homogenisation and erosion of self-expression in our culture. It felt like the appropriate backdrop for describing a character coming to terms with the notion that his spiritually bereft existence is a by-product of everything he has surrounded himself with.
The album also features the heart-wrenching intimacy and beauty of ‘Innate’, perhaps the hardest and most personal song Fire wrote for the album, which she describes as 'the sound of a soul crawling out of a tar pit.'
Fire describes 2011 and the current music scene as a real opportunity for up-and-coming artists despite the socio-economic factors and the demise of the existing music industry structure.
"Everything that has happened is coming to a head and pointing to the perfect storm. The internet is paving a way for a return to the original Punk sensibility of DIY, for those that are ready to embrace it, and I believe that 2011 will be the turning point where we see a new wave of innovators ready to enable the next musical revolution.
"If ever there was a need to create something meaningful and of value, now is that time."
With the debut single, album and a tour planned for 2011, it sounds like something big is coming... It Sounds Like An Army... Are You In?