mxmtoon announces forthcoming EP, plum blossom (revisited)

plum blossom was released in 2018 as mxmtoon's debut EP, and featured a string of singles that Maia had released over the past year. plum blossom (revisited), is a reconsideration of the early songs that propelled her to fame.

“A lot of change happens over the course of five years, and that’s especially true when you go from being a teenager to an adult within that space,” Maia says of plum blossom (revisited). “I released my first EP when I was eighteen, and plum blossom was comprised of songs I wrote when I was seventeen. I didn’t have the tools or vocabulary to effectively get every idea I had in my head into song at that point, so the music I was making never quite made it into the form I had envisioned."

"Now, at twenty three, I’m so grateful to say I do have the resources to make those dreams come true for my younger self. To honour and thank her for being brave enough to even make art in the first place, and make her songs shine the way she always wanted them to," she continues. plum blossom (revisited) is my way of paying homage to where i started from, to thank everyone who’s grown up with me over the last five years, and encourage people not to shy away from embracing our younger selves.”

Last year, she released her sophomore LP, rising, which followed 2019’s the masquerade.

Working exclusively with women on the production was incredibly important to Maia who tapped Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) as co-producer, as engineer as well as Laura Sisk (Lana Del Rey and Lorde) for mixing. She spent two weeks at Oakland’s Tiny Telephone Studios. “I wanted the production on this new version to be elevated, but I also didn’t want to lose the childlike sense of wonder that limited resources can produce,” Maia says.

Featured on the EP is a new version of “1-800-DATEME" – the first song mxmtoon ever released. In the process of recording it, Maia chose to change the opening verse to better reflect her queer identity.

“I wasn’t out of the closet yet when I wrote ‘1-800-DATEME,’” she says. She flipped the lyrics changing to “Girl after guy, crush after crush, never really figured it out with someone,” she sings, her voice gaining confidence as it goes. “I also had never actually been in a partnership when I wrote that song, or any of these songs, which definitely changes my relationship to them,” Maia says.