Every so often, an artist comes along who simply appeals to a niche yet dedicated community of fans who treat every single one of their releases like a difficult jigsaw puzzle to complete. Names such as Kendrick Lamar, Slowdive and Boards Of Canada are among these ranks, but Maere is a project that prides itself as a different beast altogether. Comprised of various collaborators, but led by the cryptic producer known as Cee, one way to think of maere may be as an art collective led by an elusive front person who is masked on social media with no information about their gender, location, age or influences available. Another way to think of maere is as an outlet to relate your feelings through since we are listening to no singular voice that veers towards the alternative, experimental boundaries of sparkling Electro-Pop yet remains the type of music that you can relax to. On ‘Red Room’ – which is publicly available to stream or download on 29th July, you must be completely prepared to dive into a fresh experience catered to a curious pair of ears.
maere began life in June 2021 with the collective’s members and frequent collaborators hailing from a few different locations across the world including Italy, Germany, the USA and Russia. One of its most notable and versatile members is Gau, a Russian singer who Cee met at a Moscow Karoake in December 2021. Although they might be geographically distanced, maere say they have been bought together by a whole host of shared social values including feminism, anti-racism and anti-capitalism. As a non-binary creative, Cee is deeply fascinated by the concept of inner versus superficial identity and how ‘who we are’ is constructed by the information that we decide to project into – and retract from – the world. ‘Red Room’ is certain to encourage like-minded deep thinkers to all come together to not only explore, but to express, who they truly are.
‘Red Room’ is all about the empowering nature of creative collaboration that underpins the ambitions of maere as a product of a desire for unity through art and through life – a fusion, where people merge. The parts of a whole, intertwined souls who operate individually but work towards a collective goal altogether. Explaining the idea of the new track, maere says, “Red Room is in part about a feeling of isolation, caused maybe by depression or some external factors. We left that open to interpretation, as it was written in Moscow right when the war started, and both me and Gau felt the influence of that uncertainty about the future“, in a relevant press statement.
It is not simply surface level stuff – with lyrics detailing the feelings of paralysis and confusion that comes along when we’re stuck in difficult situations where no obvious solution presents itself. There’s a sense of restlessness to the songwriting as Cee and Gau reflect on the times where you feel that you should really do something, but you don’t know what action to take precisely. Subtle melodic progressions and bright R&B-style verses characterize the main bulk of the track, while the emotive ballad-style vocals create a more commanding presence for the chorus. The instrumentation is based on Maere’s brand of sparkling Electro-Pop, but the Synths are sparse and the more minimalist electronic beats are laced together by some contemporary Neo-Soul production. It may feel a little overlong and it could do with some more fresh additions to the soundscape in order to make things feel less repetitive, but there’s a richness to the track that stands out well, especially in how the Synths and the drawing Trip-Hop bassline are textured.
Subtle and polished, ‘Red Room’ represents the soul of an artist that functions like a hive mind. Make sure that you look out for ‘Red Room’ in your favourite record shop when July 29th rolls by.
Words by Jacob Braybrooke
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