Premiere: Maisyn Expands on Her Personal Narrative With Body Image Through the Release of the “Pool Party” Official Video

Q&AMusicPremiere

Jul 27

☆ BY Shellsea Lomeli ☆

IN CELEBRATION OF THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ITS RELEASE — independent artist Maisyn builds on the significant meaning behind her emotionally driven single “Pool Party” with today’s offical video. With telling lyrics such as “You don’t know how to treat yourself when you’re busting at the seams,” the song explores the singer-songwriter’s real-life struggles with self-image. The accompanying visual carefully pulls back more layers, expanding on the personal narrative with breathtaking vulnerability.

Directed by Kat White, the “Pool Party” video presents us with Maisyn at the center of an empty pool, contrasted by shots of seemingly perfect and posed bodies of other women. The creative direction brings the song’s invaluable purpose to screen with a dreamlike loneliness that sticks with you. “The photo/visual component of ‘Pool Party’ is so important to me because the way we experience our bodies is so visual and visceral. I wanted to make something really beautiful,” Maisyn shared in a statement.

Read below to dive into the inspiration behind “Pool Party” as a single and video, explore Maisyn’s sonic influences from Bruce Springstien to Taylor Swift, and learn about the artist’s take on social media and the music industry.

LUNA: First off, congratulations on the release of the official music video for “Pool Party.” How does it feel to be putting this out in the world?

MAISYN: It’s really exciting! I feel like it's definitely one of my more vulnerable songs. “Pool Party” was probably the first song where I started writing about body image and what really goes on inside my mind — more about internal things rather than external things that happen in my life. It’s definitely opened the door for me to write about that more. It’s an important song to me for a variety of reasons. I’m really happy that the music video is coming out so there’s a visual component as well. I just kind of wanted to celebrate the song.

LUNA: The music video is so beautifully done. How did you go about finding a director to really trust with the intention behind this type of video?

MAISYN: It was definitely a process. I’m a completely independent artist so… I don’t know. It’s hard to find people who are willing to work with your budget and willing to take a chance on you when you have a smaller following, no financial backing, etc. I reached out to the director, Kat, not expecting her to do the project. I was just like, “Hey, I like your stuff. Can you point me in a direction?” And she was down. That was very exciting. She sent me a deck and I really loved her ideas. I loved the empty pool idea and I really appreciated that she wanted it to be very stark but very beautiful.

LUNA: Did you enjoy being a part of that creative process when making this?

MAISYN: It definitely stretched outside of my comfort zone. For me, the visual components of my projects have always been something that I had to really try. The music comes so easily and I know what I want things to sound like but it took me a while to be like, “Oh this is what I want it to look like too.” Getting involved with video and that kind of visual representation is definitely outside my comfort zone but it is really exciting. It’s really cool working with the crew and trying to emote on camera.

LUNA: “Pool Party” was released in 2021. Why did you feel like now was the right time to share this video? What impact do you sort of hope it will have on viewers?

MAISYN: It’s an interesting question because it’s the wrong time but also I’m trying to make it the right time (laughs). The process of making the video turned out to be way longer than I anticipated, and things got delayed. At first, I was kind of disappointed by that so I was holding onto the video for a while like, “Aw man, what am I going to do with it?” But I had to really come back around to thinking, “Oh, I worked really hard on this and put resources into it so I want to release it.” I figured it would be kind of fun to do it a year after “Pool Party.” Partially because, in a technical sense, just with the way the internet works, you can kind of relaunch music and keep promoting things that have been out, especially with TikTok. I thought it would be interesting to continue this narrative. And also, I think “Pool Party” is a song I don’t think I’ll ever outgrow. It’s not a song about a person I was with or anything like that. It’s about my body. I think it’s a song that will always be important to me. I still feel really close to it so having the video come out now feels good.

LUNA: It’s awesome when artists really push past the structure of music and release their art when they’re ready and want to.

MAISYN: I’ve been kind of rolling with that. As I said, I’m independent — I can kind of do whatever I want. There’s nobody telling me, “You can’t do that.” I’m just going with it.

LUNA: As you said earlier, this is a pretty vulnerable song for you. Is there any fear or uncertainty that goes along with sharing these personal pieces of yourself in your music?

MAISYN: Definitely, sometimes. There’s sometimes a hesitation I have to share something too vulnerable or sad. I’m like, “Is this going to bum people out?” Especially if I’m playing it live — people expect it [“Pool Party”] to be kind of fun and summery. I also try to be respectful, especially with a song like this. I’ve had awesome feedback of people relating to it or telling me personal stories about their struggles with body image, body dysmorphia, etc. But I think just because it can be a really sensitive topic, it’s hard. I feel like I sometimes try to walk the line of how specific or how general I get if I’m talking about my experience related to the lyrics of the song.

LUNA: It’s so special that you were able to add to the conversation with your own experience.

MAISYN: I appreciate it. Another reason why the song is special to me is that I tried to write it for such a long time. I was constantly trying to see how to write a song about my body that sounds exactly how I feel and not just me trying to write a song about my body, you know what I mean? So yeah, this is the first one. More to come (laughs).

LUNA: You mentioned TikTok a little earlier. There are a lot of mixed opinions on the app and the music industry, so what do you think about its impact? Has it affected you as an artist?

MAISYN: That’s a great question. I think TikTok is really interesting. You said it’s a tool — I think it’s exactly that. If you want to use it and it works, then you absolutely should. It hasn’t impacted me in huge ways. I’ve just been trying to grow it [the account] very organically, but I do think it is really cool how people can find their communities. The few TikToks I’ve posted that have gotten the most views have been me being like, “If you like these things, you’ll like my music,” and it’s always me saying kind of goofy things. Like, “If you’re a Virgo” or, “If you’re type A but you like snacks” — you know, just dumb stuff like that. And people find it! Those little moments are not huge viral moments for me — yet (laughs). But even still, you see that translate. I saw little numbers in my Spotify bump a little bit, which is really cool that people are out there and genuinely looking for connection and new music. I think it is definitely affecting the sound of music in an interesting way. I know artists on TikTok talk about this a lot, where every song is becoming like a nursery rhyme where everybody is counting. It’s all becoming songs and affecting pop music, and I don’t know if that will last but it is interesting. I like it from a pop culture analysis perspective.

LUNA: Who are some of your musical influences and what connects you to their sound?

MAISYN: One grouping of influences is ’60s/’70s songwriters. I love Joni Mitchell and Paul Simon and Bruce Springstien. I started listening to that when I was younger and I really like the intricacies of all of their lyrics and stories. One of my huge influences is also Taylor Swift. I started listening to her when I was in 5th grade as I started playing guitar and writing songs. I was obviously blown away by her whole deal. I fell in love with her stories. With the romance of it all, she definitely appeals to my romcom loving heart. I just think her music is amazing. I also love indie pop like HAIM.

LUNA: What’s a song or artist that you’re listening to right now that’s on repeat?

MAISYN: I’ve been listening to the new MUNA album — it’s really good. I really like “Solid” and “Loose Garment.” That album is really slapping. I love the production, and the writing is fantastic.

LUNA: Lastly, aside from the “Pool Party” video, are there any other upcoming projects that you want to touch base on for the year ahead?

MAISYN: There’s nothing solid right now but there might be some releases at the end of the year. I’ve been quietly working on my production skills. I want to try to do some of the stuff myself which is kind of a new venture so I’m definitely taking it slow but I’m itching to release something so I think by the end of this year — maybe 2023. 2023 sounds like a fake year (laughs). But yeah, TBD.

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