Next Wave #891: Maisie Peters

In Association With Vero True Social

With an eye for narrative and story-telling, Maisie Peters makes singer-songwriter pop with a purpose.

“I hope I make music that’s important to people”. At the tender age of 18, Maisie Peters have already found her artistic calling. Always writing, her biggest dream was to become a writer – which to an 8-year-old seemed like more viable career path. However, with the discovery of Taylor Swift and acoustic folk-music she quickly swapped from story writing to dong writing, realising that music was an option after all.

“I discovered Taylor Swift, and at the same time I was discovering The Arctic Monkeys, and a lot of emo like My Chemical Romance. I always loved all of their lyrics and their story telling. I actually borrowed my friend’s guitar and started writing songs. And from there it just went on.”

Drawing from rather varied influences, the story-telling seemed to be Peters’ vital ingredients. “I write songs like they’re little stories, and I think that came really from being a young person who read all the time, and was desperate to write. Even now, I like to write songs with a really good sense of narrative. I love books and songs that have a really conversational tone, it also seems so beautiful and intricate.”

The conversational tone is something Peters takes on in her own songs, and on her debut-EP the attention to detail is profound. Though she often writer first person narrative she explains that not all her songs are self-lived. Maisie also points out how good song-writing can make even the most ordinary things gain importance, and gain an emotional connection with the listener, which is something she values. “I always try to write songs that’s gonna mean something for someone. Someone’s gonna use it and have it in their life. Being vulnerable is really important, but I’d say above vulnerability is probably emotional honesty. Having some level of emotional connection that other people can connect to, even if it’s not directly about you.”

Her debut EP, 'Dressed Too Nice For A Jacket', is just the kind of anthem of youth you’d expect from a girl at the cusp of adulthood. It’s celebrating the joy of your teens whilst recognising how coming of age can be a good thing. “It’s about growing up and understanding yourself and other people better for it.”

“I feel like it’s a really good introduction to me”, she says, and the title certainly reflect that. “First and foremost, dress too nice for a jacket” describes a lot of nights I’ve had with my friends. Nights where I drink wine through a straw and fall in love with randomers. It’s very capturing of that time in my life”. Whilst it certainly capture that, she also points out the boldness of the sentiment. “I feel like it’s a statement for being confident and feeling your best and not hiding anything. It’s a good reminder to be confident and be brave and not wear a jacket.”

Though her career seems to be shooting for the stars, she takes a second to reflect on the madness of it all. “It’s just kind of amazing and so far out of my wildest dreams really. It’s exactly what you want for your career.”

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Words: Aurora Henni Krogh

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