Dark folk / chamber Prog duo Maer unveil second single, ‘Poisoned Waters’
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Marjana Semkina (Iamthemorning) and Anna Murphy (Cellar Darling, ex-Eluveitie) release the second track of their new project and embark on their first tour. Introducing "Poisoned Waters," the highly-anticipated second release from Maer - a new captivating duo formed by two leading women in progressive music.
Accompanying Maer’s new single is a beautiful lyric video created by Jerkka Perälä. Watch it here.
Anna shares her thoughts on this captivating song: “This is the first time I’ve ever collaborated on lyrics, which might sound daunting, but turned out to be an incredibly smooth and rewarding process. Marjana and I found a rare synchronicity in our creative spheres. 'Poisoned Waters' delves deep into the pursuit of freedom and the depths of love, casting a dreamy yet haunting spell - the quintessential essence of Maer. As always, we prefer to let the music to speak for itself, and we are eagerly awaiting the interpretations that our listeners will weave around it. The lyric video, a work of art crafted by Jerkka Perälä, adds another layer to the narrative. Our collaboration with Guy Vincent, who not only contributed the wall of strings, but also co-produced the song with us, was truly invaluable. We can’t wait to perform our songs live and want to express our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have supported us so far.”Marjana adds: "‘Poisoned Waters’ is a special song for me. It’s the first time the lyrics were co-written in such close collaboration with someone. I usuall work alone so this felt incredibly special and very empowering. The video was made by the Finnish artist Jerkka Perälä and it’s been a very gratifying collaboration too, which I hope will lead to many more. Once you find someone you like working with, hold on to those people.
Maer are currently on tour in Europe as part of a series of “Evening with” shows alongside Cellar Darling and Iamthemorning.
Marjana and Anna met and instantly connected when taking part in Prog Magazine's female-focused discussion panel She Rocks in 2019, and in 2021 began work on what would become Maer. Having both forged highly successful and award-winning careers (Marjana – Prog Magazine Best Album; Anna - Prog Magazine Best Video & Swiss Music Awards Best Live Act), the pair were hungry to experiment in new musical territory, resulting in this fascinating new project.
Marjana comments on Maer: "Maer came together very organically, it's a product of friendship and respect for each other's work. Anna is a wonderful musician and a producer and she breathes life into everything I write, turning it into something special. We have written a substantial amount of material together already and depending on the reception 'Sister' gets we're hoping to keep creating little dark fairytales for our listeners, eventually resulting in an album."
Anna continues: "We both didn’t really know what to expect when we started working together. Marjana took a leap and flew to Switzerland. We hiked, we sang, we drank wine and ended up even being able to write lyrics together which is something I’ve never done with someone. After almost 15 years of mainly being in rock and metal projects, it feels good to release something acoustic and mellow - not meaning that it’s less dark."
