mxmtoon, also known as Maia, has announced the follow up to her dawn EP, dusk, which will be released October 1st. The singer-songwriter will be sharing more details from the release over the coming weeks. This week, she shared her new song, “bon iver.”

From mxmtoon:

“when we think of nightfall, we often associate it to the “end” of something. the “bon iver” music video is meant to counter that notion, and to spark thought over the possibilities that are ahead instead. a day does not just end when the sun goes down, you continue to find wonder and joy despite the dark, and a whole other world awaits you as the moon glides overhead. new beginnings are not limited to a rising sun, your world is what you make it whenever you choose to begin.”

bon iver” follows the release earlier this week of the video for “almost home,” the final release from the dawn EP. The videos signify the closing of a chapter and the start of another.

On “almost home” Maia tells us “right now we find ourselves in uncharted waters, unsure of how to navigate to shore. as i’ve spent my quarantine with my family, i’ve watched in awe of the resiliency of my younger cousins. a five and eight year old who have maintained their optimism and wonder for a world that seems otherwise terrifying. the “almost home” music video is meant to encapsulate the spirit of curiosity that i think we could all benefit from as we grow up and come across challenges. the world may be scary and bleak, but finding the voice of your five year old self may be the answer to getting through the hard moments.”

The California-raised and Brooklyn-based musician known as Maia, started playing music at six years old and was trained classically on violin and cello. As her musical studies continued, Maia eventually gravitated towards the guitar and ukulele—the latter instrument shaping the very foundation of her musical career. “That’s how I started doing covers of songs,” she remembers. “I’d take home the ukulele from music class and try to learn how to play the songs that I loved.”

Maia’s transformation into mxmtoon further developed when she was being bitten by the songwriting bug after receiving a school assignment to write a song: “I wrote a song about not knowing what to write a song about,” she laughs. Eventually, private toiling turned public as she began posting her music online as mxmtoon in 2017.

“At that point, I already used social media to express myself,” she explains, “and making songs was something that felt like another aspect of expressing who I was.” Although Maia cites kindred musical spirit Rex Orange County an influence, she stresses the personalness of her music above all else: “Writing music feels like a diary entry to me—a way to keep track of my thoughts. I’m too concerned with sounds or styles, just writing what makes sense to me.”