Maxfield — The Malleable Mirage

Jan 22

Written By NIK P

Written, produced, and mixed by Jake Maxfield
Co-mixed and Mastered by Chris Hodge
Collage Artwork by Kyle Harrington
Collage Edits by Will Wofford

STREAM + BUY

VALE0034

Something a little different now. Continuing forward in its quest to showcase the many great talents of the underground music scene, VALE welcomes the meticulous craftsmen MAXFIELD and THE MALLEABLE MIRAGE EP. A Boston-based artist, Maxfield combines academic music principles cultivated at Berklee College of Music with his individual vision of composition. THE MALLEABLE MIRAGE is a music catalog that does not rely on the "shock value" but rather expressive ideas that weave cohesively with sound design. The EP earns its name from the delusional construct humans create of panic when trying to control every aspect of our untamable existence. The Malleable Mirage is the film we put over our eyes to survive, this ever-changing illusion that we can only influence.

OPAQUE like the glass which shrouds true transparency. Misunderstood intentions create a bouncy frequency and controlled chaos of sounds remnant of intensive internal reflection. BRISTLER plays off a moment of undeniable inspiration, a tribute to moment of awe felt when one hears sonorous and reverberous sounds in massive open spaces. Divided into two distinct halves, a sonic diary visualizes reverb tails and sound waves coming into metaphysical contact with our bodies. The second half is an attempt at "writing to fill an open space". CHUCKLEBLUP evolved from a sense of testing sonic ability. Departing away from the multitude of layers of MAXFIELD's typical compositions, here a more minimal approach is taken with slightly angrier overtone. ALASKAN THUNDER FUNK is directly inspired by a 10 day journey in the most northern state, and the inspiring endless beauty of the very honest, sometimes bizarre, Alaskan spirit. CAGE OF GLASS is a commentary on the pain of a mental health disorder and the stigma that surrounds it. Within a cage of glass, people lose their identity to that of their illness. Trapped inside a fragile prison that is easy to break but agonizing to clear.

With THE MALLEABLE MIRAGE, VALE takes a firm step towards highlighting talented artists pushing diverse experimental sounds. MAXFIELD takes a prolific step forward, demonstrating to the world what he is truly capable of.