At Home with
mxmtoon + Levi's
With a new EP "dusk" coming out October 1, mxmtoon, aka Maia, has been busy since we saw her last October for our Open Up shoot. Ahead of her EP's release, and in partnership with Levi's, Maia sat down to talk with us about charity work, Twitch and what, exactly, the hashtag #selfiesformxmtoon is.
What is the meaning behind your new song “bon iver” and where is the best place to listen to it?
The meaning behind “bon iver” is to hopefully remind people that new beginnings are not limited to a rising sun. Even in darkness, there is the possibility to start something fresh, and your destiny is determined by you alone. I think we as people spend a lot of time waiting for permission to do things, and while that can be wonderful, why wait to do something you’ve always wanted to! The best place to listen to “bon iver” would probably be on a late night drive home as you watch the sunset fall over the horizon.
It seems you have been busy on Twitch. Can you tell us about some of your fave games currently and some of the live music and covers you have played on streams?
Some of my favorite games to play right now are Valorant and Animal Crossing! Two really different titles, but equally fun! Every single stream I do, people always ask for me to try and play “Sweater Weather” by The Neighborhood, and I usually always play it, but lately I’ve really been loving “My Future” by Billie Eilish as a cover song.
Tell us about the charity work you have been doing on Sundays.
Every Sunday for the last couple months I’ve been using Twitch as a place to raise money for different non-profits! It’s been really fun and inspiring to be able to help support different organizations that are near and dear to my heart and give people within my stream the opportunity to give back too. I let people use their channel points that they acquire from sitting in my stream to redeem rewards that allow me to donate on their behalf and so it’s been an amazing way to get people excited about different causes.
Can you tell us about the hashtag #selfiesformxmtoon on twitter?
That was a hashtag made by one of my lovely listeners, Harriet! She got a bunch of people to post photos of themselves to celebrate the release of “bon iver” and I’m just constantly blown away by the displays of love and affection I receive from my audience. I am beyond lucky to have them in my life.
Any tips for coping with loneliness during quarantine?
Don’t be afraid to reach out to friends! I know for me, it can be really daunting to reach out to friends and let them know I miss them, because I can get into my head about being a bother, but in reality the people you care about will never be upset with you for wanting to reconnect! Watch movies with your friends over Zoom, Facetime your family, share playlists with your loved ones. The small stuff adds up.
What trend on TikTok will you never get tired of?
There’s a trend right now with the Chika Dance which was an outro sequence from an anime series, Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, and it’s so fun to dance to. I love the music and I have watched endless videos of other people dancing for the trend and I'm still not tired of it yet!
Your new ep, "dusk", is coming out soon! In what ways is it similar to "dawn"? How does it differ?
"dusk" is the sister EP to "dawn"! In that sense, the two are very interconnected when it comes to exploring the themes I tend to dive into with my music. "dawn" is about the optimistic side of myself and a comfort with the unknown, while "dusk" is about my introverted nature and the time I tend to take when working out my feelings. The sounds people will hear on "dusk" will be a lot more melancholy, but still beautiful!
Finish the sentence: When I think of Levi’s, I think of _______
Being brave enough to be my authentic self! I’ve worn Levi’s for as long as i can remember, and they remain a staple in my closet that makes me feel comfortable with who I am.
Anything fun you’ve done to customize your Levi’s in the past?
I actually used to patch my Levi’s with different fabric when I was younger! I used to wear my jeans so intensely, I’d get rips in the knees and whenever that happened I would take my favorite patterned fabric and just patch up the hole with it!
How old is your oldest pair of jeans?
I don’t fit a lot of my older Levi’s now, but I think the longest time I kept a pair was around four years. My favorite memories with them are pretty simple too! I brought them to travel with my family, so basically my pair of Levi’s were like Mr. Worldwide. Lots of good family vacation memories were made while wearing my favorite piece of denim.
To see more from mxmtoon, follow her on Instagram: @mxmtoon