YAY MARIA (feat. Franx) – Template (Year of Glad)
Ahead of debut album OYEZ being released in September Derby artist YAY MARIA has released a video to go with recent single Template, featuring Franx.
Artist: YAY MARIA feat. Franx
Track: Template
Label: Year of Glad
Released: 29 July 2021
Find it: Bandcamp | Spotify
The sun shines down on a Derbyshire hill side, the burnished grass growing high and softening the view. There is a wildness in the scene, a celebration for the figures dancing, and a sense of a self-directed journey as they go from the repeating patterns of suburban life to the colour, the possibilities, the freedom to be found in true self. They’ve come a long way and they’re casting off the shackles of other’s expectations to honour who they are, who they really are, embracing the joy and the struggle and the liberation and the love in that.
All of this and more is in the new video from Derby based queer and trans musician Yay Maria for single Template, taken from forthcoming debut album OYEZ. It’s a track which manages to both shimmer and punch, a glorious electro-bopping kiss from a fist, the subtlety of bird song, and warmth through the digital instrumentation. It is incredible strength gently delivered – both musically and thematically.
‘Don’t judge / No hate / Just love / I see the light’
Of the track Maria said: “I think it can sometimes feel like there is a ‘template’ in life (school, marriage, children etc) and for many that course of life is either unattainable and/or undesirable. So, it can feel kinda scary not fitting in with that pre-supposed model. However, there is also something wonderful and empowering about that too; particularly given that there are so many other queer folks out there who feel a similar way.”
Debut album OYEZ is set to thematically journey through a life, challenging the expectations which can make you feel like an outsider, and ultimately welcome you to a community giving the support to accept yourself. While this comes from Maria’s own experience it will speak to many, and is a danceable artefact underpinning their hope they can make ‘one outsider feel better about themselves’.
As a taste for that Template works brilliantly – a microcosm of that theme and a total electro-pop bop full of colour and light, with love shot through every note, lyrically delivered with a wry humour. A prolific artist with deep creativity we can’t wait to hear more from YAY MARIA.
Template by YAY MARIA feat. Franx is out digitally now via A Year of Glad with album OYEZ to follow in September. All proceeds from the single go to the QTIBIPOC Therapy Fund; an initiative of the Radical Therapist Network, to offer Queer, Trans and Intersex People of Colour free weekly therapy for a year.
Find YAY MARIA: Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | Bandcamp
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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