Following MAITA’s 2020 debut, Best Wishes, named one of the “50 Albums that Define Oregon” (Portland Monthly), MAITA’s sophomore LP, I Just Want To Be Wild For You, digs into the crippling oxymoron of modernity, the constant bombardment of communication paired with utter disconnection.
Released via venerable indie label Kill Rock Stars, I Just Want To Be Wild For You grasps passionately for a world that too often seems at a gauzy distance.
Splitting time between her mom’s Japanese-speaking home and her father’s English-speaking home, Maria Maita-Keppeler, who KEXP calls “a master storyteller who can turn intimate moments into quippy, catchy indie-rock songs,” found an expressive avenue out of her childhood shyness through music. The Portland-based songwriter tapped into that grand yet intimate reverence for MAITA’s sophomore album, from the churning twinkle of “Pastel Concrete” to the riotous give-and-take of “Honey, Have I Lost It All?”. In those moments of disconnect, of confusion, of isolation, I Just Want To Be Wild For You thunders ahead, forging unexpected connections along the way.
Named the Willamette Week’s 2020 “Best New Band,” MAITA, the musical vehicle for songwriter Maria Maita-Keppeler has gone on to reach national acclaim, opening for the likes of Mirah, Blind Pilot, Horse Feathers, Typhoon, as well as performing at SXSW and Treefort.
“She just has this sensitivity to her sound that I really really love.” Bob Boilen (NPR music)
“Jaunty, lighthearted folk-rock being used as a Trojan Horse for the creeping dread of existentialism.”- KEXP, Song of the Day
“One of the most impressive and shining acts to come out of Portland in quite some time”- Portland Mercury
“The rarified class of artists with the ability to enthrall the listener right from the jump”- Spin
“Where Do You GO” video premiere on Flood Magazine
MAITA’s essay on Talkhouse
‘A clear-eyed look at growing up and holding yourself responsible for actively creating the life you want to live instead of just waiting around for it to happen.” — Cyrena Touros, NPR All Songs Considered
Jesse Blake Rundle
Jesse Blake Rundle writes songs and scores films from his home in Boise, Idaho. His sophomore album, “Next Town’s Trees,” (March 2023) is a deeply personal collection of songs reflecting significant life changes – coming out as queer, departing from religious ties, and embracing sobriety. The album was quickly followed by the Artifacts of Water EP, released by Doe Records (Portland, OR) in October 2023. On the stage, a four-piece band – Mike Harris on clarinet, Thomas Paul on guitar, and David Kelly on drums – breathes fresh life into the songs with new arrangements.
Makayla King
There is something innately human about making art. It soothes us, heals us, moves us. Like a jaw relaxing after a tense conversation, our souls relax into a sound, a color, a textile. I hope you dance and sway and find more of yourself as you listen. Because I believe that is the point of sharing: It creates a moment for us to remember ourselves again.