We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome songwriter and musician Chris Staples to the Maximal Music Sync roster!
Chris Staples is a Seattle based multi-instrumentalist and song maker. His songs are narratives that are plainspoken and universal, with simple, disarming arrangements and delicate melodies that seemed to float on air. His music has been featured on NPR Music, Paste Magazine, American Songwriter, and Apple Music.
Maximal Music Sync is ecstatic to welcome Austin-based indie-pop outfit Shy Beast to our roster!
Shy Beast is undeniably Austin, with a strong following of fans, but the band is not bound by geography or genre—the appeal is universal, while all their own. This tight-knit group evolved organically, with deep connections to one another and to the local music scene. Shy Beast is made up of Mariclaire “MC” Glaeser (lead vocals, synth), David Tenczar (guitar, backing vocals, synth), Jay Cesak (bass), and Drew Silverman (drums). All have collaborated in different iterations before joining MC in Shy Beast. Newest member, Taylor Wilkins (lead guitar), joined the group after the band finished recording their forthcoming album, Shy ‘Til You Die, which is due out May 30th, 2019.
MC’s mature, feminine vocals belie the vulnerability she confronts in her honest, straightforward songwriting and the refreshingly playful charisma she exudes on stage. This demure beauty breaks free all insecurity—jiving behind the keyboard, breaking into Byrne-esque dance moves, miming her passions and pain, and belting out choruses in a swell of certain strength. With inspiration ranging from The Cardigans to Burt Bacharach, MC says her ultimate goal in writing songs is to “make people feel something similar to my experience, and also get them to move.”
Maximal Music Sync is super psyched to welcome Brooklyn-based indie rockers Haybaby to our roster!
Haybaby is a very good band from Brooklyn, NY, that makes music for human beings. It is post-90s pre-death sometimes loud sometimes less so music for flipping out or being sad to, or you can put it on while driving past a big empty field and feeling a way about yourself. Vice's Noisey called Haybaby's 2015 LP Sleepy Kids "everything you love about grunge, punk, art rock, indie rock, and riot grrrl rolled into one", and The Fader called follow-up EP Blood Harvest "visceral and nearly terrifying." Haybaby's sophomore LP They Get There is due out in June 2019 via Tiny Engines; it's a record about encountering loss and reckoning with legacies of harm both public and personal. They Get There expands on the band's already broad sonic palette, maneuvering between demolishingly huge and delicately small passages with lush layers and an intimate understanding of the power every note can hold.
We are thrilled to welcome acoustic soul singer-songwriter Jenn Mundia to the Maximal Music Sync roster!
Jenn Mundia is a Brooklyn based singer-songwriter with Kenyan roots and a southern upbringing. Her raw and honest vocal has carried her storytelling in albums that will take you from a New York paradise all the way to the point of flipping a coin to decide whether or not to stay in a relationship. As a graduate of Berklee College of Music, Mundia found herself working on the production and engineering side of the business right out of school. Thankfully, she found her way back to the stage singing in her hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina, where she recorded “Busy Heart”. Jenn eventually made her way to New York where she created “Heads or Tails” with Greg Seltzer, and she has not stopped writing since. Although the evolution of her sound is clear, you can always crawl inside the airy and vulnerable voice of this acoustic soul songstress and relive her stories as if they were your own. Jenn’s passion outside of her original music is singing background vocals for local acts as well as on national TV. Most recently, you can see Jenn on the stage of Saturday Night Live supporting Kacey Musgraves. She has also made appearances singing on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon behind Wallows and others, as well as Late Night Seth Meyers. Check out jennmundia.com to find Jenn singing her original music around New York, your city, and to stay update on TV appearances and placements.
Maximal Music Sync is definitely feeling lucky - we’re happy to announce that we’re now representing Texas-based Lucky Hound Music and 484 Artist Management for sync!
484 Artist Management provides longevity to developing artists through authenticity while offering unique resources through access to Studios at Fischer Campus. Their roster includes artists like Reuel, Autumn Walker, Dry Clean Only, and Black Satellite. Lucky Hound Music is an open-genre record label that is also part of the Studios at Fischer Campus. The label believes in building artists from the ground up as partners in their success, and works with a variety of artists, including Nobody’s Girl, Matthew Bell and the Next of Kin, Michael Fracasso, and the aforementioned 484 artists, Reuel and Autumn Walker.
Maximal Music Sync is delighted to welcome the genre-melding Boston-based singer-songwriter Matthew Connor to our roster!
Matthew Connor is a crooner for the 21st century, writing heart-wrenching songs that combine the windswept ideals of classic American balladry with stark depictions of modern-day alienation. The Boston-based Connor has a haunting voice that conjures ghosts of past heartbreaks, and he pairs it with spectral guitars that recall country tearjerkers and alt-pop brooding. Connor, who also writes film scores, has proven himself adept at crafting intricately wrought mood music that grabs the most painful parts of his listeners’ souls, then soothes those wounds with his knowing lyrics and evocative voice.
Maximal Music Sync is absolutely thrilled to announce that we are now representing the PEN Music Group catalog for sync!
PEN Music Group, Inc. has operated as a full-service independent music publishing company since 1994 when Michael Eames co-founded it as an alternative to the large multinational publishers. That independent spirit infuses everything PEN does as it celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2019. PEN provides one-on-one attention to their clients and leverages their worldwide network of both administrative and creative relationships to maximize the value of the copyrights they represent.
PEN is honored to work with the catalogues of writer/artists such as: Don Felder (formerly of the Eagles); Golden Globe®, Emmy®, and four-time Grammy®-winner Olivia Newton-John; Grammy®-nominated Wendy Waldman; Grammy®-nominated Philippe Saisse; Julia Fordham; Lizz Wright; Gina Schock (The Go-Gos); Raining Jane, Shana Halligan and Dan Bern, among many others. They are also proud to represent writer/producers such as: the Ivor Novello Award winner Pam Sheyne; Emmy®-nominated composer Miriam Cutler; Emmy®-nominated lyricist Amy Powers; Sam Barsh & Dan Seeff; CJ Vanston, JoLi, and Todd Wright, among others.
PEN’s songs have been released on albums by artists such as The Eagles, The Black Eyed Peas, Kendrick Lamar, Aloe Blacc, Jason Mraz, Logic, the GLEE cast, Selena Gomez, Seal, A$AP Ferg, Miley Cyrus, Tom Jones, Corinne Bailey Rae, k.d. lang, Santana, Christina Aguilera, Faith Hill, Paulina Rubio, Macy Gray, Kenny Rogers, Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Raitt, and Luther Vandross, among countless others.
PEN also proudly represents a developing roster of independent and up-and-coming bands and artists that includes Mikey Wax, Holly Conlan, ShyBoy, Jaime Wyatt, Gospel Whiskey Runners, LittleDNGR, Kimberly Cole, James Day, and The Hundred Days, among numerous others. The PEN catalog spans every musical genre from jazz standards, pop, rock, R&B and hip-hop to folk, Latin, world music, and film and video game scores.
We are so very happy to announce that Maximal Music Sync is now repping RED MUSIC, including Lostboycrow, Jake Miller, birthday, and Trifecta, for sync placements and licensing!
Founded in 2017, RED MUSIC is a label group and multi-faceted label services division of Sony Music. RED MUSIC is home to a diverse roster of Sony Music artists, joint venture label brands and partners like Century Media, Disruptor Records, Triple Tigers and 88 Classic. RED MUSIC is home to a robust division of label services that include radio promotion, advertising, streaming marketing, publicity, brand partnerships, sync, influencer marketing, digital marketing and creative services.
Maximal Music Sync is super psyched to welcome St. Louis-based indie rockers Sleepy Kitty to our roster!
With Paige Brubeck on vocals/guitar and Evan Sult (former Bound Stems and Harvey Danger) on drums/tapes, Sleepy Kitty makes what NYLON magazine describes as “rainbow-tinged indie pop." Distorted guitar layers and hooky vocals garner comparisons to Courtney Barnett and the Breeders, while Brooklyn Vegan describes them as “a grungier, more layered Best Coast.” The duo's garagey drums, engrossing melodies and layered harmonies create a sound derived as much from the Velvet Underground as from Gershwin. Both musicians are also designers and screenprinters, and the influence of Warhol and Rauschenberg doesn’t stop in their visual art – Sleepy Kitty's songs are often spiked with shards of French 60s yé-yé, jazz standards, and even deconstructed Beatles songs, making both their live sets and recordings a surprising audio pop-art collage.
Maximal Music Sync is so excited to welcome New York-based alternative R&B songstress Iyves to our roster!
You might best remember Iyves from her soulful 2014 debut single “Out of Touch”(premiered on Pigeons and Planes) or from her follow up, the glimmery stunner “Wilinout” (premiered on Noisey). However you best recall the alternative/electric R&B artist, she has left a lasting mark. Now she’s back and sounding bigger and better than ever. Songs like “Not Afraid to Fall” and “Palms” from her upcoming Chromatic EP stand as a message from Iyves; she is back and here to stay.
Hannah Taxman, best known by her stage moniker, Iyves, is a Colorado native, now based in New York. While undergoing a period of major life transitions— endings and new beginnings in relationships and with collaborators, changes in scenery— Iyves has been relentlessly pursuing and creating new music. This combination has resulted in the creation of her unique personal sound, as evidenced on her stunning debut EP, Chromatic.
A serendipitous meeting with REFS producer Zach Lipkins provided her with exactly the outlet she needed to realize the full potential of her sound, her “voice”. “Working with Zach was immediately comfortable, and familiar; yet I discovered so much new and unfamiliar things within myself. The experience made me unafraid to use my voice as a vehicle to tell my stories of pain as well as those of triumph.” This period in her life also exposed her to new contemporary influences like SZA, Solange, and NAO.
Iyves speaks often about her constant evolution and strong pursuit to develop her artistry. She recalls this fire within her since she was a young girl. She grew up in a musical home surrounded by instruments and relied on music as her main form of expression. The natural environment of her home in Boulder, Colorado, was extremely influential and impactful to her songwriting and craftsmanship. The precision and ethereal vocal layers that build up the imagery and soundscape of her music are something that leave Iyves’s unique fingerprint on her creations. She draws from a myriad of natural and musical inspirations to develop her deep soulful vocals and R&B groove. “Soul music has always spoken to me,” she muses when asked about her major influences, ranging from the legends of soul to the timeless grit of southern blues. “If you respect those that come before you, you have more of an understanding of what modern music can be,” adds Iyves.
The result of her collaboration with Lipkins is a collection of songs detailing the competing emotions that one experiences at the end of a long-term relationship. From the impactful opener, “Pressure”, detailing the realization that a relationship is over, the listener is taken on a journey to the truthful closer, “Phantom”, which describes the discovery of a higher self-awareness. “When I was able to let loose and belt out the words, it was an extremely cathartic and spiritual experience for me. It was a release of emotions as well as a cleansing of what this period of my life had been for me.” It was just the tip of the iceburg, Iyves mentions— she is discovering a new sense and access point in her voice to drive the vehicle of her instrument.
The other tracks on the EP continue to represent a nuanced departure from traditional breakup songs, depicting the brutally honest and confusing emotions of the “transition” experience. The haunting title track, “Chromatic”, sonically balances layered vocals with powerful rhythms as an expression of one’s relationship coming to an end while also embracing the resultant, often frightening, yet exciting, revelations of self-discovery and an appreciation for new experiences. Iyves’ full vocal range can best be heard when she tackles her most cathartic song on the EP, “Let It Play”, which illustrates how she allowed herself to let a relationship go, and begin to move on. Songs like “Not Afraid to Fall” and “Palms” state that no matter what hardships and confusion come her way, she is clearly here to stay and persevere.
With this new release, Iyves has embraced themes of vulnerability and change. While she has been quiet on the scene, she has been working with a creative team that aligns with where she is currently as an artist. “I’m excited to tell my story on my terms. This is some of my most honest work to date, and it was important for me to step back and ask myself not only who I am, but who I am continuously becoming.”
Iyves’ powerful EP, Chromatic, is as much a forward-leaning memento of evolution and self-discovery as it is an ode to the legendary female vocalists of music’s past. It re-introduces Iyves to the music scene as an artist without compromise or artifice. “At the end of the day, you really only have yourself, and that is indeed enough,” she confidently concludes.
