RIA MAE BARES IT ALL ON NEW EP THERAPY
OUT TODAY – LISTEN HERE
RELEASES VIDEO FOR LEAD SINGLE THE OLD ME
TORONTO, ON – March 18, 2022 – Today, acclaimed pop artist, Ria Mae, celebrates the release of her deeply personal new EP, Therapy. A curated batch of six swelling anthems that are both conversational and confessional, Therapy sees Mae opening up through song with a vulnerability that will instantly connect with listeners. The EP is available now, along with a captivating music video for the lead single, The Old Me.
Home is somewhere that we often run away from, but it’s also the place that tends to know who we really are, at our core. Something the last two years has taught a lot of us, is that retreating from the hectic busy outside world can unearth who we are, without all of the trappings. For the Halifax, Nova Scotia born-and-raised musician, it took a mid-pandemic visit home to her old neighbourhood to bring it all back. She was staying right across the street from where she lived in her early twenties.
“The hardest thing to do once you have a few fans, or have picked a particular path, is to step out and say ‘I kinda want to try this other thing…’ but I think it’s important for me in this journey of rediscovering myself after the pandemic. It’s important to stay true to yourself, and for me that means being vulnerable, not being afraid to be exposed.”
After a first listen to the entire EP you find yourself wondering – who is Ria Mae talking to in these songs? Each track seems targeted, in a way that most can relate, towards one person. You’re just not sure if it’s someone she’s driving to, or away from, but her lyrics are clearly a roadmap to the person Ria Mae is today.
Thomas ‘Tawgs’ Salter came on board to produce For Your Love, as well as the album’s title track. For Your Love, co-written with Tawgs and Simon Wilcox, was featured in network television series, The L Word, in late 2021. Therapy also brought Joceyln Alice to the process – the song serving as Mae’s first collab with the Calgary born critically acclaimed songwriter. Inspired by Mae’s fear of being completely consumed by a relationship, the lyrics on Therapy describe this exact sentiment: “Ten years of therapy, to try to get your feel off of me”.
Swoon, also co-written and performed with Jocelyn Alice, was produced by east coaster, Corey Lerue (Neon Dreams). A pop song with an undeniable strut of a beat and deep funk bass, reminiscent of Chromeo, Swoon also touches on the fear of letting your love show. JUNO Award winner, Serena Ryder, teamed up with Mae and pop powerhouse producer, Ryan Stewart, for The World Is Falling Apart. In keeping with the theme of letting go in order to let something in, it’s no coincidence that Mae chose to include a cover of Lose You To Love Me (Selena Gomez). Mae wrangled two immensely talented songstresses, Rose Cousins and Breagh Isabel (Port Cities), to join her on the song, which she says blew her mind the first time she heard the original. Breagh Isabel and Mae wrote The Old Me together, which stylistically is a nod to confessional power pop trailblazers like Paula and Janet.
Dive in with Ria Mae and feel all of the emotions of Therapy – out now!
THERAPY EP TRACKLIST:
1. For Your Love
2. The World Is Falling Apart
3. Therapy
4. Swoon
5. The Old Me
6. LYTLM (Lose You To Love Me)
Bonus tracks:
For Your Love (Outdoors Mix)
Swoon (B-side)
Listen to the Therapy EP here
Watch The Old Me here
DOWNLOAD – album cover art | DOWNLOAD – hi-res photo
ABOUT RIA MAE:
Since the June 2016 release of Mae’s full length, self-titled debut album, the three-time JUNO nominee has toured Europe with Tegan & Sara, North America with Dido, and Canada with Scott Helman and many other incredible musicians. She has performed with k.d. lang, Melissa Etheridge, Elle King, Xavier Rudd, Shawn Hook, Family of the Year, Francesco Yates, Coleman Hell and more. She has performed at various PRIDE festivals and events in Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal.
Mae, whose songs have been streamed over 70 million times worldwide, has climbed the radio charts in Canada numerous times, with platinum certified singles, Clothes Off, Ooh Love, Too Close and Bend. A proud member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, Mae was recently nominated for a Queerty Award for Best New Artist by Queerty Media.