We recently connected with Maria-elena (misuser) and have shared our conversation below.
Maria-Elena (Misuser), appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
The most meaningful project I’ve worked on would have to be my last EP, “Gritona”. It represents so much to me as it came from a very tough period in my life. Part of me believes that my feelings would’ve come out in some way eventually, but to take the stress I had experienced and turn it into something tangible that I could exorcise from my body took a lot of energy that, for a while, I wasn’t sure I had. There is a lot of pain on that record, but now when I look back at that period, I only think about how much love was around me and how much support I had from the ones I hold dear. In an odd way, all of those songs feel like they move quickly to me now, and I mostly associate the EP with the final track, May. “May” is a lot of things, but above all, I believe it represents faith. Faith in community, faith in love, maintaining a faith in myself that I can be better, and kinder, and that good things will come. “Gritona” is ugly, experimental, and brutally honest, but it needs to exist. I laid myself completely bare, and now there’s nothing to be ashamed of anymore.
Maria-Elena (Misuser), love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’m Maria-Elena, the singer and main songwriter/producer of Misuser. Misuser is an industrial darkwave band based out of New York/Boston.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
We need to support each other. Community is the beating heart of everything important, creative, or political, the only thing we have is each other. Go see a band you’ve never heard of. Tell someone that they inspire you. Pay your friends their full rate if you are working together. If there is a project that inspires you, love them loudly. The more we engage with our environment, the more we choose to connect, the more the ecosystem becomes less barren.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
I believe in capturing something honest. We live in a time where everything feels like exposed wires, and I think it’s dishonest and insincere to pretend that everything is good and fine, because it’s not. There is good in the world, and it’s so important to never lose sight of that, but creatively that’s not what drives me. Other artists do true beauty so well, and I feel like I have more to say when things get ugly. My goal is to make people feel something, and when they see us perform, I want to make it so they can’t look away.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/mariavkaser
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/misuser__/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@misusermusic
- Other: Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6asJg1Qhg9Z32bnoyG4vTF?si=kxwSKVxpRHyBoasBzM0l3A
Image Credits
the first two are by Natalie Creighton
the following three are by Gagain Jain
the main picture and the last picture are by Vika Brennick