Maple & Beech is a musical project led by Minnesota producer Tyler Tholl. What started as a solo project has evolved into a seven-member collective that includes Tholl’s friends and family members.
Following on from their 2017 debut album, RUNDAWDAW, new single OK is the first to feature the vocals of singer Nicole Wilder. Nicole joined Maple & Beech last year, working with Tyler to create OK, a song the group describe as a “cello-heavy artpop song”.
The vocals and string heavy instrumentation on OK are moulded together by some sparse but well orchestrated electronic elements... The result is an arresting vision for modern pop - emotionally powerful and raw yet danceable.
Discussing the song’s meaning, Wilder says the song is about “the tension that’s created when you try to present too many different selves to the world, when you try to control people’s perceptions of you at the expense of knowing your authentic self.” In a world overrun with social media personalities where we all curate not just our public personas but also our own internal narratives, OK feels especially relevant.
Check out OK below. It is the opening track for Maple & Beech’s forthcoming album, which is due out summer 2019.