Stream: Madeira, ‘Manipulator’

Daiana Feuer on September 23rd, 2016

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Madeira is New Zealand pop artist Kim Pflaum. Formerly of synth-pop band Yumi Zouma, which she co-founded but left at the end of 2014 after touring with Lorde, Chet Faker and TOPS. Pflaum’s solo work invites the listener to dance out their emotions. In that way, the title of her new album, “Bad Humors,” directly correlates to the experience. Out today on Carpark Records, the title refers to the ancient practice of bloodletting to essentially release illness or negativity with blood. Don’t reach for the scissors now, it merely symbolizes Pflaum’s attempt to purge the negative and embrace the positive in life. She says, “By completing and releasing the songs, I feel I am somewhat ridding myself of what has been ailing me, letting go.” In the EP’s five songs, she examines heartbreak, betrayal, and artifice. Pflaum sees music as an escape, “a way to take a break from my hectic life and just relax, to let music soothe and heal me,” and says it often has involved imaginary vacations. On “Manipulator,” Pflaum spins a melody about dropping the facade and recognizing the duplicity in others, then letting go all that mess.

||| Watch: “Manipulator”