Maxx Nies is a New York-based alt-pop artist who has quickly made her mark on the modern pop scene. At 25, she draws listeners in with honest, emotionally charged songwriting. Signed to Connection Music Publishing, part of Glassnote Records, and inspired by Taylor Swift’s confessional style, Maxx turns her own struggles with abuse and resilience into music that supports women dealing with self-worth, mental health, and trauma. Her latest single, ‘Give Me A Reason,’ is both atmospheric and deeply personal. She wrote it in just ten minutes during a difficult time coming off chronic medication. The song mixes delicate emotion with powerful melodies and marks an exciting new phase in her career. Maxx is already working on a full album and a music video for ‘Heaven or Hell,’ and more listeners are discovering her unique sound.
In this exclusive interview, Maxx Nies opens up about the heart behind her latest single, her artistic evolution, and the transformative power of turning pain into purpose.
What was it like discovering the power of songwriting at just seven years old after losing your great grandmother, and how does that early spark still shape your music today?
Discovering songwriting during that time in my life felt like a blessing—honestly, a lifeline. I like to believe it was my grandma’s gift to me when she passed, something to help me process my emotions and navigate everything that came after. I truly don’t know how I would’ve made it through the challenges in my life without music and songwriting.
What inspired your full commitment to pursuing music in 2018, and how has carving out your alt-pop sound in New York helped you turn personal vulnerability into resonant storytelling?
My whole life, my two biggest passions were horseback riding and music. As I got older, I started to feel pulled toward music in a deeper way. I wasn’t seeing horseback riding as a long-term career path for me, so I made the decision to put 100% into music. I think that was also the moment I really started believing in myself and talent and realized I’d genuinely be happy doing this every day for the rest of my life. I had gone through and was going through a lot personally, and songwriting became the one place where everything made sense. Living in New York pushed that even further—there’s an energy here that forces you to be honest and authentic. Carving out my alt-pop sound gave me the space to blend vulnerability with edge, and that’s where my storytelling really comes from. The more personal I get, the more people I can connect with.
Walk us through how ‘Give Me A Reason’ came together in ten minutes?
The process of writing ‘Give Me a Reason’ is actually kind of a funny story. I was in the middle of one of the hardest points in my withdrawal period coming off a medication I had been prescribed when I was nine years old, which eventually turned into a dependency by the time I was a teenager. At the time I was having really intense panic attacks almost every day, sometimes multiple times a day.
I was standing on a vibration plate hoping it might help regulate the nervous system, and I was listening to a song by Bon Iver. Suddenly I heard a melody in my head with the words ‘give me a reason,’ which perfectly captured how I was feeling at that moment. I quickly recorded a voice memo — which honestly sounds pretty chaotic because of the vibration plate — and then ran to my room and finished writing the rest of the song within minutes. The next day I brought it into the studio and recorded it.
How did the themes of self-worth, mental health, and lingering trauma in ‘Give Me A Reason’reflect the intense period of introspection you were going through at the time?
‘Give Me A Reason’ was written at a time where I was internally struggling with myself and had hit a rock bottom with myself. The song became a reflection of that space—honest, a little conflicted, and rooted in trying to understand myself more deeply.
The single blends fragile intimacy with big, powerful melodies, drawing on Mazzy Star’s dreamy melancholy and Taylor Swift’s confessional style. How did these influences come together to shape its unique atmosphere?
Mazzy Star’s sound and Taylor Swift’s writing both inspire me deeply. I try to stay as honest and authentic as possible in my lyrics, and I felt the production naturally followed that—bringing everything together into something cohesive and emotionally true.
As you prepare to record your full new album, what specific production techniques or sonic tools are you most excited to experiment with to push the boundaries of your experimental alt-pop sound?
As I prepare to record my full album, I’m really excited to experiment more with texture and space in production. I’ve been drawn to blending organic and synthetic sounds—layering raw, emotional vocal takes with more experimental processing, ambient textures, and unexpected sound design elements. I want the production to feel like an extension of the lyrics, almost like another emotional layer rather than just a backdrop.
As you prepare to record your new album and drop the music video for ‘Heaven or Hell’, what excites you most about this next chapter of creative evolution?
What excites me most about this next chapter is the level of confidence and clarity I’ve stepped into. I feel really secure in who I am, and that’s naturally translated into the music feeling more mature and intentional. I’ve been allowing myself the freedom to fully explore my ideas and bring my visions to life, which has made this process feel really exciting and creatively fulfilling.
In what ways do you hope your alt-pop music continues to create a safe, validating space for women navigating love, trauma, and resilience, just like the journey behind ‘Give Me A Reason’?
I think my biggest intention is for my music to make women feel seen and understood, especially in the moments that are harder to talk about. So much of my writing comes from real experiences with love, self-worth, and healing, and I hope that honesty creates a space where people feel less alone in what they’re going through. If someone can hear a song like ‘Give Me A Reason’ and feel validated in their emotions instead of questioning them, that means everything to me.
If you could sit down with your seven-year-old self right after she wrote that first song, what piece of advice would you give her about the wild ride ahead?
I’d tell her to keep going and to trust that everything she’s feeling will eventually make sense. That it does get better. And most importantly, to be gentle with herself—to lead with love, patience, and compassion, especially in the moments where it feels the hardest.
Stream ‘Give Me A Reason’:
