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Artist News CMU Approved Releases
Approved: Mothermary
By Andy Malt | Published on Thursday 28 October 2021
Twin sisters Larena and Elyse Winn formed Mothermary after both leaving the Mormon religion into which they were born. Influenced by 80s modular synth and drum machine sounds, the lyrics and visual aspects of the project are all filled with subverted religious imagery, as they attempt to discover their identity outside the church.
Having made the break first, Elyse was already making music on her own. When Larena joined her in New York, she invited her to form a duo, telling her: “It makes sense. You’re my twin. We went through this experience together. We tell it together”.
It also helped to have someone who shared the same experience, with Elyse saying that she previously found herself unable to work with others on her music. “I wanted to have control over the sound. Total control”, she explains. “There was no other way. I’ve always been hyper-specific about how that should sound and what that should look like. No one got the sound I was going for”.
Working together also helped them to process such a massive life change, Larena explains: “If you were able to fall for something for so long, admitting to yourself that it’s all bullshit is the most humbling and horrifying thing in the world. You question everything. You question the nature of reality. [Mormonism] was our world. It was our paradigm. We were brainwashed”.
What particularly bothered them, she adds, was the way that they were treated as women, saying: “We were made to feel that we were second-class to men in our church and our family. We had to be pretty, but not too pretty. We had to be pretty enough to attract a mate, but not too pretty to be sexualised”.
Their chosen name, they say, is very consciously chosen to flip this idea on its head. “We want to rewrite the story of Mother Mary”, says Larena. “She’s holy, powerful, and yes, sexual. All women are. We embrace every facet of womanhood. Our creative power and our diversity. We’re tired of being put in a box”.
“She’s a virgin who gives birth to a literal god”, adds Elyse. “It’s the perfect example of the contradicting performances we expect of women. These two extremes. Have children, procreate, but don’t be sexual beings”.
Beyond their name, these ideas all play heavy in their music. Their debut album, ‘I Am Your God’, is set for release through Italians Do It Better on 28 Jan. New single, ‘Coming For You’, is out now. Watch the video here:
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