Words by Declan Whelan // Images by Jade D’Amico

Working in the local music scene under her given name Nasra over the last few years, Bandung-born, Sydney-based artist Maina Doe has earned plenty of new admirers with her debut single ‘Delusion’.

Grappling with perceptions of ambition, imagination, and (you guessed it) delusion, the song explores the idea of leaning into the latter in order to unlock your full creative potential. On the record, Maina Doe finds balance embracing a little bit of that delusion as a vehicle that drives her to push boundaries. Of course, she’s not totally delusional. To say Maina Doe can sing a bit would be criminally underselling her talents. Meshing elements from a variety of genres, there’s a hint of Kaytranada and The Internet about the song as Maina Doe’s vocals glide effortlessly over hip-hop inspired production. 

To get the low on the release and the benefits of embracing the double-edged blade that is delusion, we caught up with the rising contemporary r&b artist. Check out our conversation below:

Congrats on your new single ‘Delusion’, the first one under your new title. What can you tell us about that transformation from Nasra to Maina Doe?

So I’ve been making music and collaborating with people from Sydney for a while. The transformation from Nasra to Maina Doe I guess really just came from a readiness to come into my own and share all the things that I’ve learnt, and share all the experiences that I’ve had, through music. I went from being Nasra who makes music and lived her life studying, etc. etc. to being Maina Doe who wants to get out there into the world and contribute in whatever way I can with my creativity. 

Are there things you’re doing or maybe just thinking about differently now? What would you say are the defining features of the Maina Doe project?

I definitely think that I’ve moved away from a more classical soul-heavy sound to being a little bit more contemporary and exploring those avenues that are more electronic and more hip-hop, and I guess just more now. I realised that when it comes to soul and jazz and all those things, it’s really easy to sound like everybody else and really I just wanted to redefine what soul is, what pop is, and what hip-hop or electronic is to someone like me that listens to literally everything. So I think a very important aspect of the Maina Doe project is that I don’t really attach myself to what I want to sound like – I just explore whatever it is that comes out and whatever it is I feel like is going to sound good [laughs].

Let’s talk about ‘Delusion’ because it does feel like you’re tapping into an emotion or experience rather than trying to sound a particular way or fit a certain genre. What inspired that song?

‘Delusion’ kind of came off a period of time where I genuinely thought I was batshit crazy for wanting to pursue music and quit uni and basically want all these ridiculous things for myself. And then I realised that the more I embraced the part of myself that does think outside of the box and does use my imagination, you know and just has that bit of crazy delusion, that’s the part of myself that is actually able to live and create a life that I want. Even though it seems impossible. In that song, I’m really just talking about that sweet spot in between being very rooted in reality and being very grounded but also being a little idealistic and limitless in terms of my hopes and dreams for myself and the rest of the world. Funnily enough, that song also came about because of a conversation with the guy I produced the song with – his name is Finbar Stuart – he basically was like, “Yeah, yeah. You know what, Nas? Everyone has dreams and they don’t always work out.” And I got really mad and then I kind of just wrote the song like, “You know what? No! I’m going to embrace that part of me. It’s a little bit crazy and a little bit delusional but how else am I going to make shit happen that seems impossible?” So yeah, that’s sort of what the song is about. 

I thought it was interesting that throughout the song you’ve got this borderline apologetic tone, and then the outro which is really personal kind of flips that perspective. When did you have that realisation and what was the catalyst for it?

Honestly this whole year in particular, I have been jumping from being this fearful creative who thinks none of my music things are going to realise in the way that I want, and then going from that and jumping back into this place where I’m like, “Nah. This is going to happen. I’m going to make shit happen. I’m the best. Blah, blah, blah.” I think honestly, the catalyst was my producer telling me things weren’t going to happen the way that we want and me just really being like, “No”. And it literally all happened in the same night. We got drunk and we talked it out and this came out and that was very much the catalyst. Which is pretty funny thinking back to it.

I think part of what’s so funny about that situation is that normally when you hear those kinds of stories it’s generally not coming from someone on the team – like that’s generally reserved for a family member or a friend who doesn’t fully understand the process or your vision. It’s unusual when it comes from within that creative space.

Yeah I have a really funny relationship with my producer, we’re very close personally. He’s like family to me but we have this relationship where we don’t really have a filter. So when he wants to say something he just says it and when I want to say something I just say it. And it’s really funny because if something negative comes out of his or my mouth it’s always going to inspire something really awesome. Which I guess is one of the reasons why we work so well together. 

Do you guys clash on a lot of stuff? If you’re at the studio and it’s getting late are you able to agree on where to order Ubereats from? Or is it more just like outlook and creative differences?

We pretty much agree on most things in life and I guess we’re both pretty eccentric in our own ways but our main clash is definitely when it comes to positive outlook and creativity. He’s a very logical, reasonable, right-brain human who is also very creative, whereas I’m very intuitive and instinctive and a little bit more impulsive. I’m more heart-oriented and he’s more brain-oriented.

It sounds like you balance each other out. Circling back to ‘Delusion’, is there a particular artist that inspired or informed the creative decision to do the outro like you did? Or maybe just an interlude that stands out to you as a favourite for whatever reason?

I can’t think of just one in particular that is a massive inspiration for that but so many of my favourite artists really like to put that personal touch into music because it is just a nice reminder that there is a human behind the music being made. I’m not just an artist or entertainer or whatever, I’m also a human and this is my voice. I just really like that and it’s something that I like to play with in my music, in different formats and different ways. Some artists that I think really do that well are Frank Ocean, Andre 3000, Ari Lennox also has a lot of talking on her new album and even like Sampa the Great; she doesn’t necessarily talk but she uses samples and bits and pieces that she puts into her music and it’s just so nice having that human element in a song. It really gets to people. 

When you’re not on stage or in the studio where are you likely to be?

I’m one of those people that likes to escape to nature whenever I can. I like taking little road trips, I love going to the beach, I love going on hikes or finding waterfalls. Australia is just so rich with amazing natural resources and natural beauty. It’s crazy and we’re so lucky in Sydney that we can drive one hour away and find something so beautiful like a watering hole or the Blue Mountains. That’s definitely what I’m doing a lot when I have nothing to do. 

And I’m keen to hear about your master plan. What’s happening for the rest of the year and beyond?

Oh my gosh. So much, honestly. ‘Delusion’ has received such a wonderful response and it’s such a nice affirmation of the fact that yes, I can do this, and yes, I am meant to be doing this. So for the rest of the year we’ve got another single coming out – there’s an amazing artist featured on there that I’m not allowed to talk about yet [laughs] – a video coming out, lots of awesome gigs here in Sydney and yeah that’s just the beginning. Next year I’m hoping to play more festivals, release a whole project and just collaborate with more amazing artists here in Australia, because honestly it’s actually crazy how many artists are coming into my awareness. It just makes me really hopeful for the future of Australian music. It’s so inspirational.