- Words Notion Staff
Neuroscientist turned artist, Lina Maxine, has released a re-imagined live version of her debut EP, ‘Mind Games’.
It’s not often that you hear of an artist creating their debut album whilst completing a Master’s degree, much less a Master’s degree in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Described as a “mad scientist turned artist”, Lina unites these two spheres in her debut body of work.
Growing up, Lina was exposed to her parent’s record collection: full of late 90s rock. The likes of Linkin Park, Papa Roach and Evanescence helped her “unleash the raspiness” and “edge” her voice, says Lina. Branching out, she began performing covers of Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee amongst other greats, with her college jazz band at Brown University in the US.
Linking her two loves, the musical project ‘Mind Games’ serves as a series of six “case studies” of human emotion. Using word-play and brain teasers, tracks like “MANGO”, and “WIN YOU” are analogies for relationship issues, love, and other life experiences. Discussing the EP, Lina explains “I believe that art and music are such a powerful resource. I want to be able to facilitate conversations about how music can be a tool for healing, bring people together and be a kind of messenger of emotion. It helped me in many ways, and through ‘Mind Games’, I would love to bring together a community of my own”.
In this exclusive short film, Lina takes us track by track through the project, transporting us back to her most recent tour, so we can relive those moments with her and embrace the tenacity of her live shows across the UK. Throughout the short film, Lina shares insights into her music production, such as the sound of a Rubik’s cube recorded on one of her tracks, and introduces us to her band who help her bring her “Minds Games” to life.