“A good friend turned to me and said ‘I bet you can write a song’. And I begrudgingly accepted the challenge, it turns out he was right.” This simple bet set off a chain reaction that led Megan Brown to become the alt-rock artist Makiisma (Mah-kees-ma). Having performed and toured as a violinist and vocalist with numerous bands over the past decade, Brown was no stranger to the music scene before the spring of 2017 when Makiisma, backed by a three-piece band, took shape. As Makiisma, Brown, a lab technician by day, creates music infused with heartfelt passion. Topped with haunting vocals, soulful violin, and energetic keys, her music draws the listener in and leads them on a journey through the many dynamic shifts that are characteristic of her songs. Makiisma’s unique song-writing and melodic intuitions have led the band to pen their own genre for their music; doom-folk. Bringing together elements of the classical world with her passion for heavy, raw, expressive music Makiisma creates songs that lie somewhere between Portishead, Black Mountain, and death gospel artist Chelsea Wolfe.
Brown’s extensive travels through South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia, writing as she went have imbued her music with a feeling of motion, particularly evident in the Latin influence found in much of her work. Depression, heartache, her passion for travel; Makiisma takes it all on with a fierce candour that fans have come to expect.
Makiisma released her debut album ‘Lady Misery’ in March 2020. Recorded at Green Recording Company in Lethbridge, the album has been received positively by the community. Makiisma’s new album, The Heart Remains, became available everywhere this Friday, June 20th!
The album artwork holds special meaning—it was created by the incredibly talented Amy Arsene using a photo of Makiisma’s mother, taken by her father. The goal was to evoke the feeling of a storybook page, reminiscent of old Disney films that blended real life with animation—something magical, timeless, and steeped in memory.
The Heart Remains is dedicated to Makiisma’s mother, who passed away in 2020. The album is a collection of songs that capture fleeting moments in time: falling in and out of love, navigating grief, and gradually rediscovering hope. Two songs in particular—“The Heart Remains” and “The Wait”—were written during the depths of her grief, as she searched for a path forward in the wake of profound loss