Hen Hoose x SNACK mag: Emerging Talent Spotlight

We’re back with our new monthly feature in collaboration with the Hen Hoose collective. A spotlight on emerging women and non-binary artists from across Scotland.

Each month, we’ll share a quickfire Q&A to get to know the artists behind the music (think SMASH Hits, and you’re favourite 90s glossy music mags!). Short, sharp, and in their own words. Part interview, part personality check.

This month, we’re stepping into the experimental electronica world of maniatrix – an electronic producer, DJ, vocalist and performer. Think theatrical visuals, vocals that shimmer like starlight dancing on rippled water at twilight, and dark industrial dance music pulsing beneath synth work that recalls Wendy Carlos at her most unhinged and you’re almost there. The lovechild of Laurie Anderson and, dare we say it, Enya.

With an album in the works, set for release later this year, we caught up with maniatrix to find out about dream collaborators, delusional long-term goals, crying to Fleetwood Mac, and why musicians shouldn’t have to become full time influencers just to survive.

Over to you, maniatrix!

Photo Credit: Laura Meek

Describe your sound in 3 words: Vocal, electronica, experimental.

For fans of: Laurie Anderson, Jenny Hval, Eartheater, Fever Ray, Dis Fig.

Tell us about yourself (short + sweet): I’m an electro experimental vocalist, producer, DJ and performer residing in Edinburgh. I released my first EP in 2020 and never looked back, performing regularly in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I also have an EHFM show called Bonked Up where I play ambient experimental music mixed with internet soundbites.

WHAT’S HAPPENING (promo without being boring!)

What are you working on right now? I’ve just finished mixing my album Body Exchange Rate, which is set to release later this year in September. I’ve also been experimenting with making maniatrix merch for the first time which is something I’ve really never done before.

What’s coming up next for you? (releases / gigs / plans) I’m playing quite a few gigs this summer in Edinburgh leading up to my album release, including several at Dissenter Space, supporting Acolyte for their EP Launch at Leith Cricket Club, Hidden Door Festival and Kelburn Festival.

A recent highlight moment: Djing and singing for the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. I was able to perform my dream ambient classical DJ set while singing over the top. The performance just flowed amazingly and people responded to it very positively.

The Taste Test

What are you listening to on repeat just now? I’m in the depths of mixing my album right now, and I’ve been listening to a lot of Kate Bush as a result, specifically The Dreaming album. It’s just a masterclass in unconventional production and songwriting.

A song you wish you’d written: My inspo playlist has over 400 songs that I wish I’d written, so that’s a little tough to answer. Something simple, quiet and impactful like Villager by The Horn.

First song that made you want to make music: I distinctly remember my singing teacher doing a class on Bjork when I was around 18. Hyperballad was one of the songs he showed us, and I fell in love immediately. Her vulnerability as a lyricist, her voice, the overall theatrical energy. The other kids in the class thought Bjork was weird and the music was kind of ugly. I was just amazed you were allowed to make “ugly” music in the first place!

Photo Credit: Stuart Tweedie Media

Quick Fire!

Tea or coffee? Lots of coffee until 2pm and then switch to lots of tea.

Night out or cosy night in? I respect a nice balance of both but if we’re staying in I would like to watch a movie at leas

Go-to snack in the studio? Tea and chocolate on tap.

Dream collaborator (alive or dead): I would like to do a Lady Gaga and go study with Marina Abramovic at her house in upstate New York for a week. Separate grains of rice and walk around blindfolded in the nude and such.

Biggest ick in the music industry: How much importance is put on follower and listener counts. Maybe if my numbers were better I wouldn’t be so salty about it.

Photo Credit: Keir Davidson

What’s your delusional long-term goal? Becoming the 4th woman to win an Oscar for best original score. I win unexpectedly, don’t have a speech prepared but somehow manage to craft the most perfect eloquent speech on the spot. Lynne Ramsay comes up to me afterwards and says she loves my vibe, we hit it off and become long time collaborators.

Tell us something we don’t know about you – the more weird the better! I used to run a Facebook fan page for the movie Kung Pow: Enter the Fist.

One thing you’d like to see change in the music industry: I’d like it if the industry stopped forcing musicians into becoming influencers, and that we didn’t have to post daily and flood the algorithm just for a smidge of recognition in return. (Are you getting the message that I hate social media?).

Have you ever cried over a song (yours or someone else’s)?I often sit on the side of my bed, listen to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac and cry about the passage of time.