Masha and the Fam are raising the flag, setting the signal, and putting you on “Notice” with the release of their new single.
The indie alt sextuplet is breaking the barriers of conventionality with their full-bodied opus, complete with horns, raging guitars, and pounding piano. “There’s a lot of anger and frustration in this song, but there’s also a touch of hope,” Masha and The Fam’s Masha Alexis shares. “To me, this is the trumpet, it gives us that bit of hope through the loss and despair and helps us know that change is possible.
“In 2018, the last male white rhino died in the wild. I was devastated,” she continues. “I was reading the story and I saw a meme that I will never forget. The tracker was kneeling next to the dead rhino looking heartbroken and the caption was ‘We survived thousands of years and can’t survive mankind.’I knew I had to tell this story, but I honestly didn’t know how.”
The lead single from the band’s release, After Dark, the band’s rich and extraordinary “Notice” is hailed by Alexis as a “collaborative” piece brought to life by the Fam. While “White Rhino” was the initial working title for “Notice,” the song would go on to incorporate a global scale of cataclysmic events happening in real-time across the United States. “This isn’t about any one particular issue, but ‘when will you notice’,” says Alexis, adding: “When will you stop looking for someone else to fix ‘it’ and get out there and take action.
Masha Alexis (lead vocals, keys), Paul Watts (guitar), Servio Maldonado (bass), Kyle Dombroski (drums), Max Maynard (trumpet), and William James Carter III (saxophone) comprise Masha and the Fam; a collective of extraordinary musicians who sidestep genre boundaries to produce enticing and exciting soundscapes.
Having formed not long before the pandemic of 2020, the Fam was woven together by Alexis; a musician having grown up a performer. It was her extensive training in choral music at the Peabody Conservatory, Russian liturgical music vocals, and operatic vocals during her college years mashed with her time as a professional dancer that brought Alexis to LA, where she rediscovered her musical roots. In what she calls a “life-changing moment”, Alexis was afforded the chance to work with producer extraordinaire, Anthony Marinelli. Her debut EP, Conkling Street (an homage to her hometown of Baltimore), was born after years of providing backup vocals for artists and at the encouragement of her renowned vocal coach, Rachael Lawrence.
Soon after, Alexis would enlist like-minded and talented musicians to create Masha and the Fam as we know them today. The break of live music during the pandemic ushered a new sonic soundscape for the band to harness and explore. Churning out a dazzling new era in song from their LA jam space, the music is a rousing, alt-rock orchestral offering — inviting the listener to join them.
‘The Fam’ earned its moniker from Carter after Alexis dubbed their rehearsals: “family meetings.” “These people and their energy created something so great, we decided to stay together,” Alexis says.
The orchestral, cinematic, larger-than-life “Notice” trumpeteers an exciting introduction of Masha and the Fam to the indie music community. They’ve put us all on notice that they’re here. To stay.
