Marie Ann Hedonia traverses the liminal zones of synth culture with spectral elegance, her path lit by cool flares of techno, synth-pop, dark ambient textures, and jazz-inflected obscurities. Hedonia’s music reflects Baltimore’s nocturnal pulse, each composition an investigation into modulated moods and harmonic alchemy.
Her journey began with an inventive childhood urge to manipulate a digital upright piano, leading through explorations with a MOOG Sub 37 and Prophet 08 before finding her true voice in the realm of modular synthesis. Hedonia’s embrace of Eurorack was transformative: Intellijel’s Plonk module served as a key catalyst, opening gates to realms of industrial oddity and streamlined intensity.
With “Eve Had The Metallic Shine Of Summer,” her recent collaboration with Black Kite, Hedonia ventures into emotionally charged terrains. Spoken word poetry floats dreamily, suspended above cinematic ambiance recalling echoes of Moby’s seminal Play, the evocative power of PJ Harvey, and the atmospheric poetics of Anne Clark.
“This song is about the potency and allure of destructive, codependent relationships and how they require us to self-abandon,” says Black Kite. “It speaks to both addiction and toxic relationships that masquerade as love or comfort, but are actually antithetical to both. The ending is completely dependent on the viewer’s point of view – do I go mad? Am I the bad guy? Am I free now?”
The video, influenced by Ingmar Bergman’s Persona, features Eve, a hollow-eyed succubus symbolizing emotional parasitism, a harrowing metaphor for relationships defined by imbalance and psychic drain. Director Alex Shaak captures this interplay between obsession and freedom through a guerrilla-style shoot amid Baltimore’s landscapes, enhanced serendipitously by an atmospheric thunderstorm that amplifies the visual drama. Hedonia’s artistry crystallizes at this intersection of electronic innovation and human vulnerability, an expressive negotiation between introspection and liberation.
Watch the video for “Eve Had The Metallic Shine Of Summer” below:
In 2021, Hedonia not only released her debut album, The Inevitable Collapse, but collaborated with electronic audiovisual artist and composer (and Luminous Abstract co-founder) Grant Bouvier on the ambient synthwave album, Kenopsia. 2022’s Marie Ann Hedonia Presents Marie Ann Hedonia represented a leap forward in songwriting and production quality; she followed it up with 2023’s Temporal Dysmorphia.
2024′ EP, Quiet Time, featured a Buchla 200e system, as well as a Moog Model 10, the Polyend Tracker, and loops made with vinyl records. Hedonia will release her latest offering, Eclipse, later in 2025 via Paul & Marie’s Country Kitchen. Her most fleshed-out and rangey work to date, the album features collaborations with vocalists Delia Liederschuh, Casey Desmond, and Black Kite’s Vicki Lynn Tippit.
Marie Ann Hedonia positions herself distinctly at the tempestuous fringes of synth music, sculpting a new dimension that echoes with the resonance of uneasy reflection and piercing truth.
Listen to Eve Had The Metallic Shine Of Summer below and order the single here.
Follow Marie Ann Hedonia:
Or via: