Mariee Siou
photo by Justin Nunnink

Watch Mariee Siou's video for 'Circle of Signs' title track

Folk singer Mariee Siou is gearing up to self-release her new EP Circle of Signs on April 28, and we’re now premiering the title track and its video. It’s a delicate, atmospheric folk song with layers of saxophone by Patrick McGee, and it was inspired by the 2017 wildfires that hit Sonoma right before Mariee left.

“I had just left Sonoma hours before the fires broke out,” she says. “I had been playing a concert there and spooky 70 mph wind gusts were causing the power to go on and off at the outdoor venue. Seeing footage the next day of where we had been the night before was truly haunting, and was when I began parts of the lyrics.”

“More of the words came together the next year when, just an hour from where I was living, the nightmarish fire of Paradise broke out and burned, killing 85 people and destroying over 13k homes,” she continues. “The disaster filled the air with a smoke so thick it was almost purple, and no one could go outside for days.”

She adds, “This song is a prayer that begs us to heed these warnings from the earth body and reflect on indigenous prophecies from different nations around the world, which speak of the time of The Great Shift. A time when we will be given two paths to walk as human beings, where we must choose whether we continue on the path of acceleration, disconnection and technology, or take the other path back into the right relationship with the earth once again. The lyrics ask if we will ever humble ourselves and learn from our mistakes as a species, whose human superiority complex is causing change and destruction to our planetary home at a pace that is beyond comprehension.”

The video was directed by Samantha Shay, who adds, “‘Circle of Signs’ is a piece about the wildfires rampaging through California, but so much more. It is about climate grief, the hopeless situation capitalism and colonialism has left the planet and youth to take on. I decided to collaborate with a teenager on the entire creative trajectory. It was a tremendous learning experience. Seraphia Behr is 15 and stars in the film, is a first time actor, and we created the ideas and images together. In this piece, I somehow felt how the suppression of natural burning forests equated to the suppression of the voices of the youth.”

Samantha continues, “Somehow, Seraphia is California embodied, struggling with and ultimately reclaiming her wildness, her beauty, her insecurities, her vision for her future, and the lineage of women she comes from. I learned a lot. It was an honor to make this piece for Mariee, and I also got to bring together many amazing female artists whose work is featured in this piece.”

Check out the new song and video below and pre-order the EP here.

Mariee Siou — 2023 Tour Dates
May 12 – Boulder Creek, CA – Lille Aaeske*
May 13 – Carpinteria, CA – Sweet Mountaintop Farm^
May 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Ghengis Khan
May 19 – Berkeley, CA – Ashkenaz^
May 21 – Nevada City, CA – Miner’s Foundry^
May 24 – Olympia, WA – New Traditions Fair Trade^
May 25 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern^
May 26 – Portland, OR – The Old Church^

*Solo set
^ w/ Kacey Johansing

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