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Photo courtesy of Justin Friesen |
For her first two albums, Maddison Keiver was under the impression that music had to be made in a studio. A producer held some of the control, helping to push her in a direction that they thought the album needed to go. It wasn’t necessarily something she was comfortable with, but it was all she knew. As her third album began to take shape, she realized it was time to leave her comfort zone.
The Pages grew her confidence to a level she didn’t know she could obtain. She took up journaling as she travelled, collecting songs like postcards. Nearly a year ago, a writing retreat let those songs fall into place to begin the formation of an album. When she showed them to her partner, Julian Bueckert, he immediately recognized two things: “The Pages” was the best of the bunch, and he was fully committed to producing the album.
She wasn’t entirely sold on “The Pages” being a contender, and had her doubts that she would be able to turn it into a collection of stories. Once she realized that “The Pages” was absolutely the beginning of the story, the pages of her life took form. She found the first song and the name of the album.
“I realized good music can be made in a living room,” she said. “I let go of that feeling of if I’m not working with a big name or a big producer that I won’t make as good of an album. I was able to have all the creative control, and the time and energy and love to put into this production.”
The track listing became an important aspect of telling her story, especially since she was breaking the releases up into chapters. The first six songs are more “easy-listening”, while the latter six explore deeper meanings. “Big Star” is one of those songs, being the track that she believes best demonstrates her current sound.
“It still sounds like where I came from but it also has other influences from my travels,” she said. “It’s probably one of the best songs I’ve written, and I think that one just captures all my essence.”
The final track, “To Heal”, perfectly wraps up the story. Written a few years back about resilience and looking back on her younger years, the song intentionally brings The Pages to a close.
With this newfound confidence comes self-doubt. There are days where she is happily juggling different roles, and days where she is easily disheartened by negative comments or the opinions of others. Finishing the album was such an accomplishment, yet not everyone sees it that way. While she may not seek approval from certain people, it can be “discouraging when you don’t get that same recognition from people and either they don’t know that you released it or they just don’t think it’s that big of a deal, and it’s so much a big deal.”
She released the first half of the album in the summer of 2025, titling it The Pages (Chapter One). The goal was not only to let the first six songs have their time to shine, but to also push an interest in physical media.
“If they wanted to hear the album, they had to buy it on physical copy if they wanted to hear the second chapter,” she said. “It brings people deeper into my niche while also taking charge of my own artistry and my own fan base.”
A physical copy of The Pages comes in vinyl, CD or cassette, with added extras only available with an album purchase. It is an easy way to connect with her fans and show them just how much of her hard work went into this album.
Maddison Keiver has seen how much her music has evolved as her confidence has grown, and her latest release as Maddisun shows her audience just how important music is to her. The Pages is only the first chapter.