Marked by a lyrical and richly layered approach, Maia Friedman has earned recognition both on her own and through her role in the indie rock group Dirty Projectors. After contributing to the band’s 2018 and 2020 releases, she put out Coco that year as the first full-length from her newly formed trio, then followed it with the unhurried solo single “Where the Rocks Are.”
Born in Southern California, Friedman was raised in a household shaped by her father’s work as a film editor and her mother’s practice as a Jungian psychoanalyst. She took up instruments early and, while still in college, had already developed into a skilled multi-instrumentalist and songwriter. After time spent in the collective Bobby, she stepped into wider view upon joining Dirty Projectors, appearing first on the 2018 album Lamp Lit Prose and later singing and co-writing material for the band’s 2020 set 5 EPs.
Outside that project, Friedman launched the trio Coco alongside guitarist Oliver Hill of Dustrider and Pavo Pavo and drummer Dan Molad of Lucius and Chimney. The group issued its self-titled debut album in 2021, after which Friedman delivered her initial solo outing, “Where the Rocks Are.”
