HONOLULU, Hawaii, — Hawaiian singer-songwriter Masque is unmasking his emotions and putting the struggle for mental health on display in his latest album, “Masqued Emotions.”

Masque said his latest album runs the gamut of emotions in nine tracks.

It ranges from serious songs talking about serious issues to more whimsical songs to lighten the mood.

“Every artist chooses their order carefully in an album., Masque said. “In this case, we're going through specific chord progression for those four songs as I go through my various political opinions, ending with 'No More You,' which I think is my favorite experimental rock song of the album. Then we have 'Sunhat' as sort of the middle intermission of the album. Then in the back four of the standard album, I focused on my personal feelings and emotions. For the deluxe version, I added to remixes plus a couple more songs.”

The track “Sunhat” sort of explains itself and its place in the album as a transition with the lines

“Not every day can be a downer, sometimes you’ve got to smell the flowers. Yeah there’s a lot of crap going on, but your mind will crash if you don’t have fun.”

Masque, who describes himself as “a gay singer songwriter from Hawaii,” said he found his love for music at an early age when he became obsessed with the music of Queen.

“Over the years, I grew to love pop music (and other genres) as well, especially Lady Gaga,” Masque said. “As a child, I was trained in classical piano performance and writing, and began singing in musicals when I was a high schooler. While I initially tried to find a place for myself as a corporate drone, I found a bubbling desire to break out into the music industry and focus on my art. When Covid hit in 2020, I finally took the leap into becoming a full-time singer.”

Masque said he is finding new validation in his life in music.

“My music currently centers around mental health struggles and my experiences as a gay man,” he said. “And my creative process continues to evolve.”

Masque said he started writing songs as a form of therapy.

It a means of expressing things that I had been unable to express before,” he said. “I have songs like 'Shame' and 'Afraid,' on this album. I had been holding those equivalent emotions inside me. And as I began writing songs I began expanding on that idea, all the emotions and what was hurting me, what I strove for, those sorts of things. And I slowly began forming an album based off of that.”

Masque said the underlying message for the album is one of hope.

“The message is that there will be dark days in life,” Masque said. “There are struggles in life. But at the end of the day, there can be good, so it is important to keep your hope that things will be good in the end.”

Please follow Masque and his new album’Masques Emotions’ on all social media and streaming platforms:

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