Name: Maria Vainumäe aka Manna
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: Estonian
Current event: Manna will perform at 2024's Reeperbahn Festival. For more information about the Estonia spotlight of the event and for buying tickets, go here.
Current release: Manna's 76tape is out via Lightcamel.

If you enjoyed this Manna interview and would like to know more, visit them on Instagram, bandcamp, and Facebook.



Do you think that some of your earliest musical experiences planted a seed for your interest in your voice and singing? How and when did you start singing?

I’m not sure if the first ones shaped my musical journey in the sense of my individuality. I started singing and writing my own songs at 11-years old. Since I can remember, music was a coping mechanism, a good one. An escape.

I showed interest in the piano at a very early age, since I grew up with one, and my mom and brothers also played. So music has been around me since I was a toddler.

If you're also playing other instruments, how does the expressive potential of these compare to your own voice?

I play piano and guitar, I feel like they back up my voice rather than imitate it. Or the other way around.

I remember from earlier days, when I was 16 and making music with friends, one of them told me “damn bro your voice is like … an instrument … like a saxophone dude.”

It was a huge compliment.

Singing is an integral part of all cultures, and traditions. Which of these do you draw from – and why?

Well Estonia is a singing nation, we literally sung ourselves free (kind of).

So it’s been a blessing to grow up in the middle of that, choirs, Estonian Song Festival, folk.

What were some of the main challenges in your development as a singer/vocalist? Which practices, exercises, or experiences were most helpful in reaching your goals – were there also “harmful” ones?

Courage. The first little concerts I did, I was shaking uncontrollably to the point where my singing was affected.

Also being told by vocal coaches that my voice is too airy and that it’s a bad thing. I do have a strong voice, but I feel most comfortable playing with attitude while singing softly. So being told off by coaches and having a lot of anxiety were two big ones.

Also the catastrophe of soundchecks, because my voice is so quiet. Feedback is my twin.

How do you see the relationship between harmony, rhythm and melody? Do you feel that honing your sense of rhythm and groove has an effect on your singing skills?

The first thing that tickles me is timbre. And dynamics. I like it when a vocalist can play with different voices, emotions, volume.

I’m very picky with what I like. I don’t seek complicated runs or “textbook” singing. There is also a certain “it” you have to have to deliver the song, that you can’t learn.

Soul is not only for soul music.

How would you describe the physical sensation of singing? [Where do you feel the voice, do you have a visual sensation/representation, is there a sense of release or tension etc …]

Mostly in the throat, haha. But while performing, it travels through the whole body.

Your movements help your voice, make it more powerful, or softer, whatever you need to do. You sing with everything you have. It’s a body and mind thing.

We have a speaking voice and a singing voice. Do these feel like they are natural extensions of each other, ends on a spectrum or different in kind?

I think it depends on the vocalist. Mine are different, I have a very soft and high voice while singing, but my talking voice is much deeper.

Your voice is your voice of course, but it definitely depends on the genre, the vocalists abilities and range. And energy.

From whispers to screams, from different colours to dynamics, what are the potentials and limits of your voice? How much of your vocal performance can and do you want to control?

I do both, whisper and scream, sometimes the two collide in the same sentence. Controlling your voice is a necessary and powerful thing. I always try to push myself in a healthy way, to find new ground in my abilities. You learn and discover forever, training and maintaining your voice leads to crazy surprises!

But improv vocals during a live gig are awesome - I’d say a lot of my performances are improv, it just comes out and then you’re like “wow, that’s crazy, I didn’t know I could do that.”

I have also had some impressive voice cracks, autotuned and reverbed, I just laugh it off, I like to keep it real. Voice cracks are funny as fuck, I don’t have to move on and act like it didn’t happen, I acknowledge my mistakes, and it also helps to keep the audience closer and makes the space more intimate.

When you're writing song lyrics, do you sense or see a connection between your voice and the text? Does it need to feel and sound “good” or “right” to sing certain words? What's your perspective in this regard of singing someone else's songs versus your own?

Because English isn’t my native language, and the majority of my songs are written in English, I do have to bend my vocals to perfect the pronounciations sometimes. It doesn’t happen a lot, but it also makes writing so much more fun, you could encounter crazy flows and melodies like that.

I like to be comfortable, but not in my comfort zone. Challenges are good too, I do record vocals that are very hard to do live, but it also helps make the live performances more interesting - coming up with a “live version” of a song.

When it comes to singing someone else's songs, I respect the original but it’s also important to add some of your own personality to it. I like to say there’s no right or wrong in music. No one can be the ultimate judge on what’s good and what’s not. If it sounds good to you, it’s good.

Strain is a particularly serious issue for many vocalists. How do you take care of your voice? Are the recipes or techniques to get a damaged voice back in shape?

There are definitely a lot of ways to keep your voice in shape, and 90% of the time, you can come back from hell and get your voice well again.

I always do voice exercises before rehearsals and gigs, just to keep my voice under control and warm. Because I mostly sing softly, strain is a big issue for me. My main problem is that my throat and jaw cramps up and it’s painful to sing. To help I massage my jaw and do certain exercises to help loosen up the vocal strings.

It’s important to keep your throat and jaw relaxed, strain is very painful and distracting.

How has technology, such as autotune or effect processing, impacted singing? Has it been a concrete influence on your own approach?

I love autotune. I like the smoothness of it and the electronic touch. I also love the sound of autotune jumping around, it can make soft vocals sound so ethereal, throw some reverb on it and it’s the easiest way to make vocals sound good.

I was always very impressed with autotune, and loved it since day 1. I used to let the “autotune is for people who can’t sing” get to me, but the more I practiced with it and used it - it’s an effect, a plugin. It’s made to make vocals sound a certain way, it’s purpose is not to hide bad singing. It’s a powerful tool to add a certain sound to songs.

I love the contrast between a slower, softer song and heavy autotune. You can hear it well in my song “THEY!!!!!!!” where I insisted on maxing it out. To me it’s a good blend. A sad robot.



For recording engineers, the human voice remains a tricky element to capture. What, from your perspective, makes voices sound great on record and in a live setting?

A good engineer goes a long way. You could have a very good vocal, and mistreating it while mixing can lose the magic and the “it” factor. And also the other way around - a good engineer can make a random vocal the most beautiful thing you’ve ever heard. Sometimes it’s not what you have, but what you can do with it.

Live gigs, same thing - a beautiful vocal can be completely botched, but with the right engineering, it can glow and float perfectly. And again - same thing other way around.

And always be straight forward with your wants and needs - if you know what makes your vocal sound good, say it. You are in control of your voice, no one can take that from you. Work in a studio should always be teamwork.

Motherese may have been the origin of music, and singing is possibly the earliest form of musical expression, and culture in general. How connected is the human voice to your own sense of wellbeing, your creativity, and society as a whole?

The human voice can be comforting, or the worst thing ever. Depends on the human and the time - very individual, but for me it can be very inspiring and can lead me in a whole new direction! You always have an idol when you make music, just remember to stay in your own lane, copycats are boring.

That’s the amazing thing - you can shape and bend and build your voice however you want. It’s yours and no one can take that from you!