F L A U N T
CHANEL jacket, shirt, and leggings and CATHY WATERMAN rings.
Ingredients: one global pandemic, a dash of unprecedented times, and a viral Tiktok song. Next, let rise in the studio as hot summer days transition into light autumn air, as a cold dreary winter turns blissfully, beautifully balmy again. Bask in the results of the utterly unique, rock-n-roll star on the rise.
Blu DeTiger describes her sound as “funky-indie-pop-with-some-New-York-Edge.” The phrase rolls off her tongue as if in one word. As if engineered with the same intention as her meticulously produced debut EP, How Did We Get Here? Like walking down Broadway as dusk turns to dawn. Sun glistening along the horizon. Eyes fighting to stay open. Never wanting the night to end… Blu’s music draws on the intrinsically wistful “go-go-go” nature of NYC. “The city–the energy is unlike anything else. I love it,” she remarks, smiling wide.
Picking up the bass at the age of seven and never setting it down, at 23, Blu is an enigma ready to headline her first solo tour. Her secret to success? “I would just say yes to every opportunity. Even to my first DJ gig,”—a set Blu played at seventeen in which she had to convince the bouncer to admit her and her shitty fake ID—“I always brought my bass with me—shredding over my DJ set immediately set me apart.”
GIVENCHY dress, pants, boots, and rings.
Inspired by Talking Heads, LCD Soundsystem, Prince, and Bowie—Blu’s sound is a charismatic culmination, an ode to the past that ignites an indestructible fire of what’s to come. It’s rock-n-roll in its most chill, honest form. “I want people to just be empowered, inspired, and in touch with themselves,” she shares. “And dance, too.”
Aside from the distinctive musicality, Blu believes being “unique and weird” has helped elevate her career trajectory. After our conversation, it’s easy to see that her soul and spirit—a sweet symphony that mingles calming inertia to the serendipitous crash of ocean waves—is what will someday (soon) get her to where she hopes to go: “rock star status.”
Back to our opening recipe, Blu’s 2020 single “Figure it Out” went viral on TikTok—a platform she credits for allowing connection through a time of solitude. It’s an anthem that inspires, that ignites. When I ask Blu if she feels like she has it all figured out, her response is one we can all breathe in as deeply as we do her fun and funky tracks. “I mean, honestly, I don’t think anyone does,” she concludes. “But I think we’re all in the process. If you did have it all figured out—what’s the point?”
Photographer: Max Montgomery
Stylist: Luca Kingston
Groomer: Alyssa Fall
Written by: Cayla Rubin
