True Blue, a New York City-based artist, uses her skills as a multi-instrumentalist, producer, and songwriter to create songs that gesture at pop while retaining a subversive complexity. As much a visual project as a music project, True Blue conjures a world in each performance through movement, incantation, and fantasy. She recently released a new single “[No Water](https://soundcloud.com/truebluewho/no-water)” which True Blue explores forgiveness as a cost and a paradox, _is to forgive to forget?_ The song is set upon layers of flickering guitar notes and galloping elastic beats - binding a momentum that is inherently antagonistic, uncanny and taunting.
We sat down with True Blue (aka Maya Laner) for a few questions. You can also catch her live as she opens for Caroline Polachek's NYC album release show on 27th October at The Bowery Ballroom, tickets [here](https://www.eventbrite.com/e/caroline-polachek-tickets-68019842179?aff=efbeventtix).
**Where did the name True Blue come from? Has the meaning of the name evolved over time?**
It came out of thin air and was whispered into my ear when I was 17. It means less and less to me as time goes on. Something about the way the words rhyme and mirror each other makes them disassociate into an empty vessel. I also like that they imply a sort of distilled essence.
**What inspired you to transition into creating music on your own?**
I have been creating music on my own my entire life! I guess I have just transitioned into believing in myself and my creations fully and pursuing my project full time.
**You describe your single as a “spell for healing.” How do you gain a sense of healing from it and how do you hope your audience receives it?**
Making songs has always been a way for me to externalize things that I experience and feel. As an embodiment of that feeling, the song possess intention and power like a spell. When the song is released into the world it is “cast” and I am set free from the feeling but also simultaneously haunted by it forever. This makes me laugh! I hope that it makes anyone who hears it bop and feel something uncanny. Scratch some kind of itch…
**I have learned that you enjoy writing alone. How has spending time alone affected your self-growth? Has it helped you discover more about yourself?**
I actually really dislike writing alone at this point. It has historically been my most successful process, but it is really isolating and difficult for me to make music in solitude. I have to sink so deep into myself that it sometimes feels compromising to my physical and mental health. Deep trance! I think I’m just sick of it right now. That process also feels in opposition with some of my favorite parts about music which are connectivity and community. I try and remember that those things can be accessed at different points in the music making process. There is definitely something to be said for inspired, idiosyncratic music that comes out of the depths of someone working alone. Engaging in that process has made it crystal clear that I will always be my own worst enemy and harshest critic. Practice makes perfect for telling your inner saboteur to go fuck themself!
**How do you know when you’ve created a song that you want to put out for the public to enjoy?**
The question is usually more so how do I know when a song is elevated as much as I want it to be before it will live on forever in the public eye. After creating a song, it’s usually a long process of figuring out what it needs to bring the vision into as much definition as possible. Like polishing metal or framing a painting. Most of the time that necessitates collaboration with other people. I am learning more and more about that process every time I try to “finish” something to release. I usually feel something is finished when I have brought it as far as it can go, to the point that I then have to walk it back closer to its original state. I always try to push it somehow.
**What is the most challenging and rewarding part of creating your music?**
The most challenging part will always be facing myself and overcoming my insecurities and self doubt. The most rewarding aspects that come to mind are growth, progress, and connection.
**You are a multi-instrumentalist so how do you decide what instrument goes best with each song?**
I choose different instrument voices fit for whatever mood I’m trying to conjure in the song. I try not to think about it too much and do a lot of playing with software instruments. Usually the song tells me what it needs. It is mostly just convenient that I have a basic enough knowledge of how to play different instruments so that I can sketch out ideas without having to outsource labor. Plus it is really fun for me to live in different parts of a song’s arrangement.
**What influences your style when it comes to your music, as well as your fashion sense?
**Honestly just energy and instinct! You can really feel if the energy off of something is generative or not. I am always searching, vibing, loving! I try to go with my gut and stay pure by remaining as close to joy and pleasure as possible. Keep your line to the muses open, don’t just call when you need something!
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Courtesy [True Blue](https://instagram.com/truebluewho)
Photos by [David Brandon Geeting](https://instagram.com/davidbrandongeeting)
Full Looks by [Franscis Balken](https://instagram.com/franscis_balken)
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