DELILAH

Blonde Maze touches on everything from love to heartbreak while offering up a helping of nostalgia and sultry tones on the side that takes it to even greater heights. You’ll dance, you’ll vibe, and you might even have a good cry when these tunes grace your speakers. Give it a listen TO this fall when you’re reconnecting with friends by a roaring fire and sipping on some hot cocoa, it’ll set the vibe.

How did you come up with your artist name Blonde Maze?

I think I wanted something with the word ‘blonde’ in it, to reference my hair, and the word ‘maze’ just felt like the perfect description of navigating my thoughts/emotions sometimes (and my hair can be like a maze too).  

Who are three of your musical influences?

I have so many, even if the smallest detail of their production influences me. If I had to pick three at this moment: Ben Böhmer, Tourist, Flume.

What motivated and pushed you to pursue a career in the indie-electronic realm?

When I was finishing college, I started listening to many artists in the indie-electronic realm. I ended up working/interning at a couple of record labels (Enhanced was one of them) and assisted an indie electronic band’s manager in London. Before this, I had primarily written more singer-songwriter stuff, but during my exposure to this type of music, I also was learning how to produce. So I started experimenting with producing more electronic stuff, and honestly, it became an obsession. I’ve never been more inspired to put my full heart into something than I am with my music.

What other genres would you consider exploring one day down the road and why? 

I guess I sometimes play around with more deep/melodic house production and would consider leaning more into it for some projects down the road. But it’s hard to say because I already take inspiration here and there from that subgenre of electronic music. I like to take certain sounds that might be found in one subgenre and combine them with another tempo or sound from another.

What did it feel like to release your debut album 'Something Familiar', and what did you do to celebrate?

It was incredibly cathartic to release it after spending so much time on it and putting so much emotion into it. I felt and still feel grateful that I get to share a whole piece of my life with people and that they’re touched by it because of how it reminds them of their own lives. About a week after the release, I had a few friends over to celebrate - they are the absolute best.

Did you always think you’d release an album after releasing singles from Something Familiar throughout the years? What made you turn this body of work into an album?

The idea of an album was always in the back of my mind. After Not All Flowers Bloom and To The Moon were released, Enhanced and I discussed working together on a larger project and telling a bigger story. Not All Flowers Bloom and To The Moon were really part of a larger story I wanted to tell, and every single released after that was released to build that. I had gone through a lot of change over the previous few years, and it was the perfect opportunity to create a body of work detailing the emotions that came with it.

What was your inspiration behind Something Familiar? To me, it isn’t the typical dance music album because it feels very personal, and there’s no question your music means something to you.

It was inspired by the change I underwent over the past few years and my constant search for familiarity. I’m not great at adjusting to change, and I noticed myself seeking something familiar or comforting. I’d find comfort in sounds, smells, locations, etc., that reminded me of the stability of my past. But I also acknowledge that change can be a great thing and help you grow, even when it hurts. So the album became about balancing the comfort of the past with the promise of the future.

What rituals do you have to get you into the right mindset for creating? 

I have nothing too specific, but I am pretty big on lighting. I have a ton of fairy lights and string lights throughout my studio, and it just kind of sets the mood. I also like to keep the studio neat because clutter can get distracting. Sometimes I’ll listen to a WIP a couple of times before working on it so that I can feel it and get into the right mindset to continue working on it.

What was it like working with Attom on the song “I Think About”?

It was great - I always enjoy working with him. It was a pretty similar experience to working on our previous song together. It started with an old demo of mine, and when I sent it to him, he reshaped it a bit. We sent stems and ideas back and forth and gradually built the track into what it is now.

Do you write, produce, mix, master, and sing the majority of your music, or do you have an amazing team of people you work with you well? Who are they, and what are their roles?

I write, produce, mix, and put vocals on my music. I do get my music mastered by someone else - his name is Andy, and he produces music as part of a duo called Trilucid. He’s super talented and has a great ear.

What is your creative process like when making music?

I typically start with some pad or piano and experiment with chord progressions. Once I find something I’m feeling, I’ll record those and start building around them. Typically I’ll add some sort of beat or atmosphere, play around with vocal glitches/samples, and try out some lead ideas. I have a few go-to VSTs that I like to use for the initial chords/melodies and then branch out from there once I’ve found the progression I like. I usually end up recording vocals last if the track is a vocal track. And throughout the production process, I’ll mix as I go, but after I’m pretty done with the arrangement, I’ll focus a lot more on any cleanup I’ve missed.

How would you describe your creative state?

I typically need to be inspired by some sort of emotion (or someone else’s art - whether it be visual or audio) to start a song from scratch. My creative state when I begin a song often depends on inspiration. However, once I’ve started a song, that inspiration doesn’t need to be as prominent because I’ll already have the base for the song and will be able to build off of that, and then I can do more of the technical engineering.

Do you need there to be concrete ideas of what you want the finished work to sound and look like, or is the idea more loosely based as you follow the vibe?

For me, it’s typically more loosely based as I follow the vibe. I’ll often have an idea of the emotion I want to encapsulate initially, but sometimes that even changes throughout the creation process.

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Do lyrics need to grow with the music or do they emerge from their own place? 

It depends, but typically I’ll start thinking of lyrics/vocal melodies once I’ve got the chord progression and a beat down. I kind of loosely play around with some ideas while the song is being built, but I typically end up laying the vocals down as one of the last steps.

How long does it typically take you to write a track from start to finish?

It can range from, say, two weeks to two years even. It depends on how much time I give the track initially and then how much of a priority it is to finish it. Sometimes I’ll finish tracks naturally, and sometimes I’ll set myself a deadline when I feel like I could work on something forever.

What elements or personal memories inspired your lyrics?

Many of the little things you experience when you’re in love or dealing with heartbreak inspired my lyrics. For example, in Not All Flowers Bloom, I talk about smelling someone’s perfume, and it’s the little details like that which remind me of something or someone familiar. When you’re in love or you’re missing someone, something small like their scent/perfume can trigger a flood of emotions or memories.

In the middle of the album, your track “A Break in Continuity” doesn’t have any lyrics but a beautiful, ambient instrumental sound in its place. I really loved this idea and wanted to know if it was part of the concept for the album as a whole from the start, or did you feel that it needed to be put in place after the fact? If so, why? 

It was a part of the concept from the start. I knew I wanted some sort of ‘interlude’ type instrumental to break up the album, just as a sort of breather or a reminder to take a break. Throughout the years of change, pushing forward, and seeking something familiar, it’s often something I would forget to do. I think a lot of us forget it’s ok to take a break sometimes. I’m glad it resonated with you.

What marks the end of the album process for you, and how do you know when it’s truly finished?

At some point, I had about a third of the album left to finish, and each remaining track was about 70% done. The storyline and production style were all there; it was just about finishing up some tracks’ endings and tying up loose ends. Sometimes I can spend forever on a song if I don’t set a deadline for myself, so at some point, I laid out an outline for finishing the production and mixing.

What surprised you the most about what you learned about yourself while creating the album?

I think the album, in general, helped me process what I was feeling about all the changes in my life. I didn’t realize how much these changes affected me until I noticed that every song I was writing was about them differently. Once I realized this, it helped me accept the transitions that come with change.

What’s next for Blonde Maze?

Aside from always working on the next track or project, I hope to start playing shows again in 2022. I used to pre-covid, but I am currently rebuilding my set around the album.