True Blue is the solo alias of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Maya Laner. After honing her skills in New York’s vibrant indie scene, Laner gained recognition as True Blue with the singles “Bad Behavior” and “Tell Me Texas,” before following up in 2018 with her debut EP Edge Of. Although they introduce a new sound, her most recent tracks showcase True Blue’s ability to confidently twist pop conventions into fresh new worlds, a mission she also pursues within Caroline Polachek‘s band.

Her ethereal and uplifting new collaboration with producer Yunus Rosenzweig, aka The Bird, also confirms this direction. “Truest of Blues” delves into the complexities of relationships and the enduring quest for redemption. The single is released on the Copenhagen-based label Myra, co-owned by The Bird.

“Locks For You” is taken from Raven Artson‘s new EP, Peak In Me, out today via Rosed Out Records.

Los Angeles-via-Amsterdam polymath Raven Artson has just dropped his new EP, Peak in Me, which smashes genre frontiers and features a wide array of collaborators, from Lyzza and BEA1991, to Negashi Armada and Hype Williams. “Now that the shackles of my first release are off, I enjoy creating as freely and as much as possible,” stated Artson. “The ambition is to make personal anthems that soundtrack my own and my friend’s lives.” Multi-talented musician Maya Laner aka True Blue is also featured on the dreamy and orchestral closing track, “Locks For You”, a highlight off the 10-track project. Listen and stream the whole EP below.

You might know her better as the bassist and co-vocalist of experimental synth-pop outfit Porches, but New York City-based artist Maya Laner has been writing, producing, and performing music via her solo project True Blue for a couple years now. Today marks the release of her delightfully curious “No Water,” the first True Blue single since 2018’s Edge Of EP, which featured dreamy, enchanting tracks “Bad Behavior” and “Tell Me Texas.” Last year’s project found Laner tailoring Porches-esque soundscapes to her playful voice and unique worldview, and while “No Water” paints with a similar palette, it also explores some new territory and hints at what might lie ahead.

Opening with mandolin-like guitar plucks, the arrangement is soon filled out with cheap keyboards, a MIDI bass line, an odd beat to fit the song’s 3/4 time signature, and Laner‘s expressive vocals that at once suggest the conversational mundanity of Greta Kline (aka Frankie Cosmos) and the grandiose affect of Joanna Newsom. As the lovely melody keeps you wondering where it will go next, it runs counterpoint to the equally lovely bass line of the verses and double guitar line of the chorus. In the second chorus (and again in the final twenty seconds), Laner layers her voice to create angelic, childlike harmonies — a perfectly fitting addition to a song that’s just begging for a children’s choir in the background.

Lyrically, “No Water” — which explores the complex relationship between forgiving and forgetting — is simple but cryptic: “I wrote Lucy a letter of advice / See no evil / Hear no evil / Drink no water.” And by the end: “You know what you did / You know what you said / I keep it dry / I choose to forget.” As Laner explains of the song:

[su_quote]It is a devotional script, a spell for healing. It is what will set me free and keep me frozen in time forever.[/su_quote]

In other words, it’s a struggle, but — grudges be damned — forgiveness overrules memory. It’s a subtly subversive point-of-view and it just might be the only way for some of us to successfully navigate living in this crazy world.

For her first release of 2018, True Blue, aka Maya Laner, offers us a bewiwitching and dreamy single named “Tell Me Texas”. We don’t know much about the artist but actually, you just need to close your eyes and to let her voice guide you through her synth-pop and captivating soundscapes.

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