INTERVIEW: Blu DeTiger on debut EP 'How Did We Get Here?': "You have to make sure that you steer the ship and that you're able to dictate what you want to do."
Interview: Jett Tattersall
Image: Tsarina Merrin
New York singer, songwriter, producer and bass player Blu DeTiger released her debut EP How Did We Get Here? on March 5. A remarkably assured collection of music for such a young artist, its soundscape merges funk, disco, pop and slices of R&B in a sultry, completely hypnotic listening experience.
Something of a musical prodigy, DeTiger started playing the bass at just seven and by 17 she was DJ-ing at nightclubs across New York. In 2019 she released her debut single ‘In My Head’ and has since gone on to achieve both critical and commercial success, with over 35 million global streams to date and 1 million TikTok followers after videos of her playing bass went viral at the height of the coronavirus lockdowns.
As comfortable on the dancefloor as she is shredding the bass, DeTiger is a singular talent with killer melodies and razor sharp lyrics that speak for a generation. We recently caught up with Blu to find out more.
Blu, lovely to talk to you. How are things with you in this finer 2021 world?
It's good, you know? Everything's good. Things are looking up. Stuff's going to open pretty soon, I think. People are getting vaccinated just in terms of COVID because I'm a New Yorker now. But in terms of music and stuff I'm feeling really good. I'm really excited the EP came out. It's been getting some good responses, so I feel good.
Congratulations on How Did We Get Here? your debut, which is a killer seven track EP. How does it feel to have that completed and a physical thing out into the earbuds and speakers of the world?
It feels amazing. It is pretty crazy. It's been a long time coming. I put out a bunch of singles, but this whole project, definitely means a different thing. Just having a full cohesive package of songs really solidifies my artistry I guess. It feels awesome, it feels really good.
How did you approach this EP because I'm sure you’ve got so many songs, but did you see it as a complete body of work or did you just want to go this is me...this is all the many facets of me?
Yeah totally. It was interesting because a few of the songs were written before quarantine and then a few of the songs were during it. But I finished all of them during this past year. I think when I was going through and deciding my favourite tracks, it just came down to which songs do I like the best. It happened to be the songs that I liked the best all had this sort of common theme of sound and topic vibe, I guess, and aesthetic of the tracks. So it worked out perfectly. I just kept writing a bunch and then it turned out that everything sort of fit and I just packaged it together. It's kind of long too, it’s seven songs, but if I left one of them off then it wouldn't have been the same.
It's not long. We're happy it's seven.
Yeah, every song is short. So, it makes sense.
Speaking of those songs, I want to start with ‘Cotton Candy Lemonade’ because it’s just beautiful and experimental and there's that hook. Your voice purrs like the video's motorcycle engine. I just love it and I love the many realms of that song. Can you just talk me through the inspiration both sonically and lyrically on the creation of this one?
With that song it's a direct response to how I was feeling during the lockdown period. Very much like I’m daydreaming, you know, a lot of nostalgia for before times and maybe you know thinking about where I wanted to go and stuff like that. That’s lyrically where it came from. Sonically it matched the chorus hook, ‘I want to get lost with you’. With the production of the track I wanted to feel like the listeners were getting lost in the song itself. it's very dreamy. It has all of those sorts of elements. I think it accomplished that.
Beautiful, and I like the fact that you've got this almost rose tinted look on this after the apocalypse about it.
Yeah, it's supposed to be hopeful.
Things are shit but they will get better in amongst the rubble.
It's chill you know. it's going to get better, it's fun. in the meantime you can just kind of trick your mind or think about where you want to go but acknowledging how you feel but also, you know, looking into the future.
And your latest single ‘Vintage’ which is just so much fun and energy. There's ‘70s style references, ‘80s hooks and early 2000s karaoke references. There's a whole wine cellar of vintage going on there. What is it about those eras that you adore, that you gravitate to so much?
Yeah, part of that song came from me just such a vintage girl. I listen to old music, so does everyone in some capacity, but i think more so when I was growing up. When i was in middle school I was always listening to older stuff and when I was in high school i was listening to disco and my friends were like ‘what?’ We didn't have the same musical taste and background, because I was getting into bass and stuff. I always thought of myself as an old soul compared to my friends. That is part of where the song came from. I take a lot of influence from the past, genre wise, as well. All the funky stuff that are in this track are direct references to that era. We have the ‘80s synth sounds in that song as well. It’s recycling of the past and making it feel fresh at the same time. That's what i was aiming for with this song especially since it was called ‘Vintage’ I definitely wanted to reference some of those tropes in different genres of music but also just keep it really fresh and fun and in the 2020/2021 age as well.
Beautiful. Now you mentioned you got into bass when you were in high school and I know you started out as a DJ. Can you give me just a little bit of your trajectory into music from school and how you ended up where you are now?
Yeah, totally. I actually started bass when i was seven, I was super young. I just really loved it and was super passionate about it. I got into different artists and songs and was learning and was writing in bands and performing around New York in that capacity. Then i started DJ-ing. i got really into that as well. If I’m into something, I’ll just get super into it. That's what happened with DJ-ing too. Then i just combined the two, I was DJ-ing and whipping out my bass. Shredding over these pop songs and that transitioned into me wanting to just make my own music for myself. i was always writing with other people for other artists but not necessarily under my own name. i think the DJ-ing lane directly led into that because I would just be playing these sets and in my head be craving to play my own songs. It took a few years to solidify and experiment to see what I wanted to do and got into producing and now we're here!
One key track that stands out for me is ‘Figure It Out’ because you've got that boot stomping bass thumping mantra and then it's punctuated by your surprisingly electric soprano vocals, which is beautiful. Do you think that does come from your DJ-ing days where you're like ‘oh we can mix this track with this’, or is that just naturally what you gravitate towards?
I never really thought about it like that but it might just be from me having a knowledge of mixed genres and stuff. When I’m making stuff I just go almost by vibe and just what makes me feel good and what i think would be cool. Most of the time that's just mixing a bunch of stuff. It's all music so whatever feels good feels good, you know?
Your EP How Did We Get Here? is a seven track collection of anthems that put you in control of your narrative and challenges gender stereotypes within music and news culture. Where do you feel that those stereotypes lies?
Ohhh, interesting. First off, there aren't that many female instrumentalists. There are way more now, but when i was growing up it was kind of hard to find. So me being a bass player and putting the bassline at the forefront of most of my songs is maybe against what a traditional female pop star would do. First and foremost I think that is the biggest thing.
Musicians today obviously have much more of a voice because of social media and they're able to interact and talk with their fans and put their own songs out and everything which is wonderful. With that obviously comes a lot of social responsibility. How important is it within your own career trajectory as a performer, as a bassist, as a DJ, as a young woman, to support other women and shall we say educate people within the industry with the means that you have?
It's so important to me and I'm getting way more into it now just because I’ve seen such a need for it. So many people ask me questions and people reach out. Just seeing that there's such a desire from people to learn definitely motivates me to go out there and make tutorials or answer questions. We just did this bass giveaway with Fender which has been really cool, we've done two so far where people sign up and we give away a free bass which is really really cool. I’m definitely trying to get more into the educational side of it. I want people to learn for sure.
When you started clubbing and DJ-ing you were actually underage. Obviously there’s a lot of guts that comes with that, you've clearly got confidence oozing out of you. But did you ever find a time, particularly when it came to writing your own music and getting it out there, that you felt like you either had to quieten down or shout louder in order to be heard because you were both a woman and a young woman at that?
I think more so when I was growing up and playing and going to like rehearsals. I did a bunch of jazz programs when I was younger and jazz camp and bass camp. I did all that nerdy stuff and all of those things are primarily guys in there. So i think when i was doing those, when i walked into the room, I just immediately stood out because I was a girl and having that extra layer of it made me practice way harder so I could be the best I could be in the room and not just be ‘good for a girl’. That was really prevalent when I was coming up as a bass player. It really motivated me to really practice so that people couldn't just say I was ‘good for a girl’. In terms of my music too when I’m writing and stuff, I don't know if this is a musician thing but there's always times when you'll be in a room with someone else, like a male producer, and they'll try to input their ideas more so and be ‘this is what we're going to do’ and you have to just make sure that you steer the ship and that you're able to dictate what you want to do. That also motivated me to get into producing so that when I can be in the room I can eloquently say how I wanted something to sound and know the right terms so that I could show that I know what's up, you know?
Excellent. That should all be on bumper stickers. Absolutely true. And you're right about that notion, it’s like ‘oh, she's good for a girl’ and you're like ‘dude, really?’
Yeah, I really hate that. At one point it's cool that I can get recognised, you know, as a female, it's cool to be recognised in that zone of course. I am a girl. I think we're going eventually to a place where everyone's on an equal playing field and there's no identifiers there.
Like your vagina is a handicap to playing guitar.
Yeah, exactly. Why, because my hands are smaller? They're not. They're definitely not!
Now, Blu, lastly before I leave you, what is on the horizon for you?
I'm going back into writing more music which is really exciting. I feel like every time i release something I get that little boost of confidence or I see that people are enjoying it or sending me nice messages analysing the songs or saying their favourite parts. That always is a nice boost to keep going and it makes me get more inspired and excited when I go back to write more stuff. It's like a signifier - it's working, you know? I am excited to start writing more stuff and then tour eventually, which I cannot say the dates yet but I do have a tour planned. I don't want to say too early but I’m pretty sure it's going to happen.
How Did We Get Here? is out now. You can buy and stream here.
To keep up with all things Blu DeTiger you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Twitter.
