"If you can't take the heat/ get out of the kitchen."
That saying (or cliche) is usually meant to signify a brash and macho sense of consequence. But when cooed by artist True Blue (Maya Laner) on her fittingly titled track "Knives Out," the saying has a more tragic feeling: a feeling of inevitability or growth. The next line speaks to the uneasy reality of the music business: "Cause there are way too many people in here cooking,” Laner sings.
"I was struggling at the time with whether or not I wanted to fully pursue a solo artist career and also feeling overwhelmed by the feeling of over saturation of new artists in the music space," Laner tells PAPER. Laner who has toured with the likes of Alex G, Porches and Caroline Polacheck has had a vibrant and busy life as an instrumentalist. But the realities of balancing both independent creative work and the grueling schedule of touring were a struggle to navigate.
"I have really had to hone the skills of how to manage my time, protect my energy, and allow myself time and space to rest and digest in a world that is constantly demanding output," she shares.
But with her recently released full length album, Star Witness, the Copenhagen-based artist is leaning into the joy (and discomfort) of being a solo artist. "Sometimes it’s hard for me to recognize the value in my own expression and I can be hard on myself about what I’m really contributing to the world by dedicating my life to sharing my art," she says. "[But] it feels really rewarding to be brave and to also surrender over this artifact that I’ve been coveting. I worked really hard on developing the music and visual world in tandem to developing my own interiority for many years."
Part of the world is the video to "Knives Out," which finds Laner and co. in a dreamy world of pearls, shells and general nautical ambiance.
"The concept of the video was inspired by making a love letter to treasure collecting. I have always been a treasure collector, sometimes literally keeping other people’s trash as spirit talismans," Laner tells PAPER. "My great grandmother on my father’s side was a Scottish 'fisher girl.' These fisher girls, also known as 'herring lassies,' were a nomadic workforce of women who traveled alongside herring fishing boats, processing the fish on shore. I had a fantasy of me and a team of fellow blondes working in a treasure sorting facility, where we process and harvest oceanic trinkets and treasures."
PAPER chatted Laner about her creative world in Copenhagen, leaning into her solo career and the collaborative process behind the music video for "Knives Out."
You're living in Copenhagen now—a city and scene that has really risen in prominence in recent years with the likes of Astrid Sonne, Erika De Casier and now you. What's in the water over there that is leading to this really special music?
I can only comment as an observer/appreciator since I am very new here, but what I notice most is that no one is in survival mode in the same way as artists in America. People are systemically safer and more taken care of, and there’s an insane amount of funding available for the arts. I think this beautiful privilege and evolved human experience makes people more naval-gazey in an interesting way because they can go much deeper and at their own pace. Artists can tap deep into their own well and dwell in their interiority, and then have access to a lot of state-funded resources to share and sustain their practice. It’s also a very small city and scene so everyone knows each other and there’s a real sense of community.
I would coin the Copenhagen sound as “new-gaze”… an evolution of some of the ethos of shoe-gaze but from the new perspective of a society that’s largely evolved out of basic survival mode. It’s a new gaze on the human experience! There’s a laid back effortlessness to the sound, much like shoe-gaze, despite everyone being very dedicated to their craft. And although there’s a distinctly pop through line, I feel a lot of rejection or tension surrounding ego and spectacle, most likely due to the Scandinavian social code of humility— Janteloven. The systems of Denmark seem to allow for a broader and deeper psychic bandwidth, and a safe space for experimentation. I wish I could read what Mark Fisher would write about the new Copenhagen scene!
You've spent years playing with the likes of Caroline Polacheck, Alex G and Porches. What was the biggest learning curve in setting out to make your own record?
Definitely managing burnout and self doubt! I am blessed to feel very fulfilled by being an instrumentalist and touring, especially in support of these aforementioned artists whose music I admire on a spiritual level. The caveat to that is that I have at times lost motivation to center myself and felt burnt out by the output of energy. Touring is a very demanding and specific lifestyle, both physically and mentally, and I have been doing it to varying degrees of intensity for the last 10 years! At the beginning of my career it led to some pretty intense periods of deep fried lows where I had to do a lot of healing and processing. I have really had to hone the skills of how to manage my time, protect my energy, and allow myself time and space to rest and digest in a world that is constantly demanding output. Really just learning how to take care of myself within the industrial and spiritual complex of showbiz. Plus, I have always had a very vocal inner saboteur that likes to try to keep me in functional freeze.
Tell me about the seed of the idea for "Knives Out" and how the song developed?
The first draft of the song was born during a phase where I was making beats everyday in my old basement studio with pink satin walls. I was living in a beautiful apartment that used to be a funeral home in East Williamsburg. At the time I was extra obsessed with Timbaland’s production and only wanted to make Timbaland style beats (high impact using very few “statement” elements). The demo was originally called “kitchen sink beat.” I wanted to make something playful using foley sounds from the kitchen like knives being sharpened and the sizzling of a frying pan. I found a sample pack from an apocalypse video game that was very inspiring! I really wanted it to feel bouncy and child-like, as though a bunch of 3 years olds were making a band by banging on pots and pans with wooden spoons. Then I came up with this taunting line, “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen/cause there are way too many people in here cooking.” I was struggling at the time with whether or not I wanted to fully pursue a solo artist career and also feeling overwhelmed by the feeling of over saturation of new artists in the music space.
The song originally had a strange structure where the sections evolved into each other in layers, and it was a struggle to simplify it to make it make sense in a more traditional pop form. I took it to my friend Raven Artson, who added more production and overall gel to the song, and also wrote a new freakadelic topline for the bridge outro. My brother also added some sauce. Through the process of building out the sonic world it became a little too melancholic and sentimental, honestly too beautiful! Then me and Nature Boy stripped it back to have a more bare bounce. Weirdly it was the hardest song on the record to finish!
I love the video's serene, nautical dreaminess. Tell me about the process of making it?
The concept of the video was inspired by making a love letter to treasure collecting. I have always been a treasure collector, sometimes literally keeping other people’s trash as spirit talismans. The creative concept was developed between me, my close friend and frequent collaborator Nancy Koté, and the director Luca Venter. Part of the concept also came from a piece of my family history. My great grandmother on my father’s side was a Scottish “fisher girl.” These fisher girls, also known as “herring lassies,” were a nomadic workforce of women who traveled alongside herring fishing boats, processing the fish on shore. I had a fantasy of me and a team of fellow blondes working in a treasure sorting facility, where we process and harvest oceanic trinkets and treasures.
This video was my second collaboration with Luca, and was shot last winter at the same time we made the "I Get the Feeling" video. The whole process was very collaborative, and he also had some super nice ideas to bring in the extended blonde universe from some of my live shows and also incorporate aesthetics of old Hollywood theatre sets. The shoot day was one of the most fun days ever because it was me and my close friends having the best time dressing up and looking at beautiful treasures, half of us in a hungover delirium. The video co-stars my frequent collaborators and close friends Iliana, Sharleen, and Lauren. I love all of them so much and they have all lent their starpower and essence to the True Blue project many times, many ways, over the years. I was also so blessed to work for the first time with a larger team— including set design, art department, and a makeup artist. Everyone involved is so passionate, talented, and hard working, which I think really shines through! Both videos were made possible by support from the brand Pure Beauty, thanks to Luca!
Star Witness has been out for a few weeks now. How has it felt to see the reaction online and stand in the spotlight?
I have gotten some messages from fans that have been deeply touching and really make me feel like my spirit is being seen and appreciated. Sometimes it’s hard for me to recognize the value in my own expression and I can be hard on myself about what I’m really contributing to the world by dedicating my life to sharing my art. It feels really rewarding to be brave and to also surrender over this artifact that I’ve been coveting. I worked really hard on developing the music and visual world in tandem to developing my own interiority for many years. I feel so much lighter now and really proud of seeing my vision through!
Photos courtesy of True Blue
