An Interview with Maude Latour
Image courtesy of Anna Koblish
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Maude Latour’s songs feature themes of love whether through love of one’s friends, romantic partners or yourself. Never once does Latour seem to regret any of her past experiences. She sings in “Headphones”, “So I read the letter that I wrote to myself in my sleep and I know I'm okay / I know there's a brighter day, but it's not today”. Through her music she reminds us of the reason why we loved in the first place.
I sat down to interview Maude Latour, who was on the last leg of her tour, about her latest EP. Maude Latour is known for her indie pop music, having released her third EP Twin Flame this past year. She started releasing music in college while attending Columbia. Her cover of the song “Kids in America” by Kim Wilde was also featured in the Netflix film Do Revenge.
Tara Byrne: I was listening to your latest album and I was wondering – what was it like creating it? Do you have a song you're most proud of?
Maude Latour: Ah, it was such a wonderful and unusual experience creating it. I love how it has aged and I have new favorites. But, I think “I'm Not the Sun” was my first favorite on the record. And yeah — I think I was proud of it because it felt like a captured version of such a sacred, secret emotion. I had never really known that I [could] make something that felt like that. But, the whole EP — as a whole chapter — has totally made me very happy, especially touring it this past month.
Image courtesy of @tallulahtotten on Instagram
TB: That's awesome. I really liked it! That leads me to another question I was going to ask: what is it like being on tour, currently?
Latour: Yes. It is awesome. I'm on my last week, but it's my busiest week. I have taken two naps today; I am starting to actually get tired. But, I feel like this is the most I've ever enjoyed performing live because I think that I am really showing up to rooms full of fans who have cared about this music for a long time and care specifically about this project. I feel so grateful to do this and I feel like I'm enjoying the journey so much. And I know — so much deeper — my reasons for why I'm in love with this. So, I feel like I've really been able to soak it in every night and enjoy it as it's happening.
TB: That's awesome! I'm very excited to see you perform on Thursday.
Latour: Boston's gonna be crazy. It always is. [...] I'm looking forward to it a lot.
TB: When I was listening to your music, as a queer person, I found that I could relate to a lot of it. I don't know if it was intentionally about being queer or not, but I appreciated the lyrics in songs like “Lola,” and was wondering if that was your intention, or if you had another message you wanted to convey?
Latour dedicated “Lola” to the queer and trans community at her concert.
Latour: Yeah, totally. “Lola” is definitely infused with queer friendship and queer-like fluidity and [themes of] love and protecting each other and romance as well. The Twin Flame EP is totally the real time, captured version of a beautiful sapphic romance I'm in. I think the fact that it was a queer relationship, not only made the feeling so important — but to slow down and take [that] in. It was all just so heightened and emotional and beautiful. Like — all the beautiful things about falling in love and a queer romance. And, it felt so vulnerable — I felt so vulnerable and so much more vulnerable than I had in past relationships, and I think that translated to the music and the explosion; the fast falling of it all. So, I think I'm really glad that I captured this special time in my life while writing it. I wrote it over [the course of the] few months [where] I was rapidly falling in love. And yeah — I think if I hadn't made it, I [wouldn’t] have been able to capture [and save those feelings] forever. So, I'm really glad that I did.
TB: I was wondering what does “Twin Flame” mean to you personally?
Latour: “Twin Flame”? Yeah, oh my gosh, no one has asked me specifically about that song. It's like the cheeky feelings of being with someone and — a little bit — the dramatized version of the dynamics in the romance, and of getting into a fight but still being so in love. And the ups and downs — it's a little bit tongue in cheek, like: enjoying the ups and downs and still being with someone, still knowing it's gonna be okay.
TB: I want to ask you about “Love Bomb” because I feel like it had a very different tempo and vibe compared to the other songs on the album, and I was curious about that.
Latour: Yeah, I haven't put out many slow songs. I've mostly shared my more upbeat songs and I'm excited that I got to put out a more vulnerable [one]. I'm shocked that people liked it — and it makes me want to share that soft side of myself more. That song began as just a fifteen minute improvisation. Every word I said in that [improvisation and] in what made the final song, I sang in this fifteen-minute jam session with a producer. That's how I make a lot of music, kind of improvising for ten minutes. Sometimes the song [reveals] itself in [the improv session] and I’m like “Whoa!” The original version I had for four months or so was about fifteen minutes long, but I cut out the parts that were less important. Although, it was after a conversation with this same producer [where] I was telling him, “Oh my gosh, me and this person have been talking so much and I don't know if it's real or not.” He responded, “Oh, [...] that’s love bombing. I don't think it is.” But then I [responded], “No, I think it is [real],” and it was this immediate moment in a relationship where you don't [know it] before it starts. You don't know what the person feels. I remember [writing] it the day after I was looking at someone and told them I was falling in love with them. It was this moment of total freefall — this scary part of falling in love where you are vulnerable and you’re just falling, and you don't know what is going to happen. Sometimes it doesn't work out after that and sometimes it does, but we still need to put ourselves in that position and be brave. So, that song exists for that “in-between” place when you don't know if something is real or not — but it's still a sacred place and it's scary. It's important because we can do scary things.
TB: I saw in another interview that you mentioned moving around a lot. I also moved around a lot growing up. And you said you know Mandarin, which I think is so cool.
ML: I'm getting rusty as I get further from my high school education, but yeah.
TB: What was it like moving around so much while growing up?
Latour: It's such an important part of who I am right now. I think it made me someone who loves people and loves human beings and loves new experiences [I can connect with.] I love connecting with people and [moving] made me fall in love with [the world being] so big but also so small. It made me believe in some connectedness between all humans — it's totally the reason I can go to new cities and sing and connect with people I've never met before and feel absolutely at home with them — like we have something shared in our cosmic alignment and stars. I think [moving] just made me curious and feel like [I was in] a beginner's mind all the time. It gave me love for the planet.
TB: Having recently graduated from Columbia, how is it being out of college? How has your college experience shaped your music?
Image courtesy of @qtchula on Instagram
Latour: I think college was the backdrop where so many of my songs took place — the drama and the goings-on on campus, the secrets, the friendships,the romance and the excitement of that time period in your life. So, I was super inspired; I feel like that was a super inspiring time. I also got to work with so many cool young people who had so much energy to make and try stuff. We made so many music videos together — me and my friends, and we made cover art. Yeah, my first music videos were really made with them. They just cared; they came to all the shows with me, all my friends at that time. It was a beautiful time of learning and soaking up as much as we could. I think it totally took me some time to adjust to post-college life, as it does for everyone. [Now that] I've been out of school for a year, I feel more ready to be in the real world. It took me a second because the structure of college is so cool, But now it's so nice to do this full time, so I'm so happy.
TB: How did you meet the people who play with you onstage?
Latour: They're all Brooklyn musicians who play in other bands as well. I kind of found them through the New York–Brooklyn musician [scene], network, people. We've now been playing together for over two, three years and we're super close. We're totally a family now.
TB: Is there anything else you want to share with our readers who are mainly like college students?
ML: Totally! Emerson is such a creative, awesome school. So, keep thinking outside the box and trying new art forms and collaborating with your friends and like — don't take it too seriously because I think the best ideas sometimes come at the most relaxed [times]. Like, “Oh, this is just for fun. This is just a joke. I'll just do this.” I think that's when you accidentally make your favorite song and you accidentally start a project with your friend that ends up being your happiest place. Art should be playful and art should be free and yeah, just keep going. The Boston show is gonna be so fun, so tell all your friends to come.
TB: I'm so excited. I can’t wait.
ML: Have you ever seen me before?
TB: I haven't. This is my first time.
ML: It's gonna be awesome.