MAEVE STEELE

MAEVE STEELE

By: Danielle Taylor

Maeve Steele is out making a name for herself. The singer/ songwriter named after a street she frequents in Los Angeles symbolizes its own world; a metaphorical bridge as well as a physical one.

Falling in love with music while living and attending school in Nashville, Steele was determined to follow her dreams and found herself on the road to California. “That sounds like somewhat superficial information, but I think all of those places play an important role in my writing style and sound,” Steele said.

Musicians of all kinds always play a role in molding an artist to who they are.

“I listened to a lot of folk rock, a lot of country music growing up. John Prine and Tom Petty are household favorites. I think a lot of music that I grew up with had an emphasis on natural imagery…California almost felt like a character in so many of the songs that I love. I absorbed that tendency. I started listening to Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey in middle school and they blew my mind. They are both so different and cool, while still having this classic musicality. Amy was so gritty, and Lana was so romantic, they’ve both really inspired me.” Steele recently released her debut EP titled Overland in September. It showcases her individuality as an artist. Her music roots from bittersweet meditations on change, growth, and self-discovery.

On the creation of Overland, Steele explained, “The process was basically ‘figure it out as I go.’ I was writing a lot, and finally felt like I was figuring out who I wanted to be as an artist. I had a specific sound in mind, and I had a lot of unfinished songs. It wasn’t until I made “Riptide” with Matt and Brian that the direction of the EP materialized for me. It sounds so obvious but after we finished “Riptide” I thought oh ‘here’s this song that feels so authentic to my current stage of life - what else am I feeling? ‘I was falling in love and trying to write about the joys and anxiety and everything in between…mostly so I can sort out what I was feeling for myself.”

The most recent single “Riptide” is all about the overwhelming and exciting feeling about being in a new relationship. The songwriter took a poetry class in college and someone’s voice was described as a riptide. “Ever since, I’ve loved the idea of something softly pulling you out to sea, and then you look around and you’re in the middle of the ocean. It felt fitting.” If Steele could picture listeners listening to the song for the first time it would be in a kitchen. She said this EP is mostly made up of kitchen songs. “I picture someone having that moment of being pulled in with the chorus, swaying as they’re cooking or putting away dishes.”

The singer/songwriter finds her inspiration for a song through a line, word or melody and then starts writing around that.

“It’s funny how rarely that initial spark ends up in the final version of the song. And then it’s just putting the puzzle together- listening to voice memos I took of myself humming or playing around with words to make it all fit into a format that makes a little bit of sense.”

MAEVE

For those looking to break into the music industry, Steele has found that doing morning pages per the advice of so many great writers and artists has helped take some of the pressure off. She feels that it’s freeing to feel like you can write nonsense. “I try to remind myself that writing is a muscle, any way you use it is going to be helpful.”

Vulnerability is strength and for Steele she’s usually a private person and she tends to keep things close to her chest. “Writing always felt like the time where I could be vulnerable, but when I started writing songs to be released to the world, I think I retreated to coyness. I’ve realized that most songs don’t make it outside my note’s app, so I may as well be as honest as I can. It’s only hurting myself if I’m not. My favorite songs of mine are ones that I probably would have been too embarrassed or nervous to release a couple years ago.”

She found that “Sweet Talking” was the most difficult to pen on the EP. It was the last one written and she went in wanting to write a fun, sexy rock-ish song. It

was the only track that the singer had a specific aesthetic that she was going for which ultimately, was kind of a self-destructive mindset to write from. There was a lot of self-doubt in the process of writing that one and she did admit that she was a nightmare to work with in the creation of the track.

If there’s anything Steele wants her fans and listeners to take away from listening to her music she said, “A lot of the time I’m trying to write about feelings or situations that are bittersweet or sweet bitter. It’s easier because there’s so much relatability in those in-betweens, so we rarely feel fully one thing. I hope people take away that there’s not just a lot of beauty in hearing about those moments, but in looking for them too.”

As for the future of her career, Steele has huge dreams. “My biggest goal right now is to write my first album! In the next 3 years I want to have made an LP and played it on tour. I have some bucket list venues that include Red Rocks, The Greek in Berkeley, The Ryman in Nashville. I grew up going to Outside Lands and playing that festival would be really special. I want to make music that I really love, I hope that’s where my career takes me.”

Photographer: Heather Koepp

STEELE