An Interview with Songstress Maeve Kelley
Music, as expression, has always been intrinsic to the life of the 23-year-old songstress who grew up singing since the time she could talk. Boston-born and L.A.-based Maeve Kelley remembers writing songs as early as age 7, to be performed by the “band” she had formed with her older brother (concert audiences consisted of her mother and nanny). Maeve spent her upbringing
completely immersing herself in all things music: school talent shows, competition choirs, musical theatre, a cappella groups, open mics, etc. Citing artists like Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey, Etta James, and Frank Sinatra as some of her biggest sonic inspirations for her solo work, Maeve seeks to bring Soul and Jazz influence into Contemporary music, giving her art an old-school flare. Kelley made her commercial debut in June of 2019 with the sultry summer-fling-anthem, “Baby Blue,” followed by the celestial and brass-heavy, “Jupiter’s Child,” which Maeve describes as an identity track. Maeve is now ecstatic to be sharing her next project, “Got Away,” with listeners — as she’s been sitting on this angry heartbreak anthem for a while now.
With her single, “Got Away,” out now, we took some time to hear more from Maeve Kelley. Read below to learn more about Maeve Kelley, the story behind her single, and what’s to come.
Hi Maeve Kelley! Let’s start with how did you get your artist name?
Hi! Well, Maeve is my given first name and Kelley is the surname from my mom’s side of the family. So, nothing too crazy haha.
What city are you from and where are you based now?
I was born and raised in a small town just outside Boston, MA, and now I’ve been based in L.A. since 2017. I always dreamed of moving out this way and I’m so grateful that I was able to — I love this city and all the amazing artistic people that I’ve met and had the pleasure to create with in Los Angeles.
At what point in your life did you decide to pursue a career in music? How did you get started?
I’ve known that I wanted to be a singer since I was a little kid, honestly. I think when High School Musical came out when I was about 6 years old. I was mesmerized and knew I wanted to make music. I remember writing songs as early as 7 years old, when my brother and I had a “band.” I would say around age 14 is when I started writing songs more seriously. I got my first ukulele around age 15 and my first guitar at 17. But, I’ve been a lifelong singer; participating in everything from a cappella groups, to musical theatre, to open mics, to competition choirs, and more — any chance I got to sing and receive vocal training, I jumped on.
Has your upbringing played a role in shaping who you are and defining your sound today? If so, how?
I think that because I’ve been a vocalist all my life, the melody, lyrics, and vocals of any song are always the most important elements to me. Nowadays, when my collaborator, Juan, and I are building my songs, keeping the vocals and the melody at the foreground of the song is really important to us. I think that’s pretty evident in my music. I grew up listening to amazing female songwriters with incredible lyrics such as Sara Bareilles and Taylor Swift (and later Lana Del Rey around high school — someone who has become a huge inspiration of mine). For this reason, lyricism is a huge part of my writing and is something that I highly value in my music.
How would you describe your sound to readers who may not be familiar with you?
I like to say “Soul-Pop” aka Pop with strong soulful and jazzy elements — although, as I progress in my music career and release more tracks, I want to explore with more styles and sounds. I definitely want to make some full on Pop music, and possibly experiment with some more acoustic-y stripped down sounds as well.
Do you have any hobbies outside of music? What do you do to stay creative?
I definitely consider myself a creative person at heart! Outside of singing and songwriting, I’d say my main creative outlet is fashion modeling, which is something I’ve been doing professionally for about 2.5 years. I love meeting incredible photographers, designers, hair and makeup artists, other models, etc., and making awesome art together. I had the opportunity to walk in 6 Los Angeles Fashion Week shows this past fall, so that was a really cool, creative experience for me.
Who are some of your main musical influences?
Amy Winehouse, Lana Del Rey, Frank Sinatra, Taylor Swift, Etta James, Frank Ocean, Ariana Grande — just to name a few. I listen to a TON of artists all the time, and I’m constantly looking for inspiration, so realistically this list could go on for a while.
Who would be a dream to collaborate with?
A dream musical collaboration for me would be Lana Del Rey; her music has meant the world to me and [has] gotten me through so much ever since I was 14 years old. I just think she’s an all around incredible musician and writer, so it would be unreal to make a song together one day!
What are some of your future music career goals?
I’d love to develop a listener base who feels connected to my music and can relate to it. For me, music is such an emotional experience, and I love finding other artists’ music that I can identify with. So, I’d love to be that for someone else — especially because I tend to write from a very personal place about my own experiences. It would be really cool to find a community where we can all listen and feel connected to the music together in one way or another.
Now onto your release, “Got Away.” What inspired this song?
I wrote this song when I was only 17 on my first ever acoustic guitar in the wake of a high school breakup. And, I think the teen angst and anger can definitely be felt when playing the song.
What is “Got Away” about in your own words?
In short, “Got Away” is about karmic revenge. It’s told from the perspective of someone who has been wronged in a relationship and who is now boldly claiming that they themselves will become “the one who got away,” and that their ex-lover will look back and regret their actions, someday. It’s basically making the statement that what goes around comes around and that karma will always handle things. Usually the idea of the “one who got away” is used in very dreamy, romantic, and/or fondly nostalgic contexts in our society. So, I wanted to kind of play with the concept by transporting the saying into a new mood and setting, one that feels more like a battleground than a daydream.
What is your favorite lyric in “Got Away” and why?
I think one of my favorite lines would be from the bridge: “all is fair in love and war, that’s what you think but soon your battleship’s gonna sink.” Because, that lyric is actually what gave me the idea for the naval-warfare theme — which is reflected not only in the imagery on the cover art, but also within some of the sound effects and layers we chose to put in the song, instrumentally, especially toward the end of the track.
What message do you hope fans take away from your music and from “Got Away?”
I think, just in general, I hope they realize that oftentimes anger is a natural, and even healthy and productive stage in the healing process of getting over a heartbreak. And sometimes, rage can serve as the necessary armor while your open-heart wound (so to speak) heals. And, if that’s how you’re feeling, it’s important to find healthy outlets to express that emotion, so that it doesn’t manifest in negative or destructive ways. And, for me, music is always the best
outlet, so ultimately, I hope scream-singing along to “Got Away” can be a cathartic outlet for some listeners who are going through it.
What’s one of your proudest moments of your music career so far?
It’s hard to say because I still consider myself so early on in my music career, where the majority of my “proud moments” I think are ahead of me. But, I’ll go ahead and say the day that I released my first single, “Baby Blue,” onto streaming platforms because I think that day marked a major shift for me from feeling like a girl who always talked about putting out music one day to an official searchable recording artist. The song was really warmly received too which was awesome; it was cool to finally see people outside just my friends and family listening to and enjoying the song.
What would you say are the greatest lessons you’ve learned so far?
Perseverance, for sure. It’s definitely a marathon, not a sprint when you’re trying to make it as a small artist. It’s easy for a lot of people, including myself, to feel discouraged at times. But, I think that as long as you always remember what made you love creating music in the first place and really be sure to nurture that artistic side of you, things will always work out the way they’re meant to.
What’s next for you? Are you working on any upcoming projects that we should be on the lookout for?
Don’t have any dates just yet, but I am about to begin working on my debut EP which I’m excited about! I’ve written sooo much music over the years that I haven’t been able to release yet, so I honestly can’t wait to share a little more of my catalog with the world and show everyone more of who I am as a songwriter.
Where can we follow you on social media?
Instagram: https://instagram.com/maevie_
Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@maeve_kelley
