Welcome to Lezzie Town, a mix by Montreal based producer and DJ Maara-Louisa Dunbar, more renowned as the sapphic mixtress: Maara.
First and foremost, can you tell us a little bit about the energy behind this mix, is there anything you would prescribe doing while listening?
I recorded this mix on my latest Berlin trip while I was on tour. I wanted this mix to reflect on themes of longing, loss, love, and desire. I’ve recently undergone a lot of personal changes in my life, from relationships and friendships evolving to traveling quite a lot and being away from home. It’s kind of meant to be a hybrid of a playlist/mix I suppose. For me, these songs evoke a certain nostalgia, sadness, and catharsis. But hopefully some hope and joy as well.
Lots of vocals and classics like Madonna, as well as some other better-known tracks. I wanted it to be a nice listening experience that's thematic more so than anything else. Could be nice to listen to while you’re at home, out for a drive, cleaning, or just want something non-abrasive to listen to.
We’re excited for the release of your debut full length LP The Ancient Truth on Step Ball Chain. How long have you been working on this? Was there a certain end goal behind this production?
Katie and I had discussed doing an EP together for a while. I sent Katie a lot of music that included a bunch of downtempo tracks. She thought it would be a cool idea to build a longer release out of the slower tracks I had. I was very keen on this! We both thought it would be a refreshing change of pace and good to differentiate a bit from past releases. We started discussing the LP in March of last year, 2022. All tracks were made between 2021 and 2022. A while ago I was once showing Katie some of my old music that included my vocals and she thought some of that vibe would be cool for the album and challenged me to have a go at it. So I made a few vocal tracks and we ended up going with “Nothing Sacred” and “Erotics of Betrayal”. Those were the latest additions to the LP. I wanted to go not too heavy on the vocals but still capture some of the vibe of the downtempo /trip hop tracks I really admire that feature vocals.
What’s your favourite track on the LP and why?
It changes over time for me haha. It used to be “Just Give Me Time” but now I think it’s “Erotics of Betrayal.” I included it in this mix at 26 mins. It captures a certain feeling rooted in a specific time and place that’s really meaningful for me, and I especially love the second half of the track.
“I wanted this mix to reflect on themes of longing, loss, love, and desire. I’ve recently undergone a lot of personal changes in my life, from relationships and friendships evolving to traveling quite a lot and being away from home. ”
What’s next for Maara?
I’ll be back in Europe for the summer starting in late May to play some shows! Luckily I have a lot of time off coming up in the next month or so, and plan to be making a lot of music and…mixes! Really excited to enjoy my time in the studio, finish projects, remixes, and catch up with friends. Always wanting to grow as a producer and person and find new ways to push myself creatively. Hopefully, I’ll also be getting my driver’s permit renewed so I can finally get my license! Few more very exciting things planned for this year, but I’ll keep those a secret for now… :)