Masquerade's Songwriting and Music Production Diary

It's never too late to turn a corner! Runaway is energetic and uplifting, urging you to chase all your hopes and dreams, to bravely run through that open door for a brighter future.  From the initial idea that popped into my head on a treadmill at the gym, to coming up with a guitar riff that responded well with a melody that I then re-recorded confident vocals for, here's how this song raced to the finish line. Green Means Go When I think about a vibrant colour that represents goodness and a zest for life, green immediately comes to mind.  This is why I chose it for Runaway. Of course, as soon as I did, I started noticing it everywhere.  Clothes. Apples.  Exit signs.  Traffic lights.  With green picked as Runaway's defining colour, I also wanted an image that symbolized possibility and hope. A simple photo of an open door was perfect.  These elements fell into place the day after I got the idea for Runaway. I was on the treadmill at the gym, dreading ...

  You know, sometimes you just want to make something great. Something from the heart. Real. It's been such a long time since I've connected with a movie so profoundly. Lost Angeles is a lovely, beautiful exploration of deep human connection, how soulmates are destined to find each other, and how making art saves the soul.  My heart needed to see this. My spirits soared. I smiled so hard while watching and teared up a few times. I was awestruck by the imagery, invested in the endearing characters, and swept away by the struggle of being an artist, as well as the celebration of artistry. Everything connects, in the end. Watching Lost Angeles happened because the other night, I was just doom scrolling after dinner.  I had entirely different plans, of course. I was eager to continue working on music and lyrics. I had already set an acoustic guitar on the stand right beside my desk, and taken out one of my lyric journals, pen tucked along the spine between the pages. I was re...

Based on my lived experience, as well as in-depth research, I think it's important to have a hard conversation about how to make music and touring more just for women and disabled people. I'm a lifelong concert enjoyer and am grateful to have been able to play my music live. I think there's nothing in the world like going to an electrifying concert, and if I could bottle that euphoria, I'd hold onto it forever. Here's some background on me: I was prematurely born. One of the consequences is that I have mild cerebral palsy, manifesting in my legs. While I don't need a wheelchair, having CP leads to constant muscle fatigue and body tension, even moreso if I don't stay reasonably active. I stopped gigging years ago, but rough periods of being on the road and the strain of performing on a merciless schedule was twice as hard to bear on my particular body. Besides my physical disability, I'm a woman with PCOS. I grapple with anxiety every day, too.  In every...

This post was originally published in Feeling Creative digital magazine on March 13, 2026. Feeling Creative is a creative hub for storytellers and makers, spotlighting the work and wisdom of independent artists, filmmakers, photographers, writers and musicians. Feeling Creative magazine’s mission is to be a genuine creative space for creative people to guest post and build valuable connections for free (without any politics or ads). The blog empowers passionate and knowledgeable experts to share the stories, strategies, art and inspiration that fuel the creative world.  There’s a lot of noise surrounding creatives. For example, the cacophony of social media and its accompanying exhaustion and the serious threat of AI to creatives, linked to deeper issues of deplatforming and miserable streaming payouts for professional musicians specifically. As a Verified Human musician and member of New Bohemia, I am acutely aware of this concerning reality, along with the feelings of helpless...

    Happy International Women's Day! I want to appreciate four amazing female guitarists and vocalists I continue to look up to throughout my music journey.    Brody Dale When I was first getting into punk rock, I heard The Distillers. Specifically, my best friend at the time offered their album Coral Fang as a CD she'd burned for me. She drew an electric guitar surrounded by lightning bolts as its cover. We listened to it together one day after school. To this day, The Hunger remains my favourite song from the album. Its bittersweet mix of intimate acoustic and blistering electric guitar always makes my heart explode with emotion.  Brody's raw, husky voice redefined for me what a woman singing was supposed to sound like. Her alto range was the same as mine, and that immediately put me at ease. I was comfortable singing along for once. Brody's unapologetic fierceness in self-expression, visceral imagery in songs like Drain The Blood and Hall of Mirrors, and her...

My new single Trust Issues releases on March 13, 2026! Its stark yellow and black colour scheme serves as a warning: You've been here before, on the edge of opening up or shutting it all down. You've been through it too many times. And yet…what if it's different this time? Trust Issues is a song for when trust feels like a velvet wrapped dagger.    After almost two months of writing, recording, mixing, and mastering, I'm thrilled to share how Trust Issues came together! Songwriting As my first release of 2026, and particularly as a single, I wanted Trust Issues to follow both thematically and sonically from my debut synthpop album Afterlove.   I guard my heart and don't trust easily. Reflecting on this inspired me to pick up my acoustic guitar and start writing lyrics. I had the faintest resemblance of a musical idea back in the first week of December 2025, just prior to Afterlove's release. I started strumming some chords and just blurted "I don't tr...

Following my debut synthpop album Afterlove  in 2025, I'm excited to announce all the music I'm releasing in 2026!  March 13, 2026 - Trust Issues (Single) You've been here before, on the edge of opening up or shutting it all down. You've been through it too many times. And yet…what if it's different this time? Here's a song for when trust feels like a velvet wrapped dagger.    May 8, 2026 - Runaway (Single) It's never too late to turn a corner! Runaway is energetic and uplifting, urging you to chase all your hopes and dreams, to bravely run through that open door for a brighter future.    July 10, 2026  - Darkest Hours   (EP) I wrote my Darkest Hours EP during a merciless polar vortex. When the power went out for hours, and I was grappling with hardships in the freezing dark, I still found the strength to chase the warmth of light.  Here are the songs I'm very excited for you to hear! I'm Lonely Darkest Hours Temptation These three ...