Masquerade's Feeling Creative Magazine Feature: Trust Issues & The Healing Power of Making Music Must Cut Through The Noise
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 helplessness and despair that sometimes wash over me.
All this noise gets so loud at times that I think something deeply sacred and inherent to all creatives gets drowned out: the transformative process of creating itself.
I believe in the healing power of making music. This is what must cut through all the noise of an increasingly chaotic and isolating world.
Do you remember when curiosity first led you to the pure joy of being creative?
Music helped shape me into the woman I am today. I was prematurely born. When I was eight years old, my parents signed me up for piano lessons which included group recitals and later one-on-one mentoring. These lessons were essential to my physiological development, from movement coordination and creative problem solving, to forming deep connections with others and developing my musicianship. Then in my teenage years, I picked up guitar and simply haven’t put it down since. Thanks to the encouragement of my parents who bought me my first electric for Christmas, and my best friend at the time who I wrote my very first punk rock songs with, playing guitar has done wonders for my well being.
Music is certainly therapeutic in its own way. As Masquerade, I make music for fun, learning, and catharsis. This became even more deeply important to me while I was creating my debut synthpop album Afterlove that I released on December 19, 2025. I made Afterlove to help me process and make peace in the wake of a devastating breakup with my soulmate.
The seven songs tell the story of heartbreak and healing, saturated by nostalgia with a dark and melancholic undertow. Afterlove features catchy guitar riffs, lush synth pads, strong drums, pulsing bass, and my eccentric vocals all wrapped up in velvety production. It’s an entirely DIY album. Pre-production, lyric writing, and graphic design took from early August to mid September 2025. Recording happened in my bedroom studio from September 29 to November 10, 2025. Rather than crying myself to sleep, somehow my most earnest lyrics and music consistently showed up between 1-3 AM.
When I was sequencing Afterlove, I wanted each song to tell a chapter from the story of heartbreak and healing. After 84 recording hours and 14 mixing hours across 42 days, I can say I've learned a lot and achieved intense emotional release. Best of all the process of making Afterlove afforded me the grace and fortitude I so desperately needed to pull myself together.
People have shared with me that Afterlove is haunting and that it made them cry. Knowing this humbles me. It also makes me feel glad because it means I did something right, because my music genuinely connected and was cathartic for someone else.
To keep riding this creative wave throughout 2026, I'll be releasing three singles and two EPs.
My single Trust Issues, released on March 13, 2026, is the direct follow up to Afterlove both sonically and thematically. It's the answer to Afterlove's central question: “After love, what's left? After love, what's next?”
The stark yellow and black colour scheme for Trust Issues 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.
My creative process for Trust Issues deeply reaffirmed the healing power of making music.
Turning Experiences Into Songs and Putting Feelings Into Words
The person I am when I begin a songwriting session isn't the same person once that session is done. In other words, the songwriting process is a transformative experience for me.
I start by writing songs on guitar or piano. This is crucial because it allows me to hear the song in its purest form. It means I'm not ducking a lackluster chord progression behind layers of production. And I can come up with a melody easier without effects and layering and panning getting in the way. At this beginning stage, I simply pick a key and a chord progression, then play around. I try different tempos until I settle on one that's comfortable to try and make weird sounds over.
Just like I did with all the songs for Afterlove, I started making half-formed words and weird sounds over my chord progression for Trust Issues. It started as a slower tempo in the key of F minor, with a basic down-up-up strumming pattern. I didn't have anything else in mind; not a title or a lyric, not even actual words, really. All of a sudden, I blurted “I don't trust you!”
This exclamation turned into the main idea of Trust Issues.
From there, I transferred my acoustic chord progression to electric guitar and began drafting lyrics. I had a lot of fun coming up with the riff for Trust Issues, combining ascending and descending notes that carry the main repeating line and theme of the chorus: I don't trust you.
As I reflected on what the verses would be, I also realized that it wasn't enough to explore how I'm slow to trust and keep a wary distance so I can guard my heart. On top of this, the chorus was too repetitive melodically. One thing I learned in the women's songwriting circle I joined during the bleak winter of 2016 was that it's important to have as specific and memorable imagery as possible in your lyrics. Another thing is that it's totally okay to redraft as many times as needed to come up with the strongest melody. If some words or notes aren't fitting well together, adjust accordingly without losing the meaning of the song.
I went through three lyric drafts for Trust Issues! My favourite fiery lyrics ended up being in the bridge, which didn't even exist in the initial version of Trust Issues:
You can say and do
All the right things
But if you aren't for real
It doesn't mean a thing
Once the lyrics are ready and I've finished recording the song, I can truly zoom in on music production. For me, having the title and core concept of the song as a foundation guides all my mixing and production choices. For example, I chose to include the attention-grabbing bell and crafted a saturated, unusual guitar tone all to reinforce that ominous feeling of Trust Issues I was going for. Additionally, I layered and mixed four different drum kits, including a riser I made from scratch, to make the drums I programmed stand out and remain interesting throughout the song.
This process of turning experiences into songs and putting feelings into words is at the heart of what it means to be a songwriter.
I was determined for Trust Issues to come across as foreboding to the listener, as well as to prompt reflection. I hope that listeners can ask themselves “What does it really take to trust someone again?” and “If I can't trust others, can others really trust me back?”
While I still don't quite have a comfortable answer to these questions, I do know that creating Trust Issues honed my skills as a songwriter, producer, and lyricist. I started with a barebones progression and a single lyric that highlighted uncertainty. I ended up with a fully produced single that I'm happy to share in hopes that others can connect with it!
When I reach a point where I'm writing a song about someone or something, it means I've already gone through the messy emotional processing and unwavering honesty required for me to come to terms with it. It means the time has come to express myself and release everything that might be on my mind or holding me back. So by the time I'm done with the song, I've gained more experience and confidence in my skills, and I've had the opportunity to find catharsis.
Best of all, it means that the process of making music heals me.
Conclusion - The More You Make Music, The More It Heals
Whenever I create, my love of music comes first. It will always be about that for me because music is my greatest joy.
Creativity for its own sake is immensely fulfilling. Making music combines a tremendous amount of skills, from emotional intelligence to project management to musicianship. And it certainly involves a deep degree of vulnerability and authenticity–with ourselves as well as listeners.
I dedicate my focus so wholeheartedly to making music that I just get swept away by all the fun of it. However I'm feeling, whether I've had a bad day or an energetic one, I just pick up my guitar or lyric journal. And I create.
Some of the questions I'm earnestly asking myself are: How can I write a better song? How can I make sure my lyrics are connecting with someone else? What's a new approach or technique I could try? Does this sound memorable? Is the mix done well?
When I'm in my flow state, I don't wonder how many people will hear my song or even if they'll like it. Any self doubts or fears are drowned out by synths and guitar. I forget about stressors like bills or headlines, if only for a while. I don't let my anxieties and worries about the future take over, I simply and wholly revel in the moment as I create music. I don't think beyond the end of my songwriting or recording session because I'm reveling in the moment.
The moment I finish a song is one of pure joy. Every song that I complete and release is a diary entry along my music journey. I'm so grateful I can connect with others along the way. It's truly a gift that keeps on giving:
The more music I make, the more it heals me.
All the rest is just noise.
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