Some people were simply born to be in the spotlight. Having played bass since she was seven years old, Blu DeTiger recently in 2020 found herself something of a sensation. With the release of her debut EP How Did We Get Here? on 5th March, DeTiger is fully riding the wave of her breakout year.
So just how did she get here? New York City born and raised, the now twenty-three-year-old bassist has been a staple of the NYC music scene for quite some time. Getting her start through a school program playing at venues like the famous CBGB in Manhattan’s East Village, she was soon playing solo gigs and DJing regularly when she was just seventeen. DeTiger has also made an impression in the fashion world, appearing at shows by Chanel, Valentino, and Louis Vuitton, to name a few, as well as walking with KidSuper in NY Fashion Week 2019; and during quarantine she regularly went viral on TikTok, raking up the followers and streams across social media.
How Did We Get Here? feels like a musical portrait of her life and her city, containing all of the wild, unique and groovy facets of her personality, spliced with scenes of NYC youth. It is a much-welcomed, lively and refreshing change from the pop-laden landscape of today’s industry.
Following opener ‘Figure It Out,’ a carefree and effortless bop that kicked off her inspiration, comes the pop-funk anthem titled ‘Vintage,’ her latest single release. Always bass-driven and hazy with a certain throwback charm, this riff-heavy tune is rooted in the character of her hometown. It opens with a cheeky groove before her easy vocals kick in, as DeTiger sings of how she needs a vintage boy to go with her vintage outfit, reversing the traditional gender roles of arm candy.
The edgy phrase “Ladies, I’m taking a lover” echoes in the dark as the EP transitions into ‘Toast with the Butter’ – a funky feel-good number layered with nuanced exclamations, a bouncy chorus, hazy verse, and a bass-line that’s all too natural to dance to. The effect is timeless, as DeTiger draws on the bass-funk of disco days in the short interlude ‘Disco Banger but You’re Crying in the Bathroom,’ before easing into the airy warmth of standout number ‘Night Shade’. The unique style of her lyrics blossoms like the sweetness of rooftop summer evenings, as she coolly drops lines like, “Looking up at the star signs / I wonder if we align / Oh, I thought you were a godsend, a perfect 10 / but your homegirl pulled me aside / oh shit, I think you’re a Gemini” in-between vibrant interjections of vocals and bass.
It’s so easy to get lost in DeTiger’s sound. Giving us that soft taste of adventure, the dreaminess of ‘Cotton Candy Lemonade’ leads to the album’s close with a deep fading groove between bass and guitar. Contemplating the loneliness and endless days of the last year, she dreams, “I wanna get lost with you / Picture waking up somewhere new”; while Paris-bound ‘Kinda Miss You’ endcaps the collection with a melancholic love letter to the fantasy of a “one-week-wonder” in the same infectious vibe.
Between the mellow laid-back numbers, the groovy funk-anthems, and the soft cotton candy tones, for a debut EP, How Did We Get Here? is a true banger that you definitely don’t want to miss by crying in the bathroom.
How Did We Get Here? is out now – available to Stream/Purchase here.
Photo Credit: Sophie Hur
