Q&A with eclectic electronic musician MARIA Die RUHE

Music producer and singer MARIA Die RUHE, is a charming and evocative talent that has shared her latest single ‘Skin’ which explores body image. This melodic track is a blend of feathery electronics and enchantress like vocals. In the lyrics shared with us, the singer speaks on insecurities that gripped her in her adolescence. The singer embraces her inhibitions and kicks them to the curb. We only have one body in this life, might as well appreciate it to fully enjoy our life and not dwell on the superficial. Besides being a beautiful being inside and out, the singer also owns the imprint Reduced To The Root which she released this diamond track on.

Stream / Download: ‘Skin’

We asked MARIA Die RUHE a few questions around the release, and yes she is just as wise and kind as we imagined her to be.

What’s your “secret sauce?” What makes your sound stand out?

I produce from intuition, from that place inside where honesty and truth meet. All themes are allowed. No compromising on art. My voice is the red thread through my music.

Define a successful day in your eyes.

When I go to bed and know that I created something I deeply needed to say. I love it when the things I experience and how I feel in this world will stay through music in time.

Your latest single talks about body image. When did you begin to embrace your insecurities?

I started freeing myself into this topic about ten years ago and it took quite a while. I was a swimmer as a kid and then I needed to quit and got a little chubby… That´s when my weird self impressions started. Realizing that I didn’t go swimming anymore for a long time gave me a kick because I love it. This was when I decided to go forward and just go again and get undressed. Everybody has got something special. We are all beautiful just as we are. And those who don’t like it are not for us.

What made you decide to pursue a musical career?

It´s the only thing that made sense to me. I just followed my instinct because I just need to express myself, otherwise, I die. Although I decided quite late because coming from a working-class family, a music career never was a real option. So I took a detour from loving and living techno in Berlin, to learning Jazz and combining those later in my productions.

What would you be doing as a career if you never pursued music?

I am coaching artists and helping them on their way. That’s also what I would do I guess. I am also into mental health themes, yoga and meditation. I love helping people grow and getting them to their full potential.

Pros and cons of the industry from your perspective?

There needs to be a change in streaming and what we earn with it. It’s totally not sustainable. I would love to simply make a living from working as a full times musician, which I do.

I love that I did find my own label RTTR – Reduced To The Root Records and now can release whatever I want, whenever I want. No compromises on art!

Please list some of the most influential albums on your creative outlook and output:

Matthew Herbert – Bodily Functions

Bugge Wesseltoft / Sidsel Endresen – Truth

Dominik Eulberg – Flora & Fauna

Frank Wiedemann, Ame

Stimming

HVOB

Maya Jane Coles

The Knife – Deep Cuts

Sohn – Rennen

Sylvan Esso – 2014

Who Made who – Through the walls

Rüfüs du Sol – Surrender

Björk – Debut

James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart

Elder Island – The Omnitone Collection

Prince – Sign O Times

What key pieces of gear/software do you use to define your sound?

Korg Minilogue Xd / Yamaha Reface XD / Prophet / Subphatty / Native Instruments / Arturia software / Slate digital plugins.

How do you prepare yourself mentally for performing or/and studio sessions?

I meditate, stretch and breath – and of course, warm up my voice if I have to sing.

What self-love tips can you share?

Breathwork and meditation – touching the heart and realizing that this life is the only one you have in this consciousness. If we don’t love ourselves and accept ourselves as we are, who will do it?

Surround yourself with people that are good and love you as you are, plus support you to grow to your full potential.

Realizing our thoughts – if they are destructive try to think of something different because we become what we are thinking. Everybody has insecurities – for me, it also helps to think of this: “what would you say to yourself if you were your friend?”

How has music production changed your outlook on life?

I see that everything coming to me can be translated into music through me if I want to, pretty great. 😉

Tell us about your upcoming releases or projects?

I will release my album ENARCHY this year. It’s the combination of energy and anarchy. The two main things that got me through that crisis, and helped me to confront and work through all of it. ENARCHY is the outcome. Deep reflections on the themes that touched me the most in the last year – writing about making peace with my body, solitude, pain, toxic relationships, a superficial society and digitalisation. It’s also about how we attract what we think, and finally become free through the realization of all of this and the translation into music. After ‘Skin’, every month a different song is coming out.