At first glance, it would have seemed like Jaqueline F. Moore had it all. She was running her own Marriage and Family Therapy practice, teaching at her alma mater, painting works that offer transcendence from the mundane, and earning certifications in yoga, reiki, meditation, and more. It certainly looked as She had always put creativity at the forefront of her life: drawing, photography, painting, and formal music training in her high school’s competitive wind ensemble, marching band, and jazz band programmes. Even so, she felt like there was something unresolved within, something more that she was meant to do with her life.
Then, while she was in recovery from a hip rupture, which meant she was unable to hold her bass guitar, she picked up a mahogany-bodied Martin guitar, and suddenly, it seemed like a long-cherished dream would come to pass. Essentially, Maya Lumen was born: a musical luminary uncovering and traversing spiritual and psychological depths through sound. With a new, innovative style that she calls, “progressive desperado”, in which she weaves progressive chords, rock instrumentation, and folk and Latin influences, and with it, establishing a special space where listeners are most inspired, most themselves, and most healed.
Maya Lumen finds she is guided by a profound sense of purpose and a blossoming confidence, and her second EP is her most inspired project yet, and sees her pairing art in the works that will speak directly to the needs and desires of the collective consciousness, and trusting the vibrations to carry listeners exactly where they need to go.
Maya Lumen’s new single, ‘Maynard’s Song’, is named for her music-loving black cat, named after Tool’s Maynard James Keenan. Maynard was a loyal companion, and at times, serving as a swift, often unexpected, force of healing and hope in some of her darkest hours. The song was originally plucked and inspired by her teenage friend Dash Kirby, and evokes a moody aesthetic much like her late feline friend.
‘Maynard’s Song’ has continued to evolve over many years, and over time has gathered to itself a warmth that is both effortlessly enchanting, and kaleidoscopic: part fantasy, part reflection, and overall, heart. With delicate acoustics, buzzing basslines, and shuffling beats, the listener is easily able to picture a furry shadow stalking the edges of a room, and perhaps a pair of bright green eyes cutting through the darkness, while the melody pulls us into a faraway land where black cats roam freely, and the mind wanders endlessly.
For ‘Maynard’s Song’s music video, her debut visualiser, Maya Lumen called upon the steady hands and bright minds of many, including local musicians, dancers, and directors, who each contributed their time, energy, and skills to create a mesmerizing and immersive experience. While there are no black cats, there are black silhouettes swaying and swirling in time to the melody, while Lumen and her band lose themselves in the song. Much like abstract visions of the notes brought to life, the imaginative, black-and-white design, are perfectly matched to the style of the project’s art book, signifying an artist with intention, focus, and ambition.
Watch the inspiring music video for ‘Maynard’s Song’ below, and find out more about Maya Lumen and her music online on her official website, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.
