It took 10 years for Suzy Le Q to make her debut solo album Baby Blue on her terms. As she discusses in our interview, there were far too many obstacles in the way — obstacles that her male peers generally don’t need to push back against. Read below as Le Q outlines the many journeys that led her to the triumphant final track on the album, “Baby Blue.”
Do you start off with the music or lyrics first? Why?
I usually start off with the hook and melody; then I build lyrics off of that, and the music and song structure when I’m in the studio. Then I’ll do a couple polishes to pull it all together. In my case, it can take a few sessions. I also love to sit with scratch tracks in my car for weeks, where I’ll drive around and kind of work it out in the back of my mind as I go about my days. I LOVE songwriting and the journey! It is so enriching, I highly recommend every musician to put out a solo album, it’s such a truly gratifying adventure. I’m forever change
Explain the title of your album.
Baby Blue is named for the last song on the album. It happened to be the final song recorded during the album process, and to me, ended up representing the journey of writing the album. The feeling of recording “Baby Blue” encapsulated the album process, because it’s a conversational song, and recording is a constant conversation with being on an artist’s journey. Basically, the song and the album both embody all the things I’ve been working toward in writing and recording in the first place!
More specifically, the song tries to quantify the peaks and valleys of life, and the timeless questioning of the universe, “Why am I here and what am I doing, and God will you please help me figure it all out?” One could say that such questions are best answered by what the Buddhists tell us: to become comfortable with uncertainty and the unknown.
On a more straightforward level, the song and the album title are simultaneously wrapped up in the notion of baby blue like the color of the sky, and within the context of the song, how one may throw their head back to stare into the daylit heavens, and finally find peace in knowing the journey itself is the answer-less version of ‘figuring it out as one goes’ to the mysterious question of life.
Who would you love to collaborate with? Why?
Oh I could go on and on…off the top of my head? Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Lyle Lovett, Pharrell, David Foster, Eddie Vedder, Sir Paul McCartney, Pete Doherty, and Rod Stewart! Ha! I love male singers/producers from different genres; I think it would be cool to blend and mash-up styles, voices and eras. And, if they were still alive, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Kenny Rogers and Hank Williams in no particular order! I’d also like to write or collaborate on some records for some female pop stars because it would be fun to reinvent their stories and what they have to say in a more intimate and authentic way.
Who are some of your musical influences?
There are too many to put! Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Pattie Smith, Led Zeppelin, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, Joan Jett, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, Queen, The Beach Boys, Rod Stewart, Karen O, Midland, Kacey Musgraves and so many more! I LOVE music! Almost anything, but especially classic rock and classic country
Tell us about the first song you wrote.
The first song I ever wrote was called “Green Eyes.” I never laid it down in the studio, but it’s memorable as my first song because songwriter Jenny Karr suggested I write a song about my heartbreak, and it was about a lost love that had green eyes Later I ended up marrying my husband, who has green eyes anyway! Honestly, I didn’t seek it out, but he does have green eyes. Life is funny, especially when you write songs and take suggestions from friends!
What is your vision for a more just music industry?
More production education and focus on broader business skills available to everyone and a narrative change to equality. Let’s get the truth out there: everyone is capable of making great art, regardless of their gender!!
As a female executive producer of my album, it was insurmountably difficult to get this album produced on my own. I had to learn how to get it done in my court! I met with a ton of pushback from male (and even female) artists and producers that wanted creative control of my art and I had to defend and advocate for myself constantly for my vision!
For example, I had at least two male collaborators quit working with me when I set the boundary that I was recording songs in the studio of my producer. And furthermore, unfortunately, I had to set that boundary because I’d come into contact with abusive personalities in recording sessions in the past.
I urge women, LGBTQ+ and BIPOC to interview tons of producers and spaces prior to going into the studio and to bring chaperones, friends or advocates, and to remain sober, because the recording studio can be a space where predators can be allowed to persist. Fortunately, the people I came in contact with were mostly verbal abusers, and I was able to extricate myself easily from the situations, but I still urge musicians to be alert!
In the end, it took me almost 10 years to get the album made in my vision with my trusted collaborators, due to navigating these obstacles and the constant challenges I met with, mostly due to assumptions made about my gender!
However the good news is that the final team ended up being an array of THE MOST AMAZING LOVELY MEN and WOMEN, who championed, mentored and supported my endeavors, but it was a challenge to find these angels!! Gathering the team that made this happen was nothing short of miraculous! I’m so blessed and grateful. And now thrilled, to have gotten to speak to you, Adobe and Teardrops! Thank you for having me!
Suzy Le Q — Links to Spotify, Apple Music, etc; Instagram