BLÜ EYES
Sensitivity is a strength-so says Katie
Stump, also known as BLÜ EYES. With
a musical pseudonym borne out of light sensitivity (blue eyes being the most
affected), and vulnerable, soul-baring lyrics, Stump is here to encapsulate the
tenderness of the human experience. On her new EP The Last Songs I'll Write About You (out May 5 on VERSION III), she blends her signature
bedroom pop production with issues of loss, identity and abandonment.
Stump grew up
in a musical family and looked to her parents as inspiration, from singing at
the dinner table to full ensemble productions for every holiday. After
attending the University of Southern California for pop performance, she
continued performing and playing in bands throughout her early twenties. In
addition to her time on stage, she began to develop her production skills. "I've always had an interest in production, but I only had
male role models to look up to," she says. She bonded over the shared interest
with women in her graduating class and began to work on solo music under
BLÜ EYES, releasing her first EP healing
hurts in 2022.
Yet, in the
midst of finding her footing as a songwriter and artist, she found herself
swept up in a whirlwind friendship. "It was just incredibly toxic," she
remembers. One part colleague, one part mentor and one part close friend, this
person played an integral role in Stump's early career. However, Stump noticed
more and more that she was losing her own sense of agency and individuality,
not only as an artist, but as a person. Trying to extricate herself from a
difficult dynamic, Stump ultimately cut ties with them entirely. "The breakup with this friend was so much worse than any
relationship breakup I've ever had," she says. "I had been so focused on trying
to make this other person's dream happen, and I didn't ask myself if it was
something that I actually wanted!"
Luckily,
Stump has done plenty of work on her own dreams in the time since. In The Last Songs I'll Write About You, she
takes listeners through each stage of a toxic relationship, from initial
rose-colored glasses, to shunted feelings, to lock-jawed anger. She cites the influence of Taylor Swift when it
came to writing lyrics, particularly in the expansive final track, "The Last
Song." "'All Too Well' tells such a complete story
about a relationship-the good, the bad, the everything," she says. "That's what
this feels like to me."
And the
"everything" is what makes BLÜ EYES special. Including every high and low from
Stump's life can be emotionally draining, but she is ultimately glad she put
every last bit of herself into the music. "I don't
want this EP to be just about this friend," she says. "I want it to be about
the loss of identity with someone else." And within each of these markers-her
personal experiences, her self-produced sound, her narrative storytelling-is
where the songs truly shine. "It's imprinting myself on the music," Stump says.
"Every single sound you hear is put there by me."