Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Happy to share! Music is my love language. It’s always been a source of joy and connection with others. I grew up in a music loving household. My parents had classical music and Serbian folk music playing right alongside rock, disco, and 80s hits, sometimes on vinyl or cassettes too. When I was eight, they signed me up for piano lessons. I immediately loved learning and experimenting with different sounds, especially playing in group recitals. Then when I was sixteen, my best friend at the time encouraged me to learn electric guitar with her and sing so we could write our own punk rock songs. My parents bought me my first electric guitar that Christmas and I haven’t put guitars down since. I’m so thankful my parents and friends have always been supportive of my passion for music.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Masquerade in three words?
A: Honest, varied, and refined.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: I’m grateful for everyone who takes an interest and spends time with my music. My hope is that my songs can find people at the right time in their lives, so maybe they hear something they really relate to or feel just a little less alone. I love blogging about my musical journey and creative process, sharing videos of me playing guitar riffs, or my in the moment photos with a favourite lyric from a song I’m working on. I also have an option for listeners to review my music in a quick survey on my website because I love hearing what my music means to someone! I openly share the honest feedback I get. I consider listeners very much a part of my songwriting and music production process because I’m always trying to write songs about what’s real, songs that sound different than what someone might usually listen to. It means a lot to put my music out there. So I always want to honour listeners by bringing them along my journey as equals.
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘Darkest Hours’. Is there a story behind it?
A: I look at each release like a chapter in my broader musical story. Darkest Hours is part of several releases I’m doing this year, including singles and another EP. While my Darkest Hours EP was written at the start of the year alongside this batch of other songs, it was specifically written during a polar vortex. There was no power for several long and scary hours. It was the coldest and most snowed in I’d ever been. I’m always writing lyrics in my journals or my phone. I turned the worry I was feeling about this polar vortex into what became the EP’s title track. The lyrics for I’m Lonely and Temptation followed right after. These first drafts were written in a flurry but all shared the same core idea: when everything is dark, and struggling seems to define you, stand on your own two feet and find hope in hard times.
Q: What is your favorite track from the EP and why?
A: Temptation is my favourite track because, along with I’m Lonely, it’s one of the most vulnerable and honest songs I’ve written so far. I had a lot going through my mind while I was freezing in the dark. Something I reflected on was my struggle with self-sabotage. Beyond the harm, I wanted to focus on being brave enough to make positive changes. I really tried to get that across for this whole EP, but especially in the second verse of Temptation. I also think it’s one of my catchiest songs because of my electric guitar riff, acoustic guitar strumming, and arpeggiated electric piano melody.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the EP, “Darkest Hours”?
A: Songs always start on acoustic guitar or piano for me. I love doing this because it lets me hear and shape chord progressions and melodies without burying them in production layers. I think it was precisely because I had no access to my DAW for as long as the power was gone that I stuck with my acoustic guitar longer than usual. So it just stayed in songs like Temptation. Once I’m happy with the song’s raw version, I’ll start layering in other instruments and effects.
I really wanted the production for my Darkest Hours EP to feel like listeners were right there in the room with me and we were talking about all these things we struggle with, like bills, loneliness, messing up, not knowing if you’re doing the right thing or what comes next. Just figuring out how to live and be a good person. This shaped every production decision. I chose a warmer clean electric guitar tone. I programmed softer drums and added a ghost note effect to those tracks to make them feel almost ethereal instead of overpowering. I also challenged myself to try new things, like playing some mournful slide guitar as the main riff for I’m Lonely.
I always find it’s easier to write music once I have a pretty good draft of the lyrics. Or at least a title in mind. This directly informs my production. For example, there’s lots of ways reverb and delay can sound as cold as a polar vortex. I added some of that to my vocals and the main guitar riff of Darkest Hours specifically.
Imagery supports my production too. My Darkest Hours EP cover is something I designed from scratch in Canva and came up with that black solar eclipse against a red background. That got me thinking about what sounds would fit this vivid image. So I found atmospheric synth pads to fill in during the verses. Producing this EP was such a wonderful learning experience that emboldened me to try different things.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Masquerade so far?
A: I’m not able to play music live as Masquerade because of my health, which includes my safety concerns as a woman being on the road. I’m quite happy that Masquerade is a studio only project and I enjoy making music simply for the love of it. While I did tour a bit locally in my twenties before Masquerade, I also quickly realized a couple things: I wasn’t that great of a performer, I hated being away from home and loved ones, and I was ruining my health, my studies, and my wallet. I had the most fun writing songs and producing them in my own little bedroom studio. This is the best thing for me and I wish someone had told me kindly back then that it was totally okay not to have to perform my songs live.
During this time, I would like to share one very dear concert memory from 2017. I joined a women’s songwriting circle. Up until that point, I’d tried to learn some basic songwriting through YouTube channels and teach myself by reading books like Friedemann Findeisen’s The Addiction Formula. I’d only ever gone to community music production workshops. I was also learning production as a regular volunteer and music reviewer for the university campus radio station.
But this songwriting circle is where I learned everything I know now and still use in my songwriting every day. Thanks to the amazing teachers, we were shown how to write specific, heartfelt lyrics and music. We learned about song craft and arrangement, singing, how to fit words and melodies together like puzzle pieces, how to write from our own unique experiences in a relatable way, and how to finish our songs over several months.
The biggest surprise at the end was that each of us got to play our original songs on the main stage of Hillside Festival! I remember being nervous and also totally excited. The happy rush of being on stage to play for loved ones and community made it an incredible experience.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: Sunrise/Sunset from my debut synthpop album Afterlove is special. All seven songs of heartbreak and healing are so bittersweet to me now. I put out Afterlove in December of 2025 because I needed some way to process, grieve, and heal in the wake of a devastating breakup with my soulmate. The best way I knew how was through music, which has since connected me to many new friends and wonderful people.
I’m proud of Sunrise/Sunset because it’s the first song I wrote for Afterlove and in turn marked the start of my music release journey. Before the lyrics poured out, I only had the distorted, bombastic 80s lead guitar riff. It sounds desperate and torn up, exactly how I was feeling. The song is simply about how the days and nights can blur into a painful daze after losing someone you love. I cherish this song because you can hear everything of my style in it. When you listen to Sunrise/Sunset, there’s that heavy guitar mixed with clean catchy riffs and chords, glistening synths, brisk drums, and my eccentric vocals. The whole process for Afterlove finally helped me let go of perfectionism and it was super cathartic to write Sunrise/Sunset!
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Masquerade’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: I’m so excited whenever I get to ramble about making music! I believe making art is truly about bringing to life all the things we care about. Anything can spark a lyric idea or a title, which is always my starting point. Whether that’s the beautiful nature I enjoy on my hikes, a deep conversation, a good book, a feeling, or my favourite records, I’m always writing something down. If I already have lyrics formed, I tend to pick out phrases, actions, or strong imagery for a memorable title and conceptualize from there.
When I’m playing guitar with this in mind, I just make weird sounds to wrap around words if they’re ready so I can figure out a melody. But I much prefer writing melodies on piano because it’s easier for me to just trust my ears and visualize the notes on the keyboard. I go through three drafts of lyrics. The first is the messy, no judgement draft. The second happens after there’s some music and I can join words and melody. The third is sometimes a total redraft because I will be singing a few takes at that point to see if it all works well.
I love doing things myself and enjoy every part of the creative process, including frustrations. If I get stuck along the way, I take a break of a few weeks. Or if I’m still in the early stages of lyrics and conceptualizing, I flip my hourglass filled with fifteen minutes of sand and just write. Whatever comes from those short sessions always breaks through any creative block.
Since recording Afterlove and all my 2026 releases on my free BandLab account, the best thing I ever did was switch to FL Studio in May this year. It was humbling to learn its specific workflow and get used to a new way of doing things. Now it’s at the heart of every song. I just love learning everything it can do. It’s been absolutely freeing to no longer have to worry about track restrictions, especially to be able to use all the plugins and VSTs I need. I’m amazed by this DAW and it keeps me creating!
I’d also like to add that I’m not too concerned with sticking to a single genre. I love all sorts of music and I hope my own reflects all my diverse influences. Whether I’m writing electropunk, pop, rock, or just acoustic songs, there’s elements from each I try to weave into my songwriting and production.
To keep myself focused and disciplined, I always write and produce songs in this order: scratch guitar or piano track, then drums, guitars, synths, bass, and vocals. It’s this same process for every song. Nothing special, but it works for me. I never waver the steps because it’s a workflow I’m comfortable with that gives me the confidence to decide a song is finally done and ready to share.
Time is precious and I enjoy spending as much as I can making music.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: Every song I finish and release is a dream come true. Getting to share my music and having people listen, talking about it like this, supporting others with their art, it’s everything I ever wanted to do.
I will keep making music and releasing as Masquerade until all the chapters in my musical story are told. I want to take my time and really enjoy every moment, to create with my loved ones by my side. Beyond Masquerade, I will always be keeping music in my life.
A very important part of my creative outlook is being Head Curator at NewBohemia.art. Fellow musician Evan (the4realmcg) is our Founder and a pro-human art visionary. I support New Bohemia’s strategic direction as part of the management team and I lead our team of amazing Curators to nurture our community where artists are appreciated and valued. Everyone can join for free, get verified as a human artist, and share their art without any generative AI in the mix. Being Head Curator and seeing our inspiring community thrive has made me a better person and artist for sure.
It’s opened my eyes to just how important a supportive community and artist development really is. No one should feel like they’re isolated and screaming into an uncaring void. Or feel like they’re left behind and without resources.
One day I want to have my own cozy music studio that I’d also open as an affordable community space, just like those spaces that were so important to me as I was learning my songwriting and production skills. I also want my studio to be a sanctuary for artists, focused on support and development.
From the bottom of my heart, here’s the message I want to share to everyone who listens:
You matter, so please believe in yourself and trust that everything happens in its own good time for a reason. It’s never too late to do everything you’ve ever wanted and be the light along the way.
