Mumbai Singer-Songwriter Diya Maeve Explores Love on Debut EP

After teasing her five-track debut EP For the Lovers with the singles “Me, You, & the Stars” (2022) and “Jupiter’s Moon” (2023), Mumbai-based singer-songwriter Diya Maeve has now released the full record. In this interview with Rolling Stone India, she talks about the making of the EP, the stories behind the songs and more. Read below.

When did work on your debut EP begin?

I properly began working on my EP in February 2022. But prior to recording the songs, I had already finalized which ones were going to be on the EP. I’ve always had a habit of fully working on a song and then moving to the next step of working on it with a producer. Hence, I had written many songs, especially during the pandemic. Once I had decided which songs I wanted on the EP according to the storyline and concept I was going for, I started working on recording them properly.

What can you tell me about the EP?

My main aim was this – to tell a story through the EP, with each song acting like a chapter. I wanted to tell a story about love. Moreover, I also wanted to incorporate something along the lines of, if one is broken, one goes through a storm, they can find a home at the end of it, it was all leading to a home that they had been looking for. 

I first started writing songs after getting inspired by Taylor Swift’s songwriting and storytelling. Over the years, I’ve also discovered artists like Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski and Lana Del Rey, who inspire me. Hence, storytelling and songwriting have been my comfort every day. I wanted to create a record that told a story, hoping everyone listening to it could find a little story of their own in it.

What plans do you have to promote the record?

At the moment, I plan to play my originals at gigs, which will be promoted on my socials. Other than that, I’m also working on acoustic versions of songs on the EP, and videos accompanying them. 

What’s next?

After the EP, I plan to start working on creating some drafts of new songs I’ve been writing! I want to explore more, be as creative as possible, and listen to different genres as well, to increase my knowledge on how I could perfectly create a vision of the soundscape and production for my future songs. I’ll mostly work on them as singles rather than a whole record, as each of them have their own concept.

Stream ‘For the Lovers’ on Spotify below and on other platforms.