Renee Marie releases “Blueberry Satin” single on YouTube

“Blueberry Satin,” a new online single from singer Renee Marie, starts in a fog of minor chords and then, depending on which YouTube version you click on, moves to either an organ-and-drums riff or unadorned acoustic guitar, each driving the protagonist’s lust for “blueberry satin” itself. Which — suggestive references to fruit and pies aside — turns out to be a scented hair care product. The organ-and-drums version sounds finished, layered, and especially (thanks to the thick backbeat) ready for radio. The acoustic take invites the ear into the song through the deft, knowing interplay between the two strummers, accentuating the lyrics and their sly invocation of bisexuality and all-night cruising. All thanks to the texture of mousse.

Given the song’s turns through sexy, slinky, and even sinister sounds and lyrics, you’d never guess that two of its songwriters met while one was only in the sixth grade. But that was when Marie, a San Diego native, first came to know music teacher and vocal coach Taylin Rae, who works mostly out of Pacific Beat Recording at North Pacific Beach. “Funny enough, High School Musical was the first musical score that inspired me,” Marie remembers. “My mom reminds me all the time that I used to belt ‘I Want it All’ from the backseat of her van…I loved singing ‘Nightingale’ by Demi Lovato and ‘Stay’ by Rihanna. Those top two for sure at the time.”

Ms. Rae says student Marie stood out from the first. “She came to her first lesson with a song prepared, very impressive. She put her fears aside, and belted it out like she had been performing and singing for years. It was like she transformed in that moment.” The lessons continue ten years later, although Marie did set some time aside for growing up in the normal San Diego manner. “I have countless memories of running around Kensington playing whatever game we conjured up that day. Mission Valley has also brought great memories; it’s where I learned to drive, meaning I put up a tough fight against mall traffic.” She began to concentrate on songwriting after getting out of high school. Her early work, she allows, was more about surfaces; she was 18, so she wrote about 18-year-old issues. In time, she settled on a style she calls “New School Pop, which has pop textures and a jazzy feel.”

“Blueberry Satin,” she explains, combines ideas from herself, Ms. Rae, and guitarist Gregg Montante, another regular on her writing sessions. The finished song “came about after months of working over Zoom during Covid. Taylin, Gregg, and I were all so burnt out, that we decided to write about something so casual, such as a fruit. We wanted this song to be airy and light, reminding us of brighter times ahead. Taylin and I came up with the lyrics and melody, while Gregg came up with chord structure.”

Marie has several more songs ready to go, and looks forward to putting them out in the coming year. She allows that she hasn’t had a chance to play many live shows, but looks forward to them as well. “The most challenging aspect of working with Taylin wasn’t so much what she taught, but overcoming my own personal boundaries. She had me get out of my comfort zone a lot, which in turn made me who I am today.”