Spotlight: All Aboard with Maude Latour on a Cosmic Journey of Sapphic Love
Listening to indie-pop artist Maude Latour talk about her body of musical work is, I can only imagine, not unlike receiving a tour of a space station from a trained astronaut. Without having to be told, it’s immediately clear that there’s something immensely impressive happening. But it’s not until someone walks you through the intricate inner workings of everything that you’re able to appreciate the level of talent, precision, and hard work required to sustain it.
Since 2019, Latour has graduated from Columbia University, amassed a loyal following, performed at festivals such as Lollapalooza, and released four EPs which largely deal with similar, interconnected themes: the spontaneity and unpredictability of love, the power of queerness and female friendship, and the mysteries of nature. That Latour views each of these projects as different “worlds” into which her listeners (and herself) can retreat only solidifies her image as someone charting a course through the cosmos.
“I think [my first EP] Starsick, we’re in the stars. Strangers Forever, we’re in the clouds, 001 we land on the planet, and then with Twin Flame, I’m focused on the other. And when I put my album out, it will be finally at the self,” Latour tells The Luna Collective when explaining how all her projects so far relate to each other and coalesce into the Maude Latour Cinematic Universe. Though I’ve followed Latour’s career closely from its beginning, hearing her describe her discography this way makes me feel like I’m looking at something as familiar as my own reflection with brand new eyes; the progression she describes is so natural, I’m shocked it never occurred to me before.
Latour’s most recent EP, Twin Flame, is a perfect example of something classic being made to feel original. She describes the project as a “sapphic love letter”. “You know,” she admits, “I’m blessed with having fallen in love many times, but I’ve never been able to capture it in real-time exactly as it was happening. Maybe the safety of the sapphic-ness or where I was in my life allowed me to really be present in those feelings and make them last forever.”
During September and October of 2023, Latour was on the road for her headlining tour in support of the Twin Flame EP. “There are a few different types of days,” she says, recounting her time on the road and what an average day on tour is like. (In the moments where she pauses to gather her thoughts, she has a tendency to imbue her “hmm…”s and “uh…”s with quick melodic riffs. Even her speech becomes a song.) “But in general I try to sleep as much as I can, I try to do something other than scroll on social media, I try to read a book for a few pages.” When I spoke to Latour in late September, she was reading The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, who happens to be my favorite author; even the shortest conversation with Latour will have you seeing synchronicities and moments of connection in everything.
The shows themselves are as varied as the days on the road. “Every city has such a unique energy, such a unique vibe,” Latour reflects. “I feel like people let their walls down in the audience. It seems like a place where closure is happening. And these shows are particularly queer… there are so many people in couples, holding each other, and there’s a lot of love in the room. Maybe that’s because Twin Flame is such a sapphic little EP, but it seems people are happy.”
Having attended the LA stop of Latour’s most recent tour at the Regent Theater, I can personally confirm this. From the riotous energy of cinematic tracks like “I Am Not the Sun” or viral hit “One More Weekend” to a gorgeous acoustic mid-show set featuring ballads like “Living It” and “No Rush”, Latour delivered a concert with all the intimacy of a house party set, but the force of a full-fledged stadium show. The only other time I can recall fans screaming lyrics at a show with such intensity was at the Eras Tour.
With the Twin Flame tour now behind her, the biggest thing on the horizon in 2024 for Latour is her debut album. “The goal of making an album has been on a self-pedestal for a while,” Latour admits with a laugh. Throughout our conversation, she gesticulates emphatically with her hands, flashing small silver rings and neat blue nail polish as she does so. “It’s in the works, I’m working on it, and I can’t wait for you to hear it!”
When discussing her creative process, Latour often uses the language of discovery rather than labor. “[The record] is still showing itself to me, what it’s asking to be,” she allows, “but I hope it’s a medley of all the worlds I’ve put out so far.” Given the loyal, passionate, and energetic fan base Latour has accrued with her atmospheric sounds and mystical lyrics, it’s a safe bet that her debut record will be a musical landscape that listeners will want to revisit again and again.
