Name: Mary Eliza
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Nationality: American
Recent release: Mary Eliza's new album Spider is out now.
Global Recommendations: I recommend walking around SE Portland and petting all of the roaming neighborhood cats. If you are a cat lover, you will not be disappointed with these little cuddle bugs. :)

If you enjoyed this Mary Eliza interview and would like to find out more about her work, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, and bandcamp.



If, for a moment, we forget about streaming numbers, target audiences, social media followers, and sales - why are you drawn to sound and music as a creator and listener? What is it that you give and receive through it?

Honestly, for me, when even just one person connects with my music and gets something out of it, I feel fulfilled as an artist, even if that person is just me. Writing and playing music brings incredible meaning and joy to my life, and that is why I continue to create it.

I always write and create from a place of necessity, to express something that I am feeling/experiencing, and make further sense of myself and this world. As a listener, I feel that it is a similar experience. When I am hit to my core with a song, in any capacity, I feel like I walk away understanding myself better, and the way that I fit into this world.

For me, music is a magical language, creating correspondence between self and core-being. Many of the songs that I write, I don’t understand until I hear them later on. For example my song “Fire” seems to show me a different piece of my heart every time I listen to it.



Music is a great teacher.

In how far can music be considered "essential" for humans?

I think that being creative is an outlet that many of us need in order to maximize our true potential. Creating art, or music, uses a different part of the brain than other activities. It can allow us to access our subconscious and process things more efficiently, thus allowing us to be more self-regulated.

I would say that music stems from both people surviving, and people thriving and pushing the boundaries from a place of safety. Music can save lives, so in that sense, can be viewed as an essential supportive beam for many people in this world.

Take us through a day in your life, from a possible morning routine to your work, please, and how music and sound accompany you through it.

The first thing that I do when I wake up is meditate. It is often a short meditation, and is rooted in gratefulness for having the opportunity to live another day. If the birds are singing, I open my windows, and when I’m lucky, that is the first music of the day that I hear.

On days when I am feeling big emotions, or in times of shift and change, writing, playing, and listening to music is the backbone of my day. Music is my greatest supportive beam and friend in my life.

What artists, albums, performances, or even aesthetics and philosophies are inspiring to your life in and beyond music right now and in which way? Have there been songs, albums, performances, and artists that changed / influenced your life?

Adrianne Lenker has been an influence of mine for a long time now.



She inspired me to be brave and begin releasing ‘unfinished’ pieces of music. Hearing and seeing her play music with just her one voice and her one guitar changed the way that I view the musical world and sonic landscapes in general. If there is enough true heart and pure expression in a piece of music, it is the most beautiful thing in the world.

Music is a safe lens that I can explore suffering through. A philosophy that guides my days is one that I read about in a book by Thich Nhat Hanh. The philosophy is that there is no suffering without joy, and there is no joy without suffering. The two are not mutually exclusive. This means that we must learn how to suffer, to learn how to be happy.

I lean into music to help me learn how to suffer. It is my greatest outlet and source of peace in times of uncertainty.

What are some of the goals and ambitions you have for your music?

I feel that the greatest thing that I can do with my passion for music is to foster community. I want to use my music to spark conversation between people, and bring humans together.

I want to create a space for people, especially those with disability/chronic illness, where we can gather and feel supported and loved unconditionally. I don’t know how, but I feel that it will occur, and that my music will play a role.

What are some of the non-musical topics and causes you feel strongly about? Do you keep them separate from or try to connect them to your creative work?

I am chronically ill/disabled, and though it is not my identity, it is a massive part of my life. There is a saying that you have thousands of problems until you have a health problem; and then you only have one. I feel that so strongly, and I aim to create a space where folks with chronic illnesses/disabilities can gather and feel seen and supported.

Being disabled in an ableist society can be incredibly alienating, and depressing. I even mention this a couple times throughout my record, like in the song ‘Porcelain’: “You tell me that I’m porcelain, and I know what that means. I don’t want you to feel so scared, so terrified of me.”



It is about when people in my life have pretty much ghosted me because they didn’t know how to have a disabled friend, it ‘wasn’t what they signed up for’, and felt more comfortable not being anywhere near me.

I don’t hold it against them, but it does hurt. I would have wanted them to know that I won’t break if they made a mistake, or hurt me. I may seem fragile, but I have a strong heart.

How would our world be different if we paid less attention to looks and listened more instead?

The only way I know how to answer this is to talk about the walk that I just went on around my neighborhood.

I brought my film camera, and instead of watching passer-bys, I focused on the tops of trees, the birds, the light hitting a window at the top of a building, etc..and I felt so at peace. I felt completely immersed in the images through the lens and forgot completely about myself.

I nearly cried at the beauty of the world when I forgot to care about my appearance.