“It was taller than me,” bassist Blu DeTiger tells me with a laugh. We’re discussing her lifelong relationship with the instrument, which evidently started at just seven years old – when the future industry trailblazer picked up her first bass. It was a rare move for a kid, she recognises, and particularly for a young girl. “When I was young, even just finding people to look up to was kind of hard because there’s only a few [women] players and they’re a little bit more niche per se. I think that’s also why I wanted to do it. I don’t know, I think it was a subconscious thing, wanting to be different, to do something I haven’t seen. But yeah, I definitely felt that from a really young age, for sure.”

Luckily for the future generation of bass players, they now have DeTiger to look up to. Between DJing all around New York City as a teen, playing with the likes of Bleachers, Olivia Rodrigo, Caroline Polachek, and Fletcher, releasing her debut album, All I Ever Want Is Everything, and embarking on her first solo tour, she has been paving the way and doing it on her own terms: following her gut, having fun, and letting her love for the instrument guide her decisions.

Now, the singer-songwriter and bassist has become the youngest and first woman ever to partner with the iconic brand on a signature bass, a milestone for DeTiger, Fender, and the music industry alike. Designed entirely with DeTiger’s vision, the Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass features a sparkle finish, lightweight body, and custom pickups – embodying in its look and sound the vibrant, one-of-a-kind energy that the artist has become known for. “It took two years,” she shares about the design process, which included various blue swatch deliberations and prototype testing. “I went to the factory and I saw how everything was done. It was just such a cool experience, like who else gets to do that?”

“I wanted to make a bass that even if you didn’t know who I was or don’t care, you can pick it up and you can love it,” she continues. “It’s for beginners and it’s for advanced players, it’s for everyone. And it just looks cool as fuck, it looks so sick on stage, it’s gorgeous.”

Read the full interview…

When did you first get into music and, specifically, the bass?
I have a brother who’s a few years older than me and he was playing drums when he was about 10 and that naturally inspired me to want to play an instrument. I remember seeing a lot of people play guitar – it’s more in the cultural zeitgeist and more common – so I think I chose bass from a want to be different or stand out. And then I just fell in love with the instrument and it became my thing at a really young age. I liked listening to the Beatles and Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and all this classic rock when I was like seven, eight, nine years old and learning all of those types of songs. And then, you know, you go through different genres and different phases of music taste. I got into jazz in high school. And then I got into funk music and disco. And yeah, I just kind of kept going with it and playing in bands.

You don’t think of many seven-year-olds with a bass!
I know it’s really funny. It was taller than me.

Did you feel at that age like it was a male dominated space?
I think I did feel that because I didn’t see many women play bass at all. There’s not that many examples. When I was young, even just finding people to look up to was kind of hard because there’s only a few players and they’re a little bit more niche per se. I think that’s also why I wanted to do it. I don’t know, I think it was a subconscious thing, wanting to be different, to do something I haven’t seen. But yeah, I definitely felt that from a really young age, for sure. When I was growing up, practising, playing in bands, doing after school programs, studying jazz in high school, and all that stuff, it was really easy to feel that.

So it was more of a motivator?
I think anytime I would walk into a room of all dudes and they would discredit me or write me off or something, I used that as motivation or a sense of drive to be the best player. I would just practise a shit ton so that no one could say that about me or no one could be like, ‘oh she just got this gig because she’s a girl and they want a girl in their band’ or whatever.

When did things start to really take off for you?
I started DJing in the city when I was about 17. And I would bring my bass and play over my DJ sets. And I started becoming kind of known for that – a lot of people in New York would know who I was. So that was kind of an era of me getting more out there, I guess. And then at the same time, I remember being hired as a bass player to play with the NYU kids when I was a senior in high school. I think that was also a distinct time where I was getting recognized as a player around the city by different musicians who needed bass players for their bands. So I was doing that a lot and then I started touring professionally – I did my first bus tour with this group The Knocks and then I toured with Caroline Polachek. I was being hired to play bass for other people, while I was working on my own music. But I didn’t really know where my own music was going to go. I didn’t really know when or if that was necessarily going to take off. And then during the pandemic, that’s when it really sped up. My own music kind of took off and people became more aware of me as a person, I guess.

How have you found a balance between working as a session musician on others’ projects and working on your own solo music?
I think the priorities shift, but to me, I just love playing. I love performing and the bass as an instrument, I just love music. So I kind of just do what I want and what I feel like is gonna be fun for me, honestly, and share the joy of playing music and the love of it. So if someone I like approaches me and asks me to play with them for something, I’m down to do it if I like the music and they’re friends and it makes sense and all that stuff. So the balance just comes from me internally being like, ‘okay, is this going to be a fun experience? Do I like this music? Is this going to be a vibe?’ That’s kind of where it comes from. But now my priority is my project and making new music for that and having this bass come out.

What do you look for in a collaboration, whether with a brand like Fender or with another musician?
With Fender, there was a lot of trust involved because we’ve been working together for so long. The first time I started working with them was when they gifted me a bass when I was 17. I was freaking out. I think I cried that day, I was so excited. You know, that’s the most iconic classic guitar company, recognizing me and wanting me to play their instruments. That was the coolest feeling of all time. It was a big moment.

And there’s just been a lot of trust there since. They’ve been supporting me from such an early age, and I built an amazing relationship with them. I’ve DJed events for them, I’ve been in their campaigns. I also just have a genuine love for the company and the instruments, which is really important to me when picking collaborators. It’s stuff that I actually stand behind and love.

It’s the same for collaborating with other artists or playing with other people or even picking producers and songwriters for my own albums. It’s having a genuine appreciation for what they do and a mutual trust and respect.

I’d love to hear a bit about your album! At what point did you really start to work on it? You mentioned different eras of your career – is there a point where now you can look back and say, ‘oh, that’s where this sound originated’?
I think I was always working towards it, but it probably specifically started after I had my EP come out in 2021. I got signed and started going out to LA for writing sessions and that’s where it really started – even though I didn’t know it was starting. There was a point where I had seven key songs and I decided to build the rest of the album around that, and that’s where I picked and chose different songs from those earlier sessions that felt like they still resonated and fit sonically with the rest of the stuff. So it was always happening, I just didn’t realise it until I decided that I was ready to realise it, I guess.

How did these songs all come together thematically? Did you have a mission statement?
The past few years were such a crazy era and transition time of my life, post-pandemic and settling into myself as an artist. All the songs deal with those themes – the ups and downs of life and finding yourself. They all kind of fit into that and the past few years, touring and writing and moving to LA.

Is there a song you’re most proud of?
Oh, damn, it changes all the time. I really like “Imposter Syndrome.” I think it’s cool, it’s just bass, and vocals. It was the most vulnerable song I’d made and I was proud of myself that I could do that because I didn’t know I had it in me. It’s really fun to play live, it’s a nice ‘lighters in the air’ moment.

Is that your favourite song to perform live?
I like that one and I also really like playing “Latency.” It’s just super high energy and really fun. And there’s a long bass solo and I get to shred and show off and do my thing.

How have you found stepping onto the stage with your own album, versus with another artist or band?
There’s such a clear difference between supporting someone else’s vision and serving that music versus supporting your own, expressing your direct self. Touring my own music and being a front woman and playing and singing and leading my team and putting together the set, that’s just been such an important time in my life. I care about it a lot and it’s been really rewarding. My own shows are so fun. Playing for other people is a little bit different, supporting someone else’s vision, but also very fun and a different kind of rewarding feeling.

We touched a bit about the male dominated industry, but I know you’re the first woman to partner with Fender. How does that feel?
Fender has such an incredible history and lineage of players so to be added to that list and making history in that way is just… I can’t even fathom it. It’s so sick. And just having a signature in general, let alone being the first woman and youngest, is such a crazy accomplishment for any musician. It’s on my board of dream goals. It really feels insane and it hasn’t even really hit me yet. But yeah, as a player, it’s the coolest shit ever to have your own signature instrument that you create. It’s going to be out in the world and you can go to Guitar Centre and pick it up off the wall and it says my name on it. It’s just insane and I’m super honoured that I can hold that title and hopefully inspire the younger generation to pick up the bass and express themselves, and especially women.

I’m expecting to see a lot more seven-year-olds with a bass now.
We gotta start them young. All the people I know who have kids, I’m like, ‘guys, let’s get them started.’ Let’s get them going young, you know? It’s cool to find a passion so young and it’s so important. Music saved me. It was my thing and my purpose. So if anyone can find that at a young age, it’s super lucky.

What was the process of actually designing the bass? What was your involvement in that?
I had control of everything, basically. I worked with the Fender team very closely in getting what I wanted. There’s all these different tech specs and all these different details to the electronics that you can decide. And I just told them exactly what I wanted. I was like, ‘this is what I want it to sound like. This is what I want it to feel like. I want it to be super lightweight for touring. I want this sort of pickup configuration, this preamp, and this bridge. This is the colour that I want.’ We went through all these different swatches of blue and a million different swatches of sparkle. And then they made a prototype and we tweaked it based on what is good about it and what’s bad about it. It took two years. I went to the factory and I saw how everything was done. It was just such a cool experience, like who else gets to do that?

What’s cool about this bass is that it’s so versatile. I wanted to make a bass that even if you didn’t know who I was or don’t care, you can pick it up and you can love it. It’s for beginners and it’s for advanced players, it’s for everyone. And it just looks cool as fuck, it looks so sick on stage, it’s gorgeous.

How does it feel to play it?
It feels amazing. I’ve been playing it since March and I’ve been loving it. I mean, it’s my dream bass obviously. But I’m just so excited for other people to get their hands on it. I’m so excited to walk into a music store and pick it up.

Check out the Fender Limited Player Plus x Blu DeTiger Jazz Bass here.