Maya Lumen “Maynard’s Song”

On paper, Jaqueline F. Moore was set—running her own Marriage and Family Therapy practice, teaching at her alma mater, painting works that offer transcendence from the mundane, and earning certifications in yoga, reiki, meditation, and more. She was well on her way to building a fascinating, complex inner relationship with herself, the world, and the cosmos. As long as she can remember, creativity has been at the forefront of her life: whether drawing, taking photos, painting, or pursuing formal music training in her high school’s competitive wind ensemble, marching band, and jazz band programs. Yet even during her time playing in the Bay Area, she felt something unresolved brewing within her, something more she was meant to do.

It wasn’t until she was recovering from a debilitating hip rupture, unable to hold her bass guitar, that Lumen picked up a mahogany-bodied Martin guitar, and everything shifted. In a twist of fate, a long-cherished dream came to fruition, laying the foundation for what Maya Lumen has now become: a musical luminary uncovering and traversing spiritual and psychological depths through sound. Her music coins a new, innovative style, “progressive desperado,” that intricately weaves progressive chordings, rock instrumentation, and folk and Latin influences. While that description only scratches the surface, it establishes a special space where listeners are most inspired, most themselves, and most healed. Guided by a profound sense of purpose and a blossoming confidence, her second EP is her most inspired project yet, with pairing of art in the works that will speak directly to the needs and desires of the collective consciousness, and trusting the vibrations to carry listeners exactly where they need to go.

About “Maynard’s Song”

In times of trouble and despair, having a loyal companion by one’s side can become a swift, often unexpected, force of healing and hope. In some of Lumen’s darkest hours, a music-loving black cat, aptly named after Tool’s Maynard James Keenan, illuminated her world, coming to her rescue when she needed him most. Originally plucked and inspired by teenage friend Dash Kirby, “Maynard’s Song” sulks and creeps much like the late feline friend who inspired it—evoking the moody aesthetic of Lumen’s bewitching fuzzball.

As the song continued to evolve over many years, it gathered an effortlessly enchanting, kaleidoscopic warmth—part fantasy, part reflection, and all heart. Wrapped up in delicate acoustics, buzzing basslines, and shuffling beats scooped from the sands of a desolate Western landscape, it’s easy to picture a furry shadow stalking the edges of a room, a pair of bright green eyes cutting through the darkness. There are no lofty philosophical musings to ponder—just pure catharsis, the sugared current of the melody pulling listeners into a faraway land where black cats roam freely, and the mind wanders endlessly.

One key ingredient is powerful enough to turn an impressive dream into reality: community. In Lumen’s creative circles, there is no shortage of talent. For her debut music video, the project came together through the steady hands and bright minds of many, including local musicians, dancers, and directors, each contributing their time, energy, and skills to create a mesmerizing and immersive experience. In both her music and her physical art, much of Lumen’s work centers on the response of the cumulative. In the back of her mind, she is always attentive to how her sound interplays with the infinite and the unconscious rather than the literal.

In the “Maynard’s Song” music video, there are no black cats to be found, but black silhouettes sway and swirl with the melody as Lumen and her band lose themselves in the song, like abstract visions of the notes brought to life. Its imaginative, black-and-white design, meticulously matched with the style of the project’s art book, signifies an artist with intention, focus, and ambition, at the very beginning of her quest to synthesize her many passions into one unique identity, where sound, movement, and image converge in quiet, powerful harmony.