motel void

Jae Soto is the solo moniker of Brooklyn-based songwriter and producer Justina-Maria Soto. Her music is where traditional songwriting and electronic elements meet and marry in a playful symbiosis.

MOTEL VOID: You’re based in Brooklyn, NY. How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you feel that you’re a part of it? What’s your favorite venue in Brooklyn?

JAE SOTO: There are so many rich and diverse music scenes in New York City – it runs deep. During my time living here, I’ve dipped in and out of several of them. The scene I feel most connected to really depends on my artistic focus at any given time. It tends to shift and evolve, so I try not to get too hung up on being an official “part” of a particular scene. Instead, I value the personal connections I have with individual artists across different scenes.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your new single ‘Best Of Us’. Can you tell us about it?

JAE SOTO: “Best Of Us” is a song I wrote while sick with Covid. Initially, I wrote it as a dedication to people in my life who have experienced harm and dysfunctional upbringings. As I was writing it, I realized I was also processing a lot of my own experiences. So while the song aims to express solidarity with others, it also became a way for me to validate myself. The overarching message is about the resilience of the human spirit – our ability to evolve and rejoin the world in order to contribute to it in a meaningful way.

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the writing and recording process of your new LP?

JAE SOTO: My new LP was created over the course of two years. It took that long because I was still figuring out how to blend all the different sounds that inspire me with traditional songwriting. Not having a solid process made it very trial-and-error. It’s a catch-22 – how do you create something you’re proud of without first making a bunch of music you don’t like? It required vulnerability, trying over and over. But I’m glad I stuck with it, because now I have a much more solid understanding of what feels authentic to me, what my sound is, and what an efficient process looks like to me. If making another song-centric album, I would write everything first, then record second. It was a big learning experience!

MOTEL VOID: Who and what is your biggest inspiration right now?

JAE SOTO: Right now, I’m really inspired by people who use programming languages to build musical instruments and tools. It’s where my brain is focused at the moment, and I’m really interested in diving deeper into that world.

MOTEL VOID: Do you plan a tour to support your new release?

JAE SOTO: No tour is planned to support the new release at the moment, but in my life, things can change suddenly, so we’ll see what happens! At the moment I’m really into creating more music to share with folks. I find that performing (as opposed to crafting music for listening) often involves slipping into very different headspace and I like to honor each space so that I can fully show up in a way that I feel proud of.