Some people only know how to copy others and some people are just subconsciously over influenced by what they hear rather than having a sound of their own.
Maya Jane ColesI love expanding people's musical horizons, because daytime radio can be so generic and people get sucked into listening to the same crap all the time. Sometimes it just takes one simple little thing to actually inspire people to branch out a little more.
Maya Jane ColesI've never really found it that important to focus too much on the fact that I'm a female. I feel like if you make a thing of it then it becomes a "thing." For me personally, gender has always been one of the last things on my mind and I would much rather let the music do the talking. It was definitely surprising at the start to see how many people often got shocked that I would do the entire part of the composition/production/mixdown process on my own, but I don't think women are pigeonholed as much these days.
Maya Jane ColesWomen have been oppressed for so long in any industry, it just takes time for a shift to happen to create more equality in any field, but I feel like it's slowly happening now. It's just things don't change over night. It's the same for racism, homophobia, xenophobia etc. If you think back even just 15 years and see how different people's mentalities were then, think how much more progress and equality we cab reach in another 15 years.
Maya Jane ColesMy first album was more about me making a statement, as I felt like I was kind of stuck in the smaller scene of underground House and Techno when the music I produce actually spanned a much wider range of genres, including the more Pop/Trip Hop stuff and more song-based compositions. Comfort was to kind of show that I wasn't just about one thing. Working on Take Flight was my chance to step back and merge the many worlds of music I enjoy working in and showcase it all through a journey of 24 tracks.
Maya Jane ColesI think the compositional side of my productions have progressed and matured a lot more, and creating melodies is actually what I have always enjoyed the most, so my productions will always contain that strong musical element.
Maya Jane ColesThings always change and evolve and now there are a lot of other ways for people to hear music that weren't as available in the past. Yes there are way more venue closures, but at the same time there are so many newer ways via social media and other digital platforms for emerging artists to spread their music and make an impact.
Maya Jane ColesTo be honest, I'm usually totally stuck in my own bubble when it comes to the music I produce and the music I listen to, so I don't often have much of an interest about what's on trend or find myself having those conversations. I do find it interesting though, and you definitely hear batches of releases that all sound exactly the same released around the same time, and you can tell that a certain distinct type of track does especially well.
Maya Jane ColesIt's just difficult to release music constantly while also constantly being on the road.
Maya Jane ColesI love writing, composing and producing music. It's what I enjoy doing most in life and I create so much material that crosses over so many different styles that it would be virtually impossible to release all under one name/project. That's mainly why I like to create aliases and work on production for other artists as well. It just make sense. I just want to be able to have an outlet for all the different styles of music that I like working in.
Maya Jane Coles