As a musician, I always knew the world to be vast and plentiful with beautiful sounds. We were a well-traveled family, and my parents gave me opening to many cultural possibilities that existed within and beyond US borders. Folk music- the music of folks, of real people picking up instruments and playing and singing- that is what formed my ideas of what music is, and what it can do. When I first truly started writing songs and performing them in my teens, it was music of our own acoustic traditions that inspired me, but that quickly expanded to encompass a much more global epicenter.
What I create now is considered world music. They are songs in the acoustic tradition, marrying influences and instruments from all over the world. At the moment I am focused on Brazilian, Indian, African, and North and South American styles, all the while carrying the fingerprint of my music across them all- my voice. I write songs in English, Portuguese, Spanish, or sometimes make up a new language, but they are all songs that are personal statements of an emotional nature, and are vocally translated as such.
Music never ends. It is an undying art. I have no fears of this world ever not being able to provide bountiful influence and inspiration, or of people’s culture not deepening and evolving. I seek out sounds from all places, from very far away to very near and close, and I will continue to do so. I want to do projects influenced by other parts of the world- Europe, The Middle East, Appalachian, Arctic- it is all an immense and beautiful place. And I feel deeply honored and privileged to be a part of something that can somehow bring all of it together.
Maya is currently in the studio at NuMedia NY working with "Bassy" Bob Brockman, a grammy award winning producer/engineer and mixer, whose production and mixes have been nominated for over 20 grammys, including Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, and Christina Aguilera.
Maya lives in New york City and plays for people there and elsewhere.
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