Following the release of her debut single ‘Still the Same,’ we interview newcomer Maya Lane about the track, her musical evolution and what to expect from her forthcoming music.
Hi Maya, lovely to speak to you today. I want to get started by setting the scene of your musical journey and how long it’s taken – when did you first pick up the guitar? When did you first start songwriting and how has your music evolved since then?
Yeah. I’ve always known since I was little that I’ve wanted to be a singer. I think my parents and everyone around me first realised when I got given a tennis racket for my fourth birthday – I immediately turned it around and started playing it like a guitar. I think my parents were like, ‘Okay, maybe this is her thing, maybe she was serious’. I started guitar lessons, I got one of those tiny baby pink mini guitar lessons a couple years later. When I was seven, I started singing lessons, and I went to a really creative and supportive preschool. I’m dyslexic, so I struggled academically – music became something that I could be proud of and that I was actually good at, which I think kept me doing it, because I didn’t have a lot of other stuff in the academic area to feel super proud of. I’ve always written songs – when I was little I’d make up little songs and stories, but I’d say I probably started properly around the age of 11. By that point, I’d been to a couple of concerts and started to realise that this can be a job – that’s what I wanted to do. For me, songwriting is a form of therapy as well. I’ve always found it very therapeutic and just very natural to pour my emotions out into songs. Then, I went to the secondary school – I had a music and drama scholarship – from that point onwards, I became really serious about it. I started when I was 12, I would sit down and email lists of London promoters and festivals, I’d send out hundreds and hundreds of emails, saying, ‘I know I’m only 12, but please, please let me play.’ I heard back from like five of them, and I ended up playing two or three.
Five is better than zero – you’ve got to start somewhere.
Yeah, and I guess it was the opening for playing live and gigging. Since the age of 12, I’ve been playing gigs and festivals, I used to do a lot of pub gigs, as well, which really just made me more competent as a performer. I met my management at 14 and so have been in the studio working and co-writing with people. At first, I was very anti co-writing, I needed to do it myself as an art form – writing is one way to do it and a musical outlet. Actually, it’s a different process when you’re talking to someone else and sharing your thoughts and feelings. At first, obviously, because it just been something that I did by myself, I would just sit in my room and write them and play them once, so having to take them into someone when not fully formed is quite weird. I mean, I love it and I think it helped me grow so much as a writer, as a musician, and really helped work it out. I’ve been able to experiment with my sound.
Those are very formative years. Now, I listen to your music and you’ve got a lot of vintage vibes – Fleetwood Mac and more – but I can imagine that you went through phases, everyone goes through phases when what they’re listening to is different, the same way your music tastes will evolve and chart a different journey of where you are in your life, I guess.
Definitely. When I first started out, I didn’t really know where I wanted to see myself, I was torn between the pop and country side of things. I think having those early years of just working out where I wanted to be, and in what space was really helpful.
What clicked then and when did you have that feeling that this was the music that you wanted to put out that was authentically you?
So, after lockdown.. I think, I feel very lucky that I got to use the lockdown, because obviously, school was all online and there wasn’t that much for me to do. I ended up being able to use all that time to really work on the craft and experiment a bit more with my sound and things like that. When I got to go back into the studio, after the lockdown, I had a session with Jonathan Quarmby – that session was actually meant to be six months before. We always say it was such a blessing, but it got pushed back so much, because I don’t think we would have created what we did if it had come before the lockdown. During lockdown, I was listening back to a lot of music that I listened to when I was a child and all the things I’d grown up on. When we went in with that first session, I went in with him, I remember leaving the studio with the demos and listening to it over and over on the train, thinking ‘this is it.’
That’s when you know you’ve got it right – when you yourself can listen back to it loads of times.
Yeah, I mean, I’m super critical as well. I always think about ok that lyric can change or this can change, but with that song, I felt I could finally be happy with it. It was pretty rewarding.
Can you talk about ‘Still the Same’ and why you decided that this was the right one? I can imagine, as you said, you’ve written so many songs over the years. So, why did you decide that this was the one you wanted to lead out with?
Yeah, I think it was a mixture of things. I wrote this whole EP in a small timeframe and it got produced in the summer of 2020. As you listen through, obviously, they all fit and they all felt like they sat in a similar space, but maybe some were a bit more pop or a bit more country. ‘Still the Same’ just felt right for me. I think it was all of us, including my management, we all agreed that that will be the first one. We didn’t even really discuss it and it wasn’t the first one that was written, it was just the one that felt right to release first, I think because I personally thought that a lot of people would be able to relate to it. I love telling stories through my lyrics. That’s not actually from a personal experience, it’s just an imaginative situation. I had a very clear idea what I wanted the music video to be. I thought this is a great one to lead with, because it crosses over into both the country, folk and pop genre. I think it’s something that everyone can relate to – that feeling of everything around you changing, but you still being the same person, especially with the last two years with the world. It felt like the right one. We agreed on that, which was good.
Talking about the EP, I guess do you know what that’s gonna look like? Obviously, you’ve recorded it, so do you know how you’re going to release it yet?
It’ll definitely be out in 2022. We’re just working our way through releasing a couple more singles first, and then the EP should be out – it‘ll be out before the end of the year, definitely.
That’s exciting. Well, I’ll be excited to hear that and I guess apart from that what is the plan for the rest of the year?
Yeah, I think I’ve got a couple of gigs lined up, especially once the EP is out, there’ll be lots of gigs. I think a headline show or something. I’m still in the studio a lot.
Exciting! Well, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. It was lovely to talk to you. Honestly, this single is great and I just can’t wait to hear the rest of the songs on this project, because there’s something special.
