Maya Azucena
Interview 10 February 2004
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<<Tell
me a bit about yourself, from Brooklyn right?, where you live now.>>
I
grew up in Flatbush area of Brooklyn, NY.
My parents bought a brownstone
there
the week I was born. I had an
Inner-City Brooklyn experience growing up.
We
played stick ball, football, etc. in the street. We went to Prospect Park
on
our dirt bikes. Someone always
fell in the pond or lost a shoe.
There
were
also gunshots at night. And a
mixed bag of dealers and other kids from
around
the way on any given corner of Flatbush.
But my own block was very cool.
I
felt like we were the Black New York City version of the Little Rascals. I
recently
moved to a wonderful neighborhood known as EAST HARLEM, aka EL
BARRIO. I love it here.
<<Is
New York good for you, ever felt the need to try elsewhere?>>
I
am in love with New York. It is
truly "me." However, i
have an intense
need
to expand my music to other Cities around the world. I have been booking
myself
on short tours in order to make a connection with the people of such
Cities
as: Los Angeles, Oakland, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, Philly, and London. I
hope
to come and perform with my full band in London soon. I have a booking in
Amsterdam
for April and I hope I can make that segue into a London show as
well.
<<How
long you been in music, and at what point did it become your destiny
.......and
then your living (assuming it is!!!!!!!).>>
Well,
yes I sing fulltime. Been doing it
as a fulltime thing for about 4
years
now. I came to the conclusion that
music was my official calling, about 10
years
ago. I have a background in Acting
as well. I used to believe Acting
would
lead the way...But I feel that my Music is an arena where (as a
singer/songwriter)
one can have a vision AND fulfil that vision. In acting, your job
is
to fulfil someone else's vision. I
have so much inside of me to say and
I
want to touch people. I feel God
has called me to Music and I feel complete
and
anointed when I am doing it. I have been singing and performing since I
was
4. I also have classical training. But I learned the most about my own
personal
voice by being on stage as much as possible, and learning how to open up.
<<Maya
Who is your first CD isn't it. What did you do before that.>>
A
lot of demos! I got so sick of
demos...even the word, "demo" started to get
on
my nerves. Forget demos, MAKE
MUSIC. "Demo" is this
term associated with
"auditioning"
for record companies. I discovered
that there is nothing in
between
me and "the people," so why in the world do I feel the need to wait
for
the
approval of a record company before I bring music to the world? As if a
record
label validates my existence? I
say, make music and stop believing
there
is a wall between you and potential fans.
If people are interested in what
you're
saying, they will support you.
MAYA WHO?! is my first CD and I'm
pretty
excited that folks seem to like it. I have much more material to add to that
record
one day soon.
<<And
the Cd, how long have you been working on that? How did it all come
together,
you pleased with it.>>
MAYA
WHO?! was about 2 years in the making.
A couple songs were done in a
session
about 2 years prior. Then I
decided to put the pedal to the medal and
enforce
a deadline to complete the CD. The
remainder of the CD was done as a
result
of one major tracking session with my band and was completed within 6
months
of that date. I had been
performing concerts like crazy, and my fans
kept
asking all the time, for a CD. I
was a little debilitated without a
product
because I couldn't send my Music to radio or Magazines if it didn't exist in
CD-form. I couldn't very well expect a radio
station to play a sample from
my
live concerts. I am pleased with
MAYA WHO?! because it expresses many
shades
of what I do. I feel someone can
listen to it and get a vibe of all the
different
flavors I have. If we had a
budget, I would add some tunes and maybe
do
a couple re-mixes of the songs currently on the record for 12" release -
with
special focus on radio quality.
But, I am pleased when I listen to it,
because
it's really ME in that CD. I hear
my soul when I listen to my words and
my
vocal choices.
<<How
did you manage to get it out on your own, tell me about the people
around
you that helped make this happen>>
Well,
NuMEDIA NY is the production company that I came together with. That
is,
"Bassy" Bob Brockman and Yaron Fuchs. They over-saw the CD and we paid for
it
between the three of us. You can
read about them at NuMediaNy.com .
I
also
write a lot of material with Christian Ver Halen (my guitarist). Ive-09 (my
drummer)
was an immense influence on the process too. He produced a couple
tracks
on the CD. The CD is still kinda
"underground" if you ask me.
I mean,
it
doesn't have official retail distribution yet. It blows my mind how much
support
it's received, even with a lower worldwide availability. I am really
touched
by people's warmth, and serious support of me. I'm feeling so blessed!
<<Mixture
of styles, hip hop thru neo, R'n'B soul jazz dance? Big props to the
old
skool, do you feel that 70's funk thang>>
Of
course!!! I have an old school
soul with the skeleton of HipHop. I feel
like
HipHop is what Rock used to be. A
raw, hard driving expression of Youth.
Infuse
that with the Spirit and Soul of Marvin Gaye, Mahalia Jackson, Chaka
Kahn,
Earth Wind and Fire. I'm down with
it all.
<<Who
are your influences.>>
Oops,
I spilled tha bag already.
Vocally:
Mahalia Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Chaka, Prince and Michael Jackson
Songwriting:
Stevie Wonder, E,W&F, Prince
Other
influences: All HipHop from 1985 -
1996 . Doug E Fresh, SlicK Rick,
Black
Sheep, KRS-One, NAS, etc. etc. ...Rock: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Led
Zepplin,
David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Jeff Buckley, U2, etc. etc.
<<Who
else have you worked with or have collaborated with, quite a few in the
hip
hop community, Jeru for example, one of my favorites. Any tracks
elsewhere
we can look out for.>>
hahaha. jeru is such a cool brother. I respect
him so much and am proud of
him
because he's still independent and he's doing his thing. I have plans to
make
a CD of all collaborative HipHop efforts from emcees, producers, and poets
out
of Brooklyn. I'm sure Jeru will be down with that!! Other collaborations
have
been: a couple tracks with Pete Rock (unreleased); a couple new joints
with
Pete Miser (West Coast hiphop implant to Brooklyn); a couple singles with
dance-music
master and DJ, Jonathan Peters;
and a project with one producer
who
actually lived in London for 17 years, KLIVE D'FARLEY - we have a project
called
Dreemtime with a very Sade-esque feel.
I have a reggae/dancehall re-mix
of
DO YOU REALLY WANNA PARTY done by Jamaican artist Mark Shine. It's not
released
yet, but it's cool! That's some
other material in the cut.
<<Tell
me about the songs, and where you draw from. All personal stuff.>>
uhhhh. well, a lot of the lyrics are straight
out of my journal. i take
exact
words from my personal writings and experiences and shape them to work
within
a song. I found the original poem
that inspired LIKE NO OTHER, and the
lyrics
are drawn directly from my journal (as I said). RIGHT WAY is very personal
and
straight forward. So is TOO
MUCH. I'll tell you about WALK FOR
MILES.
I
used to be very very broke. And I
was going through a very hard time.
During
this time, I lived in a bad neighborhood for a bit - crack house on the
corner,
drug dealers ruled the streets, and the overall spiritual presence in the
neighborhood
was very heavy and dark. I worked
at a restaurant in the
Greenwich
Village, way downtown....160 blocks south of the place where I lived.
It's
very hard for me to ask for help.
I believe in earning my keep, and when I
have
needs it makes me embarrassed to ask for assistance. That said, one day,
I
didn't have enough money for the subway.
I believed that if I walked a few
blocks,
I'd probably find a dime in the curb.
Well, for some reason, this
particular
day NO ONE dropped change on the street!!
I walked miles and miles
to
work hoping to come across a dime that'd get me on the train.
<<I
particularly like Like no other, it's deep and funky with a bit of a
gospel
feel, and like most of the album it's fresh and has a kind of 'live'
feel.
Still searching is strong and bluesy, G-hetto is more current I guess,
through
to a classic soul ballad in All is fair in love. But all round it's
a
strong album>>
Thank
you thank you thank you. Every
ounce of support means soooo much.
For
real. I'm truly honored to be an artist. Considering I'm still indie, my
presence
in different markets is due solely to folks like yourself, supporting
me!
<<It's
getting good response isn't it, at home locally, nationally and
overseas>>
Yes,
it seems to. And I'm a bit surprised and very excited to try and follow
up
with Live concerts.
<<Which
tracks are getting attention, and what are your personal favorites.>>
Wow,
well different crowds have different favorites. A lot of people across
the
board, seem to like DO YOU REALLY WANNA PARTY. In London the radio folk
seemed
to like MY ALL. In the US, I get
alot of positive feedback on RIGHT WAY,
TOO
MUCH and G-HETTO. But then I get
several people who say STILL SEARCHIN is
their
personal favorite. I mean, we've
almost covered the whole record at
this
point! My personal favorites vary
for different reasons. I Love
STILL
SEARCHIN,
and LIKE NO OTHER for the vocal performances. I love MY ALL cause it
just
makes me dance even though it's my own song, and I love GTO's voice on the
male
vocals. and TOO MUCH just
sounds good in the jeep - I love it.
<<Tell
me about some of the good things that have happened so far, like maybe
the
NBS thing and anything else that has helped or surprised you maybe.>>
argh...
too much to tell. i feel blessed
everytime i do a show. i have
incredible
fans. i do concerts and men and
women have come up to me with tears in
their
eyes. it's a very spiritual
experience to be a singer.
<<Tell
me about your show, you do gigs fairly regularly don't you. Who are
your
musicians. You have a regular band/team around you? What kind of places
do
you play? Anybody you worked with? How was that?>>
My
band is comprised of regular members: CHRISTIAN VER HALEN (guitar), IVE-09
(drums),
JEREMY MAGE (keys), JEREMIAH HOSEA (bass), CHRIS ROB (fellow
artist/vocals)
. We've developed our own sound, so I try to stick with these guys.
We
had the privilege of opening up for Gladys Knight, the Isley Brothers and
Roy
Ayers. All amazing experiences.
<<What
about the enyce gig, coupla my current faves on there, Goapele and
anthony
hamilton>>
Oh
yeah...we opened for ANTHONY HAMILTON at the Enyce event. I respect him
so
much. he's my kind of artist! And
as i came off stage he was one of the
first
to greet me and give me love. I
can't wait to work with him again.
Goapele
and I know each other. But we
haven't collaborated in anyway.
she's from
the
West Coast in the San Francisco area.
I was compared to her a lot by the
West
Coast press. i think they see me
as a successful indie artist.
<<You
were in the UK quite recently, tell me about that, what happened, good
contacts
made?>>
Well
BARRY KING just took me under his
wing and did everything he could to
introduce
me to the SOLAR RADIO scene.
Lawrence over at SOUL BROTHERS RECORDS
has
been a huge support. They carry my
CD and have personally encouraged
complete
virgin ears to get on board. CHRIS
WELLS over at ECHOES Magazine is also
fantastic. Echoes recently reviewed my CD, and I
think a small feature is
coming
soon. I'll never forget that
support at this young stage of my
career....and
YOU.
<<Do
you know much about the UK 'scene'.......and how you would fit into it.
My
all I would say is the sort of track that fits the Uk soul crowd>>
Hahahaha. Yes, I noticed that about MY ALL. i didn't know you were going to
say
that because I mentioned it above.
I didn't know all that much about the
UK
music scene. This is why I flew
myself out there in October to meet
people
and get a true sense of everything.
I was most blown away by the support I
was
getting. I was being embraced so
much. And I am itching to do a
live
concert
there , believe me! I felt
very excepted from a community that I know
is
particular about their music.
<<What
else do you do? Do you do any acting?>>
yes. i act. and sometimes i act a
fool...sometimes i think i'm funny and
make
bad jokes with my friends.
hahaha. i dunno. i used to
be a publicist. i
used
to run track and play rugby. is
that a good enough answer?
<<You
say you are work in progress - how progressed are you right now? Always
a
long way to go?>>
yes,
if you commit to always growing in Life, then there is always much more
growing
to do. I am always real (i'm just
Me and honest)...so in this sense I
don't
feel like I'm immature, nor do I have a skewed sense of reality. But,
I
admit that I need to continue to grow.
I always hear artists talk about
being
THE HOTTEST, THE BEST, etc. And
that just makes me doubt them right away.
Let
someone else give you props.
<<Anything
else you'd like to add>>
Man,
my fingers hurt. I think I've
shared a lot here and I hope folks like
it.
:) Thank you for supporting me. I
have a website where I try to keep up to
date
on my happenings. there's also a
Fan Message Board. So, maybe
anyone
who's
interested, will go to my site and keep in touch! www.Mayaazucena.com /
or
www.MayaWho.com .
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