Project Description
Photo: Jenna Elson
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Interview with
MAYA IXCHELL
(November 19, 2024)
Interview with Dave Bruce
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Photo: Jenna Elson
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Have you always wanted to be an artist? When did you get the song writing bug?
Growing up, there was always music playing in the background, so it just became a big part of my life. I remember thinking it would be so cool to write songs and be like the musicians I grew up listening to.
I would say I got the songwriting bug when I had my first heartbreak, I would always listen to musicians sharing their stories of heartbreak so I thought I could do it too. Although there are some songwriting pages that should never see the light of day!
Briefly describe your journey to date.
As a kid, I would play Singstar religiously on my PlayStation. Mum decided to take me to singing lessons at Rock n Roll High in Bunbury. As a kid with social anxiety, I forced myself to gig as much as I could and built confidence in myself.
I released my first song in my final year of high school and have continued releasing music since then. I was accepted to study at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and spent two years there where I met the best bunch of people and formed my own band to support my original music. I recorded three songs with their help, Hurricane is only the start!
How would you describe your sound? Why do you think fans resonate with your music?
I’d say a bit of pop, a bit of folk, a bit of country. And a whole lot in between! I like to think fans resonate with the stories and emotions I convey in my music. That something I feel when writing or singing, is something others recognise or can connect with.
Which artist’s music and/or performance, past or present, inspires you today?
I love Taylor Swift’s storytelling ability. It feels like her life story is captured in these songs as if in photographs and memoirs – I’ve always wanted to be able to do that. Quite a few of the songs I’ve released transport me back to a moment or a feeling in my life which I think makes music such a powerful outlet.
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Your latest single ‘Hurricane’ has just been released! What’s it all about? Describe its origin and evolution.
I love Hurricane so much, even though it came from the rock bottom of my mental health. I was essentially homeless, working through some trauma and feeling like a burden to the world. It felt although I could talk to the people who cared about me and it helped, I never felt ‘fixed’.
During this time, I came up with the idea of ghosting everyone I know and running away. Maybe it would make my pain go away, being somewhere new and becoming someone new. Thinking about it made me hopeful of a future where I wouldn’t feel the way I did. Fortunately, I didn’t end up going ahead with my idea, but I wrote this song about the person I could’ve become and how my relationships might have fared.
I performed it during my time at WAAPA and worked with my extremely talented friends Morgan Louise, Clare Perrott and Caleb Bolt on the track – they brought so much life to it.
Is there an EP or Album on the drawing board?
There is definitely an EP on the drawing board, Hurricane is the first planned song of the track list.
What tours and events are coming up? What are you looking forward to, and what can the fans expect?
I am in the studio a lot now recording and writing new material to share. I’d really like to put on my first headline show soon, it’s very much in the works.
If you could perform with any music artist, Alive or Dead, who would you choose? And why?
I would really love to perform with Taylor Swift or Ed Sheeran. They’re both huge songwriting influences for me and it would be so cool to meet / work / perform with them.
What are your long-term aspirations as a music artist and how are you progressing towards them?
My main goal is to be able to connect with an audience of people who appreciate my music and the stories I’m telling. Whether it’s just because they enjoy my sound or if my words help them overcome something they’re going through, it’d mean the world to me.
I think I’m working towards it actively every day. Every time I play a gig, every time I release a song into the world, every time I make a post on social media, or I post a silly video on TikTok, I have the chance to reach and connect to people.
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With that in mind, what piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out?
I’d say just do it. I’ve spent so much time waiting and worrying and thinking and wish I’d just done what I wanted to do. If you have a song you want to release, release it. If you want to book some recording time or work with someone, send that message. Stop procrastinating and just do it!
What is the best thing about performing to a live audience? What’s been the career highlight so far?
I love being able to connect with people in the audience whilst performing. Some career highlights are: performing on Telethon at RAC Arena; performing on the main stage at Nannup Music Festival (it was a full circle moment for me having started as a fourteen-year-old busker, then doing some minor sets on smaller stages to finally being programmed on the Amphitheatre stage with my band; and earlier this year, opening for Baby Animals / Mark Seymour.
Here are three general questions your fans will find interesting about you:
1. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done? Wrote a song about having a panic attack in Kmart and then performed it on live television.
2. What is the one topic you can talk about for hours? It’s two but Taylor Swift and cats…
3. What is the thing you like most about yourself? My ability to find humour in the darkest of situations
Finally, just a few questions for some quick answers –
FAVOURITE:
Album – Folklore by Taylor Swift or The Good Witch by Maisie Peters
Artist – Taylor Swift
Movie – The Twilight Franchise
Place to visit – Engelberg in Switzerland
Venue to play – Mojos in Freo
Food – Burgers
Drink – Pepsi Max
Person in History – My mum
Tattoo – (If you don’t have one, what would you get?) I have two tattoos; my favourite one is a mirrorball I have on my arm, I got it last year and I liked the ideology that even if you are broken you can still sparkle.
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Maya is opening for Taylor Henderson this Friday night at his Margaret River show at The River. Tickets HERE.
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Follow MAYA IXCHELL
Linktree – Spotify – Apple Music
YouTube – Facebook – Instagram
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Photo: Jenna Elson
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Press Release 8th November 2024 (below) HERE
MAYA IXCHELL
gets vulnerable in new single
‘HURRICANE’
Out Friday November 8
Listen HERE
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