Maya Delilah – Pretty Face

By starrymag | December 28, 2022

By: Nmesoma Okechukwu

 

 

Q) I am so honored to be doing this, especially as someone who have always wanted to learn to play guitar but never made the time. I see your fingers moving on a guitar’s strings and I’m literally blown away. What was it about the guitar that drew you to wanting to learn how to play?

 

A) Thank you so much!! Well, honestly, it was more jealousy of my sister playing than anything. I was learning piano at the time and could not get the hang of it (due to being taught in a more theory-based way that didn’t compute in my dyslexic brain) and thought I should try something different and the guitar just seemed so cool, so when my sister started playing I decided to join her.

 

Q) You just signed with Blue Note/Capitol and dropped your first single with a record label. How did it feel getting to sign the contract and how did you celebrate?

 

A) Honestly insane. The process of signing a deal can take a long time and having spoken to begun to know the Blue Note Team during that time I was getting so excited to work with them so getting to finally sign felt amazing (and such an honor to get to sign to such an iconic label). I had drinks with family and friends then celebrated at the pub after #england

 

Q) You obviously love music, whether it is composing guitar originals or writing a song. When did you start to seriously consider pursuing music as a career?

 

A) When I decided to go to the BRIT school when I was sixteen years old. I was very aware that it was basically putting all my eggs in one basket as I would only be studying music from then on, but during my time there I wasn’t so keen on my singing voice and thought I’d be a session guitarist. I then met various people along the way that made me feel more confident signing and encouraged me to pursue being my own artist so when I was eighteen or nineteen years old, I decided to give it a go.

 

Q) Your latest single, “Pretty Face” is so different from most other songs I listen to, especially in the pop-rock genre. Did you consciously make it so different or was it an unconscious choice?

 

A) It was a song that came sooo naturally. I wrote it with two of my friends James Smith and Martin Luke Brown and I think the mix of all of our writing and musical styles came together to form the sound of the song. I don’t remember us thinking about the style too much other than referencing John Mayer and D’Angelo (two of my fav artists). I just remember wanting a BIG middle 8 section with a big guitar solo, which I think gives it that more rock edge.

 

Q) How personal would you say “Pretty Face” is to you?

 

A) I’d say it’s quite personal. The song is written about someone in my life and the lyrics really do reflect how I feel about them and how I felt about myself at the time.

 

Q) Why did you choose “Pretty Face” to be your first single under your new label?

 

A) I wanted my first single to have a big guitar solo in it as I feel it’s such a big part of who I am. I also just love the song. It’s one of my favorites I’ve written, so it felt like a fitting choice.

 

Q) The line “Miss who you were, not who you’ve become” from your song “Pretty Face” hit me so hard. Have fans reached out to you with similar sentiments about how they connected with the lyrics from your songs?

 

A) Yes, it’s always nice to hear peoples’ fav lyrics and what resonates with them. I’ve gotten a few messages of people saying they really like the lyric “a red flag is just a flag when you’ve got rose tinted eyes,” which I really like as it’s my fav lyric of the song.

 

Q) What about the 1995 track “Harvest Moon” by Cassandra Wilson made you want to remake it for Blue Note Re:imagined II?

 

A) I’ve ALWAYS loved the song. It’s soooo beautiful. It is also always sung at my big family Christmas party every year, so I also chose it for sentimental reasons. I also felt like the simplicity of the song gave endless possibilities for reimagining it.

 

Q) What would you say is the most fulfilling part of making music?

 

A) I find it really hard to pick what I find more fulfilling; being in the studio or performing because I think it’s both. When I get that feeling of LOVING a song whist making it and sharing that experience with a producer (usually Stephen Barnes who I work with for most of my music) it is literally the best but then playing thatsong live and either seeing people singing along or just enjoying the song is an amazing feeling.

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what songs do you still love playing live?

 

A) I played festivals for the first time this summer which I loved – my fav of them all being Love Supreme. I also did some shows in America recently and loved how energetic the audiences were there. I still love playing one of my oldest songs “Breathe Easy” live as I love playing the guitar solo in it. To be honest, I still enjoy playing most songs. I just love performing and it’s also fun re doing songs for live arrangements and having fun with it so it doesn’t feel like the set is getting too stale.

 

Q) You are very active on TikTok. How did it help you in terms of reaching more people with your music?

 

A) I’m very grateful for the audience Tiktok has given me. I started out posting a lot of videos of me playing guitar and as they grew so did my Spotify and audiences for shows. So, it’s really, really helped me start a career in music.

 

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

 

A) It means so much any time anyone listens to my music and to people that come to shows and continue to support me through projects, it still just blows my mind and I can’t wait to release more and more music for you.