Maya Solovéy
For Maya Solovéy, music is a continuum: from the age of five, when she began training on the piano, to the age of fifteen, when she taught herself to play guitar and write songs, and yet still to the present, where her newest album, Touch, showcases the accumulation of her diverse and extensive background in music, Maya has never been afraid to access the world’s infinite resources. Her myriad life pursuits are evident in her musical expression: she takes the world’s sounds, beauty, and even difficulty and crafts work that embodies this depth. Be they with the languages of North and South America, or the instruments of India and Africa, Maya constantly expands upon her own scope of expression as well as the experiences of her listeners, blending different traditions together resulting in very unique entities—her songs.
Having an impressive and growing repertoire, it is her consistency as a good songwriter, throughout all of her stylistic endeavors, and remarkable sensibility for humanness that makes Maya able to use music to make all languages into one. It is only natural, then, that hers is truly music of the world; of life. Though rooted in folk, real music created by real people, and while her songs are in the acoustic tradition, Maya’s music is certainly not limited to a genre or type of instrumentation—in fact, she grows with these traditions by adding to them and incorporating them with each other. Her music can be considered to be the fruit of her life’s adventures. Being blessed enough to be well-traveled, there is no better domain for expressing the sincerity, depth, and intimacy of an enriched life than music.
Maya has taken advantage of what this world has to offer in learning Spanish and Portuguese, as well as she chants in Sanskrit and even creates her own languages. She released her first album when she was sixteen, and her four-song EP Dissolving, released in 2005, received much acclaim (The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, The Great American Song Contest, The Billboard Song Contest, The Independent Music Awards, and Singer Universe Magazine), while her current album Touch is a trilingual compilation that proves that her musical vocabulary is continually added to by her growing multilingual pursuits.
It can be said, though, that Maya’s voice is indeed the fingerprint of her music. Her vocals, cradled by worldly and sophisticated accompaniment, are at the same time sensual and youthful; intimate and bright; strong and tender. When Maya sings or chants, speaks or whispers, and everything in between, her audience is involved—in fact, they take it personally. Though her music is worldly, it remains accessible; her sincerity is supported by the strength of her musicality, and her varying influences bring together her broad appeal.
For Maya, life, like music, continues to give. She gives back in her songs, collaborative efforts in performance, in the studio, and during personal jam sessions with other artists and people. Maya’s music continues to evolve along with the world, accommodating and even anticipating its evolution. Her music though, expressed in intensely intimate vocals and inspired instrumentation will always do one thing—touch people.
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Maya is currently in the studio at NuMedia NY working with "Bassy" Bob Brockman, a grammy award winning producer 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.
Awards and Mentions for her 2005 released four-song EP “Dissolving” include:
* John Lennon Songwriting Contest, one of three finalists in the Pop category, for her song “I Stand Alone”
* Winner of the Pop/Adult Contemporary category in The Great American Song Contest, for her song “Linger”
* Billboard Song Contest, Honorable Mentions for “I Stand Alone”, “Dissolving”, and “In Time”
* Independent Music Awards, finalist in the Folk/Singer-songwriter category, for “In Time”
* Named one of the Top Five Vocalists of the month by SingerUniverse Magazine