Londoner Maya Jane Coles has had a number of fingers in a few differently flavoured musical pies for some time now and (courtesy of Defected Records) we find out what she's all about! Be sure to check out her guest mix below...
How has 2010 been for you so far? What have been some of the highlights?
This year started off a little slow but the last few months have been going really well. So many big opportunities and exciting things have been happening it's been pretty mental actually. It's funny when you've been working so hard towards something for such a long time, when you eventually start seeing results it can almost feel a bit surreal. I'm even more excited about 2011!
Your recent ‘What The Say’ EP has done really well…did it feel like it was going to be a step up when you were making the tracks?
I'm always working on a lot of music and I didn't think differently about those particular tracks compared to anything else I was working on at the time, the EP just happened to hit the spot for a lot of people! I definitely didn't expect the reaction it got though and couldn't be happier about it. You make other genres outside of house…where do you draw your influences from?
I take influence from a LOT of different styles of music old and new. It's definitely reflected in the music that I make and I could never stick to just one genre. I just never want to be labelled as one thing. I was lucky to grow up hearing so much diverse music and I'm really open minded generally so I'm always open to new sounds. I often find a lot of inspiration in music outside of my usual genres cause it's exciting to hear stuff that's totally fresh and different what you're used to.
Tell us about the mix…how and where did you put it together? What hard/software did you use?
Just on a pair of CDJs in my bedroom :)
Can you tell us about some of the highlights from the mix?
I've included a couple of works in progress that not many people have heard yet.
What did you try to do with the mix? Is this a reflection of what you play live?
I wanted to keep things musical, but at the same time keep things suited for the dance floor. I guess that's what I usually try do when I play out. I think it's important to have a balance. I like to keep things rolling with subby basslines and skippy drums patterns but I also like nice melodies and haunting deep vibes, so here is a kind of middle ground. My sets can vary quite a bit though depending on the party and depending on how I'm feeling at the time of playing.
What do you hope to achieve, professionally?
I want to be respected for what I do and I want my music to reach out to all kinds of audiences, not just in the world of dance music, but to people outside of that also. I have a lot of other goals and ambitions like starting my own record label, starting my own clothing label, conquering the world, just little things like that.
Anything else you’d like to tell us…?
My album will be dropping sometime next year, which to me is my most important and exciting project so far so do listen out for it ;)
In Their House #02 - Maya Jane Coles by Defected Records
01 Maya Jane Coles - Don't Tell Me (Original Mix) [Real Tone] 02 Challenge - Wind Up (Genius Of Time Remix) [Marketing] 03 Jonny White ft. My Favourite Robot - Desensitize (Phonogenic Remix) [My Favourite Robot Records] 04 Croon Inc - Bravo Pour Amour (Original Mix) [Resopal Schallware] 05 The Ascent, Nadja Lind - Get To Real (Original Mix) - Lucidflow 06 Roberto Rodriguez - Ride With Me ft. Max C (Matthias Mayer Remix) [Compost] 07 Maya Jane Coles - Grace Place (Original Mix) 08 Mabaan Soul - Friday (Original Mix) [Saw Recordings] 09 David Herrero - Take Me To Space (Original Mix) [Stereo Productions] 10 Benny Rodrigues - Feek (Original Mix) [Saved Records] 11 Shlomi Aber - Tap Order (Original Mix) [Ovum Recordings] 12 Gavin Herlihy - Stand For Something (Original Mix) [Cocoon Recordings] 13 Deeprider - Untitled (Original Mix) [Etoka Logue] 14 Jacuzzi Boys, Nils Weimann - Chroino (Original Mix) [Sonido] 15 Maya Jane Coles - Focus Now (Original Mix) 16 Dennis Ferrer - The Red Room (TMB & Jerome Sydenham Remix) [Objektivity] 17 El_Txef_A - Gold Daytona (Original Mix) [Flumo Recordings]
