Introduce Yourself...Maya Jane Coles

With multiple monikers and a string of records due to appear on top labels, to say Maya Jane Coles is a name to watch out for is an understatement. At just 23 years of age, she has had envious success with her latest releases including her track "What They Say" which reached the number one spot on RA's charts. Maya plays Room Three this Saturday as part of the Hypercolour Showcase along with Alex Jones, Axel Boman, Cedric Maison and Ste Roberts. 2010 must have been a great year for you, what was the highlight? Yeah for sure 2010 was definitely a good year! Best year yet for my musical career and I hope it'll keep getting better. I guess the highlight would have to be the obvious - the release of "What They Say" on Real Tone, just because I really didn't expect the success and reaction that it got and it's helped e gain recognition and pave the way for my other releases. What did you listen to growing up? I've always listened to all kinds of stuff but the first style of music I really got into when I was younger was Hip Hop (the good stuff) and Trip Hop. Which came first producing or DJing? Producing! I started producing music around 8 years ago but the DJing came a few years after that. Where was your first DJ set out? How did it go? I think my first DJ set out was at what used to be AKA bar (upstairs from The End). From what I remember it went pretty well even though I was shit scared! But it was free bar that night so who knows!! When did you first start to get regular gigs in London and what parties were you going to around this time? I've only been DJing regularly in the last year or two. I'm a producer at heart so that's always been my main focus, getting my music out there. Now that I've got a lot more recognition with that side of things I can spend more time focusing on the gigs. What are your thoughts on the current scene for both deep house and dupstep in London at the moment? London has a fantastic scene for both. There are a lot of great producers out there at the moment producing some really fresh and exciting new music, it's just a shame that it can be so hard for people to come across it sometimes because the market is so overcrowded with shit. But that goes with anything I guess. Your Dubstep moniker, Nocturnal Sunshine, ‘Can't Hide the Way I Feel’ featured on Scuba’s RA podcast last year. What attracted you to make the track in the first place? It was just a track that happened one night. I had no plans of making it, it's not really the way I work. I usually just sit down and start a track and let it go in the direction it naturally flows rather than think too much beforehand about what I'm trying to go for. What’s your style in the studio? Do you produce tracks in the box or with hardware? Mainly in the box. I learnt to the make the most of using little equipment when growing up as I've never had loads of my own gear etc. But I did always have instruments (bass/guitar/keys etc.) which I utilised a lot. And how long roughly do you spend making a track? It really depends on the track, some ideas can be done in as little as an hour, whilst some tracks I could spend 100 hours on if I wanted to and probably still not be finished! ‘What They Say’ and ‘Humming Bird’ have both been very well received on Beatport and RA, did you think there was something different about them when you finished them? Not necessarily different, but as they were my most recent works, they were probably my most advanced (when it comes to my house stuff). I'm always learning and growing as an artist and like to think that my productions get better over time. I always try and aim to make the next track better than the last thing I did. You’re playing in Fabric’s Room 3 as part of Hypercolour’s takeover – what attracted you to release on Hypercolour in the first instance? I just really liked what the label was doing and liked their approach on current House music. No trend following or pretentiousness, just good music. And I get on with the boys really well so I'm glad I decided to work with them. You’ve just put out RA’s latest podcast, do you like doing mixes from the studio or do you find it difficult DJing without a crowd in front of you? I much prefer DJing in a club with a crowd and atmosphere! (Wouldn't it be a bit weird if I didn't? haha) . I find it quite hard recording studio mixes. It's hard to keep focus and I can be a real perfectionist sometimes so I have to make sure not to let that over ride otherwise I'd never really be 100% happy with any of my mixes. Although that's probably the case anyway... What do you have in store for 2011? Production wise I've got my EP on Mobilee coming out end of this month and remixes on some cool labels including Leftroom, Crosstown Rebels, Defected. Oh and my album is coming... and plenty of other stuff. I need to try not to get too exhausted with the touring and keep a good balance of studio time. And what’s your dream, your ambition for this stage in your life? My ambition is not to be recognised as a producer in just the House scene but to be recognised and respected as a producer to lovers of all genres of music. And to basically take over the music industry. Any final words? Byeee For more info and tickets go here. Photo: Mike Massaro