During a visit to Kuala Lumpur recently, Maya performed beautifully at a video shoot organised by FMT Lifestyle at the entertainment venue, Bobo KL in Bangsar. The singer impressed with her smooth renditions of jazz standards such as Etta James’ “At Last”, as well as a number of heartfelt originals.
“I grew up listening to all kinds of music,” she told FMT Lifestyle. “It was prioritised in my house to have a very diverse range of tastes, so I enjoy performing all types of songs.”
While she started out as a classical pianist, she soon found herself seduced by jazz. “I’ve always been intrigued by it – for some people, jazz may sound chaotic or difficult to comprehend, but if you’re present while listening, you notice all sorts of things.
“And I love how jazz musicians are free to explore and express themselves,” she said.
Maya began paving the road to success early: at age 13, she participated in the American Protégé International Music Competition, sending in a video of herself singing the George Gershwin classic “Summertime”.
She beat out other hopefuls from all around the world to become a runner-up, and performed at the prize-giving ceremony at New York’s illustrious Carnegie Hall.
At home, she has performed at prominent venues such as Marina Bay Sands, and last year sang at The Star Theatre’s “Konsert Luar Biasa” alongside big Singaporean names such as Hardy Mirza and Taufik Batisah, and Indonesia’s Cakra Khan and Andmesh.
These are impressive accomplishments, especially given how performing was apparently not something that came naturally to her.
“I never had stage fright, but the idea of entertaining audiences wasn’t easy at first. If someone yawned in my audience, I would take it personally! The yawn would haunt me and I would think I’d done a bad show,” she chuckled.
“Now, I’m more used to it. It’s all about building self-esteem and confidence, and letting go of the idea that people would laugh at you or judge you.”
Maya’s versatile vocals and diverse influences result in a rich repertoire: her favourite artistes to cover include Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, and even Beyoncé. For the locals, she has songs such as “Getaran Jiwa” up her sleeve.
She is also a talented songwriter: one of her latest compositions, “I Want You A Lot”, was written during a particularly happy time in her life.
“I wrote it when I was falling in love and things were great,” she shared. “You can ask any songwriter: it’s harder to write when you’re happy – it’s easier when you’re sad.”
Indeed, there has been much for Maya – a psychology student at Nanyang Technological University and participant of the Esplanade’s Mosaic Jazz Fellows mentorship initiative – to be happy about.
For instance, she performed her original songs with her all-girl band, Maya Raisha and the Mellow Reds, at the Esplanade Outdoor Theatre last year.
“I got to showcase my music and demonstrate how the songs of old have inspired me to create something new and interesting. My dream is to one day sing for a crowd who knows all the words to my songs!”
Maya has not performed on this side of the Causeway yet, although she certainly hopes to someday. She visits Malaysia frequently, and loves the liveliness and diversity of Kuala Lumpur.
And looking forward, the singer has big plans and is definitely a name worth looking out for.
“I want to release an EP, if not an album. I’ll also be releasing a single at the end of July. It’s a very different vibe from anything I’ve done; it’s a very intimate and acoustic track. I’m quite excited about that.
“I also intend to release a fully jazz album one day. Maybe it could be called ‘Swinging with Maya’,” she concluded with a laugh.