Boston-based singer-songwriter and pop artist, Maya Salafia, has been writing pop music since she was nine years old, and she released her debut EP of six original songs, Trapped in a Daydream, at age thirteen. Her prior release, “First Grade”, was placed on over 90 playlists and exceeds 29,000 Spotify streams. Maya Salafia’s new indie pop single, “Everlasting”, released on June 10, 2022, arrives just in time to embrace and rekindle not just summer love, but all love. You see the love swirling around you as the song’s softhearted lyrics cross over into your own personal love stories, and gracefully convey the complexities of love.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Hi Maya Salafia. Can you write something about yourself?
Hi, I’m Maya Salafia, I'm a 16-year-old singer-songwriter, and I just released my new song “Everlasting.” I’ve always been interested in music and the stories a song can tell. I love to both listen to these stories and create my own for people to hear, interpret and relate to.
What are your dreams for your music career?
I have always dreamed that one day I could do music full time. I hope to someday be able to make a living from it and surround myself with nothing but inspiration and melody.
Your latest track is 'Everlasting'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?
I wrote Everlasting a little over a year ago and it truly just began with me in my bedroom messing around with my guitar. As I wrote my lyrics I thought of the person the song would be about and tried to incorporate specific moments I had had with this person over the past year. Originally this song was almost 7 minutes and a bit messy but after getting feedback on it in a songwriting class I was able to refine it to the length it’s at now.
How do you handle balancing your career and personal life?
Balancing my career and personal life is a struggle sometimes. Especially with my busy school life I sometimes find it difficult to make time for music. However, I have found that setting certain goals and deadlines for myself has helped me stay more focused and find a nice balance between music and my personal life.
What are your favorite musical genres, and are there any you dislike?
I love all music genres. At the moment I’d say my favorites right now are Indie-pop, Rock, and Alternative. There aren't any musical genres that I dislike because I feel like each one has a unique aspect to offer.
Has being able to play the piano helped you to better understand music?
Playing the piano has helped me a lot to make music more of a concrete thing rather than just having it as an idea floating around in my head. From the piano, I can use my music theory knowledge and apply techniques I have learned to analyze music or incorporate it into my songwriting.
What is the biggest decision you’ve had to make?
The biggest decision I’ve had to make was leaving ballet. I used to be on a pre-professional ballet track however due to an injury about a year ago I was told that I was going to need to put in a lot more time and effort to get back up to the level of dancing I had previously been at. I was faced with the difficult decision of putting in that time and going back to dance or not. I realized that If I chose to continue with it it would take a lot of time out of my day that I could be using to work on music. I decided that music was my passion and left ballet to make more time for music.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
I feel that many lyrics hold so much emotion that I can feel their passion and energy transfer from the songs into my body. Also, just sounds and instruments alone have the unique ability to make you feel passionate and truly care about the story being told.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
I feel that the internet has been a big help to smaller musicians in the music business. Because of various social media platforms, millions of artists can get their music heard all by themselves which is excellent both as an artist and a listener.
What are your plans for the future?
In the future, I plan to attend college mainly focusing on music. I also plan to keep writing and continue releasing music for everyone to hear.