A Quick Chat With Maya Ixchell

Perth-based singer-songwriter Maya Ixchell has releaseed her latest folk-pop single, ‘Hurricane’—a soulful, introspective song exploring heartbreak and the temptation to escape everything and start anew. Known for her deeply personal lyrics and emotive performances, Maya has landed her opening spots for celebrated artists like Hoodoo Gurus, Jon Stevens, and Baby Animals. With haunting guitar melodies and vulnerable vocals, ‘Hurricane’ captures the moment of being at a crossroads, facing choices that could forever alter her life and relationships. Join us as Maya shares more about her journey and the making of ‘Hurricane’ and more.

Can you tell us what this track means to you and what you want people to take away from it?

Hurricane represents a pathway I could’ve taken. It’s a world where I hurt the people around me by disappearing. This song is a soundtrack of one of the toughest points of my life and I think I’ll always feel emotional performing it because I just think about how broken I was when I wrote it.

I want people to take away that it’s perfectly normal to have self destructive thoughts and feel like you need a break from it all sometimes.

Who are some of your influences, and why?

I’ve grown up with Taylor Swift so she will always be my number one. I love her lyricism and her ability to paint a picture / tell a story with a song. I also love other female songwriters like Missy Higgins, Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams - I could go on forever!!

What's the creative process for you, from writing through to recording?

My writing process often starts with a feeling, phrase or situation which I then try to turn into a song. I’ll write lyrics or if I’m stuck, sing random words over guitar chords until I find something I like. I’ll often finish up a song and take it to a producer to help me piece the instrumentation together but Hurricane was a bit different as I was studying at WAAPA and was surrounded by so many lovely talented people.

Special shout out to Morgan Louise, Clare Perrott and Caleb Bolt, who are all incredible musicians in their own right, for bringing this song to life!

What do you think makes a great song?

Lyrics are my favourite thing in the world, it’s always the first thing I listen for in a song.

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

Peking Duk - I love their sound and vibe, I’ve always loved EDM music so it’d be so cool to hop on a track.

Julia Michaels - I love her songwriting and her music and think she’d be brilliant to work with!

Aaron Dessner - I am obsessed with the production he brings to both Taylor and Gracie’s songs so it’d be a dream to write and produce a song with him.

When not working on music, what other creative outlet/s do you have?

I’ve always loved writing - be it stories, poems or general journalling. Very therapeutic!

Who are some local bands we should check out?

There are so so many incredible bands in the Perth scene today but five off the top of my head are EDIE, Raymondouu, Anika Louise, Clare Perrott and Joe Caddy.

Winter or summer and why?

I am a winter gal through and through!! Rainy weather 100% makes for better songwriting. I love the rain, big storms, my oodie, the Twilight franchise… the list goes on.

What else do you have planned for 2024?

A whole lot of promoting Hurricane and a whole lot of plotting and planning for my next release which shouldn’t be too far away ()

Interviewsaustralianmusicscene8 November 2024