Interview: MYA Project Talks About Her Debut Album "MK"
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MYA Project aka Dalila Mya is a Los Angeles based artist whose sound blends electronic and acoustic music, as well as Trip-Hop, World Music, and Pop Rock. She's not just a singer, but also an accomplished songwriter, violinist, synth player, sound engineer and director. MYA Project recently dropped a visual for her song "Something That Good", which appears on her debut album "MK", so it's only right that we connect with her for an exclusive Q&A.
We really enjoyed the visual for "Something That Good"; it was very artistic. Who directed it and how did you come up with the treatment?
All done by Dalila Mya... yes - a multi-talented artist, I told you so...
The men behind the cameras are actually two amazing video makers - Eric Smith from San Francisco and Dave Hudson from the L.A. Film School. The script, storyboard, editing and post production were all done at MYA Project Studio in L.A., with the help of professional software, such as Final Cut Pro, Avid and Pro Tools :-)
Yes, women can do this besides dancing with that "erotic barbie-doll style" in a music video. Give us a chance.
Talk about your time working as a live sound engineer for artists like Tool, Depeche Mode and Massive Attack and as studio sound engineer. How did those experiences impact you as an artist and producer?
I learned to be humble. The greatest artists I worked with were always extremely humble, professional and nice.The mediocre ones need to fulfil their ego with pretentiousness.
I learned how to develop my problem solving skills. When you're working on stage during a concert, every second you spend fixing a problem is a big deal.
I learned that good music is made by sacrifice, commitment and passion, and very often a lot of money invested in good equipment. That's the recipe for quality music, and that's the reason why I'm always broke!
If you had to describe your music to a stranger in three words, which words would you select?
Disclosing - there is a lot of information hidden within the lines, and the title itself refers to the MK Ultra mind control program - still in use since WWII.
Independent - no major music label's telling me what to do - (thanks Milky Bomb!)
Secret - Many attempts were made to give a meaning to my lyrics, but like a David Lynch film you can find a different meaning every time you play a tune!
Congratulations on your release "MK". How long did the project take to write, produce and record? Were there any songs that you recorded that didn't make the cut? If so, why?
Thank you!
It took a year to produce and record the album, although some of the songs were written many years ago, as far as 2006.
A few songs didn't make the cut - I guess because they didn't have that quality which I call "delivering the message". I'm an extremely prolific writer but I'm also extremely picky with my works.
What are you most proud of with "MK"?
The time, effort and sacrifice involved with the production of this album. Part of the production took place while I was dealing with a serious spinal cord injury. That didn't stop me from sitting in my studio and mixing. Coping with pain - and weed, which luckily is legal in California.